"There is a new worldwide movement developing, made up of people with a different vision for their local communities. They know that movements are not organizations, institutions or systems. Movements have no CEO, central office, or plan. Instead, they happen when thousands of people discover together new possibilities for their lives. They have a calling. They are called. And together they call upon themselves.

In many nations, local people have been called to come together to pursue a common calling. It would be a mistake to label that calling “ABCD” or “Community Building.” Those are just names. They are inadequate words for groups of local people who have the courage to discover their own way — to create a culture made by their own vision. It is a handmade, homemade vision. And, wherever we look, it is a culture that starts the same way..."

The Minnesota Neighborhood Development Center "believes that residents, small businesses and neighborhood groups in all communities have the talent, energy and ability to engage and revitalize their own communities.

Since May of 1993—in eight ethnic communities and 25 low-income neighborhoods in Minnesota—NDC has helped build community support around the idea of creating, financing, and supporting resident-owned small businesses as a means of revitalizing inner city neighborhoods. There are more than 500 NDC supported businesses currently in operation. These businesses are building neighborhood economies--from within."

"The Line tells the story of the new economy in The Twin Cities -- a narrative of creative people and businesses, new development, cool places to live, and the best places to work and play. Each Wednesday, the online magazine presents original stories, video and photography to tell that story."

The online magazine provides many stories tied to neighboorhoods across the Twin Cities. Areas covered by the stories include affordable housing, arts & culture, diversity, leadership, life sciences, technology, transit, and more.

"Public leaders face the challenge of finding ways to bridge silos in their organizations. In this report, Dr. Mergel examines one tool that can help them do this—Wikis. Many of us are familiar with Wikipedia, which relies on thousands of active contributors who share their knowledge freely on a dazzling breadth of topics, with an accuracy rate rivaling that of traditional encyclopedias.

So how can government leaders spark similar outpourings of valuable knowledge - either among their employees or from the public? Dr. Mergel describes the managerial, cultural, behavioral, and technological issues that public managers face in starting and maintaining Wikis. She provides nine case studies of government organizations that launched Wikis. Each of the nine public sector organizations studied found Wikis to be valuable additions to their current workplace tools in reaching out to both employees and citizens."