Jane Nees BOP Regional Councillor www.janenees.co.nz

I recently attended a presentation by Jim Diers, from Seattle, on how councils can better engage with communities and volunteers to revitalise neighbourhoods; and help people reconnect with local government. It is very timely; following low polling results for October's local body elections show just how many people don't see the relevance of local councils to their lives.

In Seattle, they have empowered communities to plan for themselves and to develop their neighbourhoods in a way that suits the people who live in them – rather than the traditional top down, council-led development plans. The result is a city made up of 100 distinct neighbourhoods of about 5000 people. The people in the neighbourhoods identify how they want them to be, what projects they would like to do – and they implement their plans themselves, with local government contributing some of the cost, and the community providing much of the labour. As a result, each neighbourhood has a distinct personality, the community is connected and proud of its surroundings; and there is a real partnership between local government and its people.

I found the concept really exciting – and I'm delighted to find it is part of a worldwide movement towards empowering communities. We have a few of the building blocks in the Bay of Plenty Regional Council through our Environmental Enhancement Fund and our support of estuary and cast care groups. But I would like to see much more of this sort of engagement across the Bay of Plenty. Then, we can truly rediscover the value of our communities.

If you have any views on this or any other issue, please email me at: neesj@xtra.co.nz or ring me on 07 579 5150.