Creating Urban Works of Art
Communities must recognize the value of cultural preservation

OK, so it was largely symbolic: too much hype preceding too many non-events where predicted catastrophes that kept most people at home failed to materialize. Surely you haven’t forgotten already. I’m referring to the New Year’s Eve celebration that marked the turn of the millennium (which hasn’t really happened yet, of course; it might be next year or, depending on your calendar, on another day and year altogether).

Still, standing in the cold night air with thousands of people in Newport was truly an inspirational experience. Our focus was the huge World Peace Bell, set in motion by the governor to literally ring in the new year, and the sound was one we won’t soon forget.

Behind the excitement of that moment – and the long hours of planning and work to put the World Peace Bell in place – is Wayne Carlisle, a new breed of civic and business entrepreneur. Recognizing its potential value to his community, Carlisle enlisted city leaders and officials of non-profit organizations to join his bold effort to bring the symbol of world peace to the northern Kentucky city.

Carlisle’s effort was one of many that have contributed to the revitalization of Newport, one of Kentucky’s more progressive cities. He clearly recognized that communities seeking success in the 21st century will have to go beyond meeting basic needs to become, in essence, urban works of art that attract their own citizens as well as visitors from elsewhere.

The experience in Newport also offered a reminder that, in successful places, the business, government and non-profit communities have learned to work well together. Backwater attitudes that government has no place at the table or that business is out for profit at all costs are replaced by the recognition that the contributions of both are necessary to maintain the balance of quality community life.

The Lexus and the Olive Tree, a recent book by New York Times reporter Thomas L. Friedman, has much to offer anyone who seeks to balance the globalization of the world economy with cultural preservation and the revitalization of communities.

In addressing the world economy, Friedman juxtaposes the Lexus construction process involving state-of-the-art robotics and Japanese manufacturing with the continuing Middle East debate over the ownership of the olive trees that symbolize ancient community values. Both are important, he concludes, and must be kept in balance.

As the knowledge economy and electronic commerce erase state and national borders, it will become more and more important for local leaders to exert strong planning pressure at the community level. This will be particularly true for local elected officials who must withstand the pressures against cultural preservation in the interest of so-called economic progress.

According the Friedman, all segments of a community must recognize the value of cultural preservation and the promotion of local arts. Accomplishing that is a tremendous challenge in places like Kentucky – particularly in the areas that are trying just to catch up with the rest of the world economically.

Local officials caught in the swift waters of change provide painful examples of this dilemma. A mayor who objects to NAFTA might very well sense the inevitability of a global economy. But he or she understands all too well the human suffering of those who have lost their jobs to foreign competition and been forced to leave their community.

Such difficulties notwithstanding, it is fitting to end with a story as inspiring as that of the World Peace Bell. This one also speaks to a bright future for Kentucky, this time through a young Owsley County farmer. A member of the Future Farmers of America at the county high school, the young man spoke at a recent dinner gathering about his attempt to plot a future without tobacco.

His first risk was taken with a bell pepper crop that provided the backdrop for his spellbinding tale of working toward profitability. He and his fellows are now planning a cabbage crop, and they need just enough success to hold onto the land and lifestyle that is so precious to them.

It is through stories such as these that we are reminded of the bright promise of a future that will require our diligent vigilance if we are to guard the things we hold dear.

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