Listening to Lancaster

For this episode of Listening to Lancaster Hourglass was joined by John Gerdy, founder and executive director of Music for Everyone, to discuss his new book “Lights on Lancaster: How One American City Harnesses the Power of the Arts to Transform its Communities.” John discusses how pivotal investments in the arts have transformed Lancaster City, the arts’ role in education, healing, and creativity, and how we can ensure the arts remain vibrant in our community well into the future.

Learn more about John Gerdy, and find a copy of the book at https://johngerdy.com/.

For this episode of Listening to Lancaster Hourglass was joined by Melissa Ressler, Executive Director at Lancaster Downtowners, to learn about Lancaster City’s Age-Friendly initiative. In December 2018, the City of Lancaster was enrolled in the Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities (aligned with the World Health Organization), joining more than 1,000 communities worldwide committed to improving the quality of life for older people. Age-Friendly Lancaster produced an Action Plan in December 2021 focused on housing, pedestrian safety, intergenerational connection, and access to services for older adults. Listen to this episode to get an update on some of their recent priorities and programming.

For this episode of Listening to Lancaster Hourglass was joined by Cindy McCormick, Deputy Director of Engineering for the City of Lancaster. The City recently received a $12.7 million Safe Streets for All Grant to implement its Vision Zero strategy, which is the City’s goal to eliminate traffic-related deaths and serious injuries by 2030. Tune in to learn where crashes are happening in the city, who they are impacting, and what is being done to make our streets safer.

For this episode of Listening to Lancaster Hourglass was joined by Cody Kiefer, the new Urban Forester for the City of Lancaster. Lancaster’s urban forest includes trees in public areas and on private property, including along its streets, in its parks and open spaces, in backyards, and on the grounds of commercial and institutional establishments. These trees provide many benefits, including ecosystem services that are important for the City to meet the EPA’s mandate to reduce combined sewer overflows. Cody is currently inventorying the City’s trees (there are 11,500 in public spaces alone!), developing a master plan, and working on some exciting initiatives for the future.

For this episode of Listening to Lancaster Hourglass was joined by Adriana Atencio, Co-Executive Director, and John Hursh, Spring Fling Board Chair, of The Common Wheel. We spoke about all things bikes– Lancaster’s bike infrastructure, Vision Zero, National Bike Month and more! If you’ve ever wondered how we can make Lancaster a better community through the energy and equity of bikes, this interview is you. Enjoy!

For this edition of Listening to Lancaster Hourglass was joined by Ramon Escudero, Executive Director of F&M’s Center for Sustained Engagement with Lancaster. Ramon talks about the focus areas for the center, including poverty & social inequality, environmental sustainability, social practice and community-based art, and current projects being funded by the center or led by faculty or students. Enjoy this informative interview!