Joe Erpenbeck

I spend a lot of time in neighborhoods. Recently, I came across this very creative use of a traffic island. In the middle of the island, there was a board with a book swap on the top shelf, a variety of announcements and a couple benches for neighbors to spend...

In Kitchener, Ontario city planners have been exploring ways to increase the possibility for connections and how to make the city more livable for its citizens. They have created incentives for patio areas at restaurants during summer months, created communal ...

Since coming to Vancouver I have loved exploring the local groceries and cafes that are found in almost every area. None of the places I have visitted have been more welcoming and beautiful than The Mighty Oak Grocer and Café at 19th and Columbia in Mt Pleasa...

Last week, I  had a conversation with with a lady who did not know any of her neighbors. She told me stories about how she had been so busy for so much of her life she did not have time for them.  In a tone of regret, she admitted that she had not seen then ...

I recently saw a stunning and captivating movie, Detropia. This film takes the viewer through the rise of the once fastest growing city in the world, and the city that epitomized the American dream to now a city that has seen over half of it residents, homes, ...

Over the weekend I attended an unusual event, “A Street Food Festival” in a neighborhood that many don’t often have the opportunity to experience the many gifts that are present. About a dozen mobile food vendors formed an oval on a usually busy street i...

Recently I have been thinking a lot about the sustainability of initiatives such as Asset Based Community Development and Community Connecting. At the Reinventing Quality conference in Baltimore a few weeks ago I had an opportunity to hear from so many people ...

Recently I was working in Central Wisconsin and the group I was working with suggested we take a break for lunch. They gave me a menu to look at and said we were going to place nearby, “The Daily Grind.”  My hosts suggested that we call our order in, as t...

Just getting back from a a wonderful week in Vancouver, British Columbia. I visited many community gardens that had been recently built in neighbourhoods across the city. A group, PosAbilities that is exploring ways to connect the assets found in this great ci...

Thank you Vanessa and Big Footprints! The new hand outs look incredible. Trying them out in Vancouver this week!