Community Planning Archives » Lynda Waddington

30Apr 2017 by Lynda Waddington

Index: Iowa needs better crisis plans

Gazette Column

The new National Health Security Preparedness Index is out, and Iowans continue to lag behind in plans for the state’s most vulnerable. Across most of the 139 measures used to compile the index, Iowans fare well with rankings at or slightly above the national average. Iowa gets an overall score of 7 out of 10 — the same score it’s had for the past three years. But while Iowa has stagnated, other states have improved. The 7 that placed Iowa above the pack in 2014, now puts it in the middle. Drilling further down, it’s apparent that there is one section in particular where Iowans are lagging behind. Index authors labeled it as “Community Planning and Engagement Coordination,” which includes actions taken to develop and maintain supportive relationships among government…

14Dec 2014 by Lynda Waddington

Coffee (and more) with cops

Gazette Column

It may have hit a nerve. My column last Saturday focused on recent demonstrations and how they are evidence that certain segments of the population are feeling excluded. While several responded with their own stories of how they’ve been or felt isolated from the larger community — especially bodies that make policy decisions, others insisted that “some people” need only get off their … ahem … rear ends if involvement is truly a goal. As is typically the case, most feedback was somewhere in the middle, with readers wanting more participation but remaining too cynical to believe it will or can happen. Within that pile, three responses by area police officers caught my eye. The officers generally agreed with my assessment that more community business needs to be done within neighborhoods, allowing…

08Dec 2014 by Lynda Waddington

There is no solitary path to economic diversity

Gazette Column

USDA opinion on ICCSD policy offers new opportunities With or without the blessing of federal assistance programs, the existing strategy for economic diversity in the Iowa City Community School District was going to fail. Research — specifically a 2010 Century Foundation study of student placement in Montgomery County, Md. — provides evidence that a balanced socioeconomic playing field at neighborhood schools increases student achievement in ways targeted resources do not. In the Montgomery County study, researchers followed 850 students living in public housing. Those who attended the most-advantaged schools performed significantly better than their peers in lesser-advantaged environments. This remained true even as additional resources were pumped into the lesser-advantaged schools like increased professional development, additional math and literacy instruction and reduced class sizes. Montgomery County schools boast a 90 percent graduation…

07Dec 2014 by Lynda Waddington

Protests are evidence of exclusion

Gazette Column

One of the best things about working in the media is the access it provides to all facets of the community. When combined with innate curiosity and a penchant for organizing, this access results in piles of string — journalism shorthand for scraps of information that don’t warrant their own report, but that could possibly be valuable in the future. Since I’m curious about barriers to civic participation — not only why this person doesn’t participate, but why this neighborhood tends not to participate — I collect string on how groups interact. Some pieces are incredibly benign. For instance, a woman told me that she and her husband alternated attending meetings to save on child care. Others, however, provide glimpses of how infrastructure availability is determining civic and social participation.…

14Jul 2014 by Lynda Waddington

If you live downtown …

Gazette Column

There were several reasons, when we decided to buy, we chose the house we have now. Price, of course, is always a big consideration. Perhaps a larger bonus at that time for me — owner of an ancient, rear-wheel drive Monte Carlo and unaccustomed to Iowa winters — was that the place was walking distance to the downtown office where I worked. Obviously the prospect of slipping on the ice and breaking a hip was much less a concern two decades ago. What we didn’t fully realize, but probably should have, is that our walking-distance-to-downtown locale is a prime traffic area. Foot traffic, skateboard traffic, bicycle traffic and, of course, automobile traffic. For years we’ve dealt with a lack of parking when activities are happening in downtown. Streets have been…

06Jul 2014 by Lynda Waddington

Sullivan, Botchway got it right

Gazette Column

While there was plenty to be learned at a Hunger Forum this week hosted by the Crisis Center of Johnson County, two of the most important thoughts elevated within the discussion were not limited to food security. Johnson County Supervisor Rod Sullivan noted that if communities want more people to come forward and access available services, there needs to be a widespread effort not to bruise the dignity and pride of those in need. “There is a stigma associated,” he explained, and immediately received mild pushback from another panelist. While I may receive some similar pushback, let me say that I agree with Sullivan. Society cannot on one hand decry the people receiving state food assistance as incapable of making healthy food choices and, on the other hand, berate parents…