What is an ideal city? Is it one in which the lead shot wholesale industry is no longer needed because there are no firearms? Is it one in which everyone knows everyone else's names? Is it one where the roads never have potholes? The citizens and municipal leaders of Oakland, California have spent quite a bit of time pondering this question and working toward helping their city live up to the ideal. The movement is known as Model City, and if you'd like to learn more about it you can visit the city's official webpage at www.oaklandnet.com.
The ideals that Oakland residents have decided to base their model city upon are ones that foster community, economic development, and healthy living. They envision a world where everyone from famous personalities like Dennis Gartman to the newest immigrant can feel comfortable with themselves, their jobs, their skills training, their state of mental and physical health, and their place in the community. For the past three years they have been working to make this dream a reality.
Together with partners at the national and state level and with the support of local businesses, more than 800 ordinary people are able to make known their needs so that together everyone can focus less on the price of gold mutual funds and more on creating a model community. This includes celebrating the city's cultural diversity with events and festivals and developing plans with the state government to improve housing and services in neighborhoods that need it.
To date, a number of initiatives have been started which will help Oakland reach its goal. With the aim of promoting safe and healthy environments in which to grow up, the Model City group has created public safety programs to reduce incidents of violence on the streets. With the help of this program and the Alev8 school health program, more Oakland kids will be able to grow up to fulfill their dreams of being a commercial mortgage broker or doctor.
On the education and economic fronts, progress is being made as well. The Teach Tomorrow in Oakland program is aimed at helping teachers from the city understand and incorporate other cultures into education so that kids don't end up alienated and dropping out to work an automatic strapping machine. The city is also helping those who face employment barriers find work and training members of the workforce to take their places in the new "green" economy of the future.
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