In the spring of 2010, Antioch University New England partnered with the Hannah Grimes Center to offer a follow-up event to Keene State College Symposium.  It is clear that our region has a wealth of initiatives working to strengthen our local living economy.  The focus of this event was to explore how we are addressing our challenges and identifying our assets collectively. Are there challenges that some initiatives are facing that could be addressed by another initiative’s strengths?

Community members, businesses leaders and organizations were all invited to explore a framework for problem-solving highlighted in the video “Restoring Los Angeles: Healing the Nature of Our Cities.” Andy Lipkis from the non-profit organization Treepeople spoke of an integrated approach that helped the city of Los Angeles adopt a solution that resulted in better environmental and social benefits at a cost-savings for the city – reframing challenges into solutions.