Throughout the summer of 2019, Green residents met with each other and local news media for three pre-election community conversations sponsored by Your Voice Ohio, which is listening to people across the state discuss how they envision better places to live – and how to get there.
Meeting #1
At the first conversation on June 30th, relationships, acceptance of differences, and acknowledgment of problems were among the things nearly 40 Green residents said they wanted to address to help make the city a place where everyone can live happy, fulfilled lives.
Explore the first event reportThe group discussed ways they could make progress in these areas, including having more community conversations, hosting city and neighborhood parties, and researching what’s been successful in other cities.
Residents recognized that Green has high levels of income and education and meanwhile experiences uncomfortable conflict at the local level that’s reflective of national politics. One participant envisioned the future of the city as looking like “Community, neighbors, people would interact, work together, care for one another, listen, and meet regularly to discuss, plan and act.”
From the blog: first Green event explores relationships, differences, and local solutionsCommunity, neighbors, people would interact, work together, care for one another, listen, and meet regularly to discuss, plan and act.
Meeting #2
On June 17 2019, 22 Green residents discussed similar issues as the first group. A theme emerged that Green’s culture often avoids problems that exist in families, neighborhoods and the community.
There was concern for:
- Attitudes toward residents dealing with addiction.
- Attitudes towards young people who choose skilled trades over college.
- Concern that the city was attracting wealthy elderly people, perhaps alienating young adults and failing to provide for seniors unable to afford the more expensive lifestyle.
- Attitudes regarding residents in poverty — while Green’s median household income is far higher than the national and state rates, the city still has about 2,500 people living in poverty.
- And pointed concern about lack of diversity in a city that is 93 percent white
Brainstorming about how to create a better Green, one person wrote:
View the second event reportEveryone is forced to get to know one person outside of the social circle/comfort zone.
Meeting #3
At the final meeting on August 6, residents took a deep dive into an issue they identified in two previous sessions as critical to the city’s healthy growth: Diversity.
The conversation included a diversity of voices, and the group discussed many potential ways to attract diverse cultures and thinking:
- Moderately priced housing for seniors and young people
- Support for trade skills, including business-school partnerships and change in community attitude
- Cross-cultural experiences through government, schools and organizations
- Deliberate exposure to people with different life experiences
- More community events
Ideas from these events will be used to shape local issue coverage ahead of the 2019 local and 2020 national elections, giving the community a voice in the democratic process.
