Split personality

J. Craig Anderson

Sunday, Oct. 2, 2005 | 2:24 a.m.

Bright lights, big ... civic pride?

Like a Johnny Appleseed of community involvement, author and researcher Richard Harwood is hoping to help spread a sense of political awareness and motivate Las Vegas residents and organizations to get more involved in the public process.

People have become frustrated with political leaders and journalists who peddle false hope and twist reality for their own personal gain, said Harwood, whose recent work includes a study of community values and attitudes in Southern Nevada.

As a result, Las Vegans have come to regard themselves as little more than consumers in a world they are powerless to influence or improve, he said.

"One woman (interviewed during the study) said a good motto for the city would be, 'Me for me, and you for you,' " said Harwood, founder of the nonprofit organization Harwood Institute for Public Innovation.

Because the area is growing and changing so quickly, residents who want to get more involved in the community simply don't know where to turn, he said.

Lacking a broad social network or a sense of the people beyond their own block walls and gated subdivisions, residents retreat to their "silos" of close friends and family, rarely venturing outside.

Harwood visited Las Vegas recently to promote his new book, "Hope Unraveled: The People's Retreat and Our Way Back."

The book is a culmination of his research in many cities across the country, but Harwood said Southern Nevada in many ways epitomizes the troubling phenomena he has observed nationwide.

However, Las Vegans also exhibit a rare degree of confidence and optimism that could lay the foundation for a more cohesive and collaborative body politic, he said. Harwood has been helping local organizations such as the Nevada Community Foundation develop ways to tap into that collective "can-do spirit."

"There is a sense of possibility and vibrancy here that you hardly find anywhere else," he said.

Southern Nevada has some good leaders, but they are too few and are constantly overwhelmed because of the area's nonstop growth, he said. Therefore, it is up to grass-roots community organizations to instill a sense of civic duty into the collective consciousness.

The Nevada Community Foundation, funded in part by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, is hoping to serve as a catalyst for that effort, its president, Bret Bicoy, said.

With input from Harwood, the foundation is developing a strategy to help other community groups draw residents out of their silos in a number of ways.

"We have bits and pieces of the game plan, but we're trying to spell it all out in a specific plan," Bicoy said.

One way is to allocate grants to organizations that are partnering with other groups or attracting residents who would not otherwise get together.

For example, if a neighborhood group wanted to plant some trees, Bicoy said the foundation might grant the money as a way to get neighbors to meet and interact.

"It's so they will come together and plant them," he said.

Bicoy said the recent overwhelming show of support for victims of Hurricane Katrina validates his belief that people are willing to do good deeds if given a clear opportunity.

Still, it's difficult for some to reach out, especially if they are new to the area.

"The only thing many of us have in common in Southern Nevada is that we don't know anyone else in Southern Nevada," Bicoy said.

Barring a major catastrophe or crisis, residents often lack a shared sense of purpose, Harwood said. In many ways, the Las Vegas story is "a tale of two cities," divided between the interests of tourism and those of residents trying to live normal lives, he said.

"The dilemma of Las Vegas is that the other community -- the non-Strip community -- is highly fragmented," Harwood said.

Another way to promote community involvement is to encourage community leaders, including politicians and the media, to be more constructive and less adversarial.

"I think people would respond to leaders who would level with them," he said. "I'm not suggesting we sit around in circles and hold hands and sing 'Kumbaya.' "

Still, Harwood recognizes that some people may scoff at his efforts and dismiss him as an idealist.

"Is it naive to have ideals?" he said. "And when you lose your ideals, who are you?"