City of neighborhoods, meet Mr. Neighborhood

In many ways, Kirkland is a city divided. It has 13 neighborhoods, each with their own quirks, leaders and associations. But, according to community-building guru Jim Diers, that’s a good thing -- those neighborhood divisions actually help form the foundation of a tightly knit community.

Visiting as a guest of the Kirkland Neighborhood Services Program at City Hall April 29, community-building author and “Seattle Way” pioneer Diers spoke passionately -- and at times humorously -- to a gathering of about 50 people about his experiences with community organizing, including 14 years in charge of Seattle’s Office of Neighborhoods.

Despite his title and experience, however, Diers is no Mr. Rodgers. As he put it, “In the tradition of Saul Alinsky (a famous Chicago community organizer) ... If we couldn’t get what we wanted, we kept hammering until we got it.” And in Diers’ early days as a community activist in Seattle, that’s exactly what he did. Before getting appointed to the position in city government, he was regularly involved in protests and civil disobedience against the city council. At one point, in protest of an illegal dump, he helped deliver a chuck of the contaminated landfill to the steps of city hall.

“Uh, so when things start showing up at city hall, you’re gonna know where it came from,” Diers joked.

Diers says his passion for community involvement began with his Waverly, Iowa, upbringing, and it stayed with him after he arrived jobless and newlywed in Seattle in the 1970s. He spent several months there looking for a place to live.

“We found this apartment in the basement of this house in Wallingford,” he said, “And no sooner than we pulled up to that house, the neighbors came out and helped us unload our belongings, and they came over that night and brought us food ... For the first time, I appreciated the community that I’d lost. I’d really taken it for granted.”

But money matters eventually necessitated a move to a different Seattle neighborhood -- where the community dynamic was absent. Stores had boarded up and businesses moved away. Neighbors didn’t know each other. Crime was high. That got Diers thinking: What forms the basis of a stable and integrated community?

He came to realize that four simple ideas -- detailed extensively in his book, “Neighborhood Power: Building Communities the Seattle Way” -- formed the basis of community: establish a community on a small, personal scale; develop a strong sense of identity; promote gathering or “bumping” places and form neighborhood community councils.

To illustrate these themes, Diers drew from his travels worldwide and experiences with various Seattle neighborhoods to show how neighborhoods could be improved through community involvement and empowerment.

“Strive for results. Don’t sit on your assets,” Diers advised. “We’ve abrogated more and more of (citizen) responsibilities. How do we get people to take responsibility for themselves?”

He praised Kirkland’s Neighborhood Matching Grant program as an effective way to get local residents involved in improving their neighborhood. Diers started a similar effort in Seattle with $4 million in 1988. It has now grown to $35 million and leverages $50 million in community resources.

Diers did offer a voice of caution to community activism, however, warning of how some can usurp city councils and their meetings after they become “grim and determined” voices “who have a cross to bear.”

“The most important lesson that I’ve learned is to have fun,” he said. “We need to make community life fun again.”

Kirkland Council member Jessica Greenway, a founding member of the South Rose Hill/Bridle Trails Neighborhoods Council, said she enjoyed Diers’ visit. She said she left the meeting feeling much more could be done to increase citizen involvement.

“We need to trust people again,” she said. “We need to believe that they can make good decisions for themselves and their own neighborhoods. When people are involved, they’re incredibly generous and civic minded.”

Standing nearby, Norkirk neighborhood resident Rob Butcher agreed.

“There’s a great depth of knowledge out there. There isn’t anything we can’t do to improve our community,” he said.

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