Peter Kageyama and the Creative Communities Movement Come to TBLC
Helping Libraries Connect with the Engaged Communities/Creative Economy Movement
September 10, 2012 , 2 p.m. – 4 pm @ TBLC Headquarters
While the nation has struggled with a troubled economy, the emerging focus on the creative economy and engaged communities has been a bright spot. This wave is energizing people around the country.
Peter Kageyama, St. Petersburg’s own, is a leading messenger and catalyst for this movement. Peter’s 2011 title, For the Love of Cities: The love affair between people and their places, has contributed momentum to the creative community/creative class movement nationwide and particularly in Florida.
Among those who have bought in to Peter’s message are Florida’s business leaders, economic development directors, local and state leaders, and motivated local individuals who want to build better communities. This is the direction inspiring and being chosen by many of our communities and influential’s.
Kageyama looks at what makes cities lovable, what motivates citizens to do extraordinary things for their places and how some cities use that energy to fill in the gaps that “official” city makers have left when resources disappear. Peter speaks about how we can turn peoples’ emotional engagement with their place into tangible action and use that excitement and energy as a much needed community development resource. And he will discuss the unique role that libraries as temples of the democratization of information and librarians as facilitators of conversations play in making great communities.
Library folks are natives in this space through our connections to our communities based around information, learning, technology, and community engagement. There are things we can do with the resources we have to actively participate in the movement to re-energize, reposition, and re-spark the magic in our libraries. Peter can help us gain a clearer understanding of the movement he champions and ways we can connect and become active collaborators.
Come join us for this great event, to talk with others about our communities, libraries, and moving forward!
Bio:Peter Kageyama is a community and economic development consultant based in St. Petersburg, FL. He is the co-founder and producer of the Creative Cities Summit, an interdisciplinary event that brings together citizens and practitioners around the big idea of the city. Peter is the former President of Creative Tampa Bay, a grassroots community change organization. He has spoken all over the world about bottom up community development and the amazing people that are making change happen. His book, For the Love of Cities, was recently recognized by Planetizen as a Top 10 Book for 2012 in urban planning, design and development.