Imagine Carlsbad

Tonight is our monthly Imagine Carlsbad meeting. We’ll be working on our Heart and Soul progject.  It’s an ongoing effort to identify what we will refer to as the DNA of the community of Carlsbad. We will try to find those assets that we value and that connect us to each other and to our community as a whole. These could be physical such as landmarks or practices such as special events that are important local traditions. The harder part may be to identify the glue that holds the DNA together. This can include our collective efforts, abilities and desires that are necessary to bind us together as a community rather than a group of individuals living in close proximity.

Please give this some thought and come prepared to share your stories and add to the DNA strand. Bring a colored marker as you will have the opportunity to put your ideas on butcher paper. This should be a fun project that everyone can help with.

Imagine Carlsbad meets at the Senior Center at Pine and Jefferson in the heart of Carlsbad’s Village. We meet from 6:30pm to 8:00pm on the fourth Monday evening of each month.

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Monday we had a very successful dialogue on the concepts presented by Fred Kent on Creating Public Spaces. For those who missed the presentation it can be viewed online at

http://www.ucsd.tv/search-details.asp?showID=11548

. This latest Project for Public Spaces newsletter covers some of the same ideas. All of us should become familiar with place making so we can understand each other better in future dialogue sessions.

Please share this information with those you think will find it beneficial.

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Imagine Carlsbad’s monthly meeting is Monday, June 25th from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. We meet at the Senior Center at Pine and Jefferson. (Mapquest Map)

If you are a Carlsbad resident interested in help shape the future of the City, we invite you to join us and “Imagine Carlsbad!”

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Culture is the key to our betterment. Culture or “the arts” takes on many forms: painting, writing, quilting, pottery, museums, landmarks, sculptures, landscapes, streetscapes, memorials, sport. It is a way for individuals and communities to express and engage themselves with family, friends, and their neighborhoods, their communities. Culture can be used to renew or revitalize municipalities, regions, even a country. It can build community identity and pride, strengthen bonds, improve quality of life on all socioeconomic levels, and engage children and youth in education and their environment. Culture can be the catalyst for positive change, engaging all ages and communities. Diversity can be embraced through culture, building trust and understanding. And culture can act as the economic engine that drives municipalities toward growth and prosperity.Culture is a crucial component to any community’s livelihood and well-being. As a resource, it is the fuel for economic growth, youth education, leadership and entrepreneurial skills. As a tool, it creates vibrant public spaces and better communication between peoples.

* Culture is the sum of learned behavior of a community that is generally considered to be the tradition of that group.

* A culture is a way of life of a group of people – the behaviors, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept, generally without thinking about them, and that are passed along by communication and imitation from one generation to the next, and are a basis for creativity.

* Culture in its broadest sense is shared cultivated behavior.

Culture:
* is an economic engine;
* renews and revitalizes a community;
* helps build community identity and pride;
* creates arts and positive change in communities;
* improves quality of life/quality of place; and
* inspires personal and social development of youth.

What are the first necessary steps to creatively enhance the culture of Carlsbad?

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We will not be having a meeting in May as it would fall on Memorial Day. However, our work needs to proceed without delay. At our April meeting we agreed to explore the concept of a Connecting Community Day in Carlsbad with a focus on bringing people together through neighborhood or community picnics. Hope Wrisley agreed to lead the charge for Imagine Carlsbad and Ken Price is looking into the role the City could play.

Last year we determined that people are what make Carlsbad great. This will be the first real test of our theory. What can we expect from a Connecting Community Day? Hopefully everyone would at least smile or wave at a neighbor, maybe stop to say hello, have a conversation, get to know someone new at a picnic or make a lifelong friend. The greatest communities have an abundance of social capital, but like most things in life it takes effort to go from good to great.

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Imagine Carlsbad’s monthly meeting is Monday, April 23rd from 6:30pm to 8:00pm.  We meet at the Senior Center at Pine and Jefferson. (Mapquest Map)

If you are a Carlsbad resident interested in help shape the future of the City, we invite you to join us and  "Imagine Carlsbad!"

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Our Vision

"Creating the Future of Carlsbad Together"

Our Mission

"We are an apolitical group of citizen’s working together for the future of Carlsbad to improve our overall quality of life"

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Creating the Future of Carlsbad Together

Values: We believe that:

• The best communities are those in which the citizens take an active role in community affairs.
• By pooling resources, we can accomplish together what we could not alone.
• Working together toward common goals can help people break down barriers and preconceptions, and learn to trust one another.

Ground rules:

• Everyone is welcome
• We will respect the ideas of all
• As a group we will not take a position on political issues
• We will endeavor to consider all information and perspectives in our discussions
• We will follow Carlsbad’s Connecting Community, Place and Spirit Guiding Principles

Initial topics for discussion:

• Quality of Life – define the factors, consider possible methods of measurement
• Art and Culture – understand its ability to bring the community together and explore the possibilities of new venues
• Connecting Community, Place & Spirit Concepts – help integrate the Guiding Principles throughout the community
• Community Building – understand the components of a great community and promote their integration
• Sustainability – understand the impact on the community’s future those actions we take today

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