The RENEWLV Smart Growth Book Club

The Campaign to Renew the Lehigh Valley welcomes members of the public to join the next lively discussion on land use in the Lehigh Valley on January 18th at 7 pm at the RenewLV Smart Growth Book Club. The purpose of the book club is to promote education and encourage debate among community members who wish to discuss land use and smart growth initiatives in the Lehigh Valley. The Smart Growth Book Club hopes to inspire local citizens into action in their communities and the region.

RenewLV Smart Growth Book Club meetings will be held on the third Thursday of every other month in the home of Joyce Marin, co-chair of RenewLV at 500 Chestnut Street, Emmaus. Downtown Emmaus is especially lively on Third Thursdays because the Emmaus Main Street Program organizes special promotions of businesses on that day each month with many businesses and restaurants open late.

The public is invited to join the group in reading and discussing a different book selection every two months. The book list from which selections for discussion are taken was developed by PA Representative Robert Freeman and Joyce Marin.

Co-chair of RenewLV, Joyce Marin, comments that "Many people in the Lehigh Valley are interested in land use issues and want to become better informed as to what regular people can do to support smart growth, revitalize cities and protect open space. At the first meeting of the book club, one citizen showed up with all of the names and addresses of every elected official from the 62 municipalities in the Lehigh Valley printed out. He pointed out that if we want vibrant cities and boroughs and preserved farmland, we need to encourage all of these decision makers to read the same books we are reading and join in our discussions."

January's book selection is "Cities and the Creative Class" by Richard Florida. This book explains what communities can do to attract and retain the creative people that make a place vibrant and unique.

Community members interested in joining RenewLV's Smart Growth Book Club are invited to read "Cities and the Creative Class" and meet on Thursday, January 18th @ 7pm at 500 Chestnut Street in Emmaus to discuss their opinions of our local and regional opportunities.

Book discussion members are welcome to come early to enjoy original folk music performed by Scott Paul from 6 to 7 p.m.

RenewLV Book Club Reading List
RenewLV has a comprehensive list of suggested reading for our Book Club. To download a copy of this list, simply click on one of the following links. [Word Document] [PDF Document]

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