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NEW SOCIETY BLOG — Community
Foundations
Based on decades of research, Making Shift Happen examines the forces behind behavior change, providing a suite of powerful tools to transform the world. This book is a must-have guide for practitioners in nonprofits, governments, and businesses looking to design successful campaigns and initiatives that shift behaviors and mindsets toward positive environmental outcomes and a better future for all. Today’s excerpt outlines the basis of this system of change, laying the foundations for the rest of the process.
International Transgender Day of Visibility
Today, March 31st, is International Transgender Day of Visibility. Founded by U.S. transgender activist, Rachel Crandall, this day is “dedicated to celebrating the accomplishments of transgender and gender nonconforming people while raising awareness of the work that still needs to be done to achieve trans justice.”
Effective Interactions: Supremacist Power and Liberatory Power
Understanding power and mastering power dynamics is perhaps the essential skill for change agents across all sectors seeking to ignite positive change in the world. Today, we share an excerpt from the Power Manual that explores the relationships within different types of power.
Portrait 5: Transforming the South
In the Color of Food, Natasha Bowens teaches us that beyond buying locally, the food and farm movement is about preserving and protecting the community. Today we share an excerpt from The Color of Food that celebrates the transformation of the South and the right to revive African American farmers.
Introduction to Making Shift Happen
To tackle our urgent environmental problems and achieve positive, durable change, we must design solutions based directly on how people think, make decisions, and act. Making Shift Happen provides clear instructions, and real-world examples that will empower you to apply hundreds of behavioral science solutions. Today, we share an excerpt from the introduction of Making Shift Happen on how this book was developed into the roadmap for organizational change that it is.
Focusing On Regeneration and Collective Good
Much of the last few years has been talking about getting back to normal. But what if we strived to get back to something better than what we had? In The Edible Ecosystem Solution, Zach Loeks provides a practical guidebook that looks at underutilized spaces to reveal the many opportunities for landscape transformation that are both far-reaching and immediately beneficial and enjoyable.
The World Unmasked
For many people the COVID-19 pandemic turned the world upside down and unrecognizable in a matter of weeks. For John Restakis, it only accelerated the existing trends of rising inequality, deep political polarization, and the pervasive power of corporations. In his book, Civilizing the State, Restakis explains the contemporary and historical contexts of the liberal state. He reimagines it, not as a handmaid to predatory elites but as a partner state that promotes equity, economic democracy, co-operation, and human thriving, driven by deep democracy and a fully sovereign civil society.
Achieving Racial Justice and Equity Requires Conversation
Today, Fern Johnson and Marlene Fine share stories that didn’t rise to national attention. How many of these were you aware of?
Why is Collaborative Decision Making Effective for Problem Solving?
Today on the blog we take a case study from Building Community by James Gruber focused on participatory decision making processes. Many people may question why this problem solving process is so important when we elect and hire leaders to make decisions for us.
Interview with Marlene G. Fine and Fern L. Johnson, authors of Let's Talk Race
Today’s blog features an interview with Marlene G. Fine and Fern L. Johnson, the authors of the just-released book Let’s Talk Race: A Guide for White People.
Better Talk
Let's Talk Race: A guide for white people by Marlene G. Fine and Fern L. Johnson confronts why white people struggle to talk about race, why we need to own this problem, and how we can learn to do the work ourselves and stop expecting Black people to do it for us. Today on the blog, we take an excerpt from Chapter 6: Better Talk, in which Fine and Johnson suggest some guidelines to help white people better navigate conversations regarding race.
Principle I: Practice Adaptive Leadership and Co-Management
Today we share the first principle from James Gruber’s new monthly series on the twelve guiding principles for building a healthier community. The series provides specific practical actions and tools from Building Community for local community leaders who are successfully confronting these challenging problems and are working with their communities to find solutions.
It's All About Community
Today James Gruber, author of Building Community shares the story of Mill Hollow, the community where Gruber’s journey to writing his book all began. This story reminds us how a community can extend beyond one locality and be nurtured virtually.
Interview with Zach Loeks author of The Edible Ecosystem
Today’s blog is an Interview with Zach Loeks, author of The Edible Ecosystem Solution: Growing Biodiversity in Your Backyard and Beyond featuring our winning giveaway question.
Edible Laneways
Today Zach Loeks, author of The Edible Ecosystem explains why edible landways are a simple and effective way to manage a garden on small properties and homesteads. The concept is this: focus your fruit, berry and herb planting along a single bed beside your driveway or along a fence line.