A Trust Recession Is Looming Over the American Economy

The Atlantic nails it again. In this piece by Jerry Useem, the author muses, "Trust is to capitalism what alcohol is to wedding receptions: a social lubricant". In our important work of helping cities return to behaving as communities, to embarking on the small-yet-achievable steps that helps them build resilience from within, one element is required for any shot at success: trust. People who aren't trusting hold themselves back from collaborating with, investing in, cheering on, or listening to others. This naturally is public enemy number one for revitalizing the places we love. Useem shares a finding from the Harvard Business Review stating that trust is about two things. Those two things are competence and character. As someone who has been working in public engagement for over 15 years, it occurs to me as no coincidence that if I were asked to distill all the things I've heard from groups of citizens over time into two things, prior to reading this article, I'd have summed it up as competence and character (or synonyms of). Now...what will you do in your position to help build trust with citizens in your city? Without it, true widespread engagement will remain elusive. – AJ

A Real Opportunity to Break the Cycle of Homelessness

This article headline caught my eye because it mentions two things that have been on my mind a lot lately: addressing the growing issue of homelessness and making progress without busting city budgets. After reading this, I'm looking forward to digging into what The Denver Supportive Housing Social Impact Bond Initiative has done to break the cycle between homelessness and the criminal legal system and how the city used its budget creatively to bring positive, sustainable change. – Kevin

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