A “how to” guide for citizens wanting to take part in participatory democracy.

We have been asked by the publisher to prepare a second edition.
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Chapter 1:  What’s Your Problem?

Defining the Challenge that Active Citizenship Can Solve

“Let’s work the problem, people.”

—Gene Kranz (Ed Harris) in Apollo 13

Case in Point: A Road Through the Mountains

For the residents of Jackson County, North Carolina, their area’s richest blessing has also turned out to be its worst curse. Wedged between the hills of South Carolina and the heart of the Appalachian Mountain chain, Jackson County is one of the most picturesque locales in the United States. With its green mountains, brilliant autumns, and relatively mild summers, it is little wonder that Scotch-Irish Protestants used to life in the Scottish Highlands founded Jackson County in the 1850s.

For its first century Jackson County was remote and isolated, its stunning beauty known only to residents and a few visitors. That all changed in the 1960s, when Americans discovered the well-kept secret. For the next five decades Jackson County’s population kept growing—more than doubling from 17,780 in 1960 to an estimated 36,751 in 2007. When Western Carolina University opened in 1964, in the Jackson County town of Cullowhee, it had 2,659 students. In 2008 enrollment had skyrocketed to 9,055. But the surge in the number of permanent residents and students is only half the story. It does not account for the tens of thousands of visitors who annually seek temporary refuge in the cool mountain air, crystal clear lakes and streams, and tranquility of mountain life. From April to October towns such as Cashiers in Jackson County and Highlands in nearby Macon County are crawling with travelers from all fifty states.

As it always does, growth has brought change to Jackson County. Skeptics need look no further than NC 107, a north–south thoroughfare that mostly parallels the rippling, white-foamed Tuckasegee River. This rural, winding two-lane strip is today lined with the tell-tale signs of urbanization: tourist motels, boat rental shops, gas stations, Wal-Marts, and fast-food franchises. The asphalt is sagging under the increased traffic, which frequently comes to a standstill when parts of the road are closed to accommodate maintenance crews or cleanups after accidents.

In the face of this explosive growth and the resulting strain on the area’s infrastructure, Jackson County leaders convened a series of public meetings in 2000 to determine the public’s sentiments on possible responses to the population explosion. At these meetings residents voiced overwhelming support for “smart” growth that would enhance their mountain communities and protect the heritage and beauty of the valleys and hilltops.

Some community leaders created a new initiative to give even louder voice to that sentiment. In 2001 the Tuckasegee Community Alliance began meeting to assess growth management in the county. One year later the group took on a new name and sharper focus: the Jackson County Smart Roads Alliance (http://wnc.us/smartroads).

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My tale starts with cold, greasy pizza…

• Read the Prologue
• Read Chapter 1
• Read Chapter 8