Health & Fitness
How 'Resilient' is JP?
Since October of last year, the JP Resiliency working group has been measuring how well Jamaica Plain is prepared to face rising oil prices, energy shortages, and declining economic strength.
How do we make the Jamaica Plain community less dependent on oil, encourage skill-sharing and local food cultivation, and increase social ties between neighbors? By increasing community resilience. What is resilience? Come to the 2012 JP State of the Neighborhood Forum on February 9 at English High, co-sponsored by JP New Economy in Transition (JPNET), to hear a volunteer-run working group of neighbors, activists, and business owners present their answers.
Since October of last year, the JP Resiliency working group has been measuring how well Jamaica Plain is prepared to face rising oil prices, energy shortages, and declining economic strength. In a world of finite resources, communities need to cultivate elasticity, “the capability to anticipate risks, limit impact, and bounce back rapidly…in the face of turbulent change” (resilientus.org).
Under the guidance of JP resident Jennifer Jones, the working group identified measures that would indicate how connected and self-sufficient JP is, such as: orange line ridership, acreage of public land under cultivation, and local workforce participation. These measures do not claim to be definitive but they aim to get people thinking about resource usage and imagining a more just community. Jones explains the process: “We try and draw conclusions from the measurement result, and speculate what number the measure needs to reach to be truly resilient or sustainable. There will be assumptions made, so question them. Setting a goal involves having a vision of what the future will look like, which in itself is a useful thing to do.” Questioning the economic status quo is a baseline goal of the effort.
In a survey distributed through the JPNET and JPForum listservs, 114 residents responded within two weeks. 48.6% of respondents strongly agree that they “have friends and acquaintances in my community and on my block, and I know their faces, not just their Facebook pages.” When asked “one thing that makes me feel resilient is…,” they answered with statements like “networks of friends and friendly neighbors—for an urban area, JP is tightknit” and “having local neighbors who I can share resources and favors with.”
Alongside local support networks, JP residents feel that skill-sharing within the community, which includes the popular subcategories of cooking and growing food together and pooling resources, makes them most resilient. Residents also value the local green spaces JP has to offer such as the Arboretum, JP pond, and various community gardens. When asked what would help them feel more resilient, residents wish that skill-sharing was more prevalent in the community; more specifically, they hope to help each other install alternative energy sources.
People also emphasized that they wish the JP community was involved in more activism especially around capitalism reform and eliminating a racially divided JP. Respondents also feel strongly about creating better paid local employment opportunities, affordable healthcare options, and more affordable rent in JP.
Come by the Resiliency Measures table at the State of the Neighborhood Forum on February 9 to share your ideas and read an illustrated report. The working group aims to re-assess resiliency measures every year and report back to the community at upcoming State of the Neighborhood Forums. Expanded measures could include: community perceptions of safety, housing prices, and local healthcare system participation. Come to the monthly JPNET community potlucks to add your voice to the planning process. For more information, join our Google group.
The State of the Neighborhood Forum with our elected officials will be held on Thursday, February 9 at 6pm at English High School, 144 McBride Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130.