Making a Mark
Becoming a Public Purpose Community Developer
by Mark Tigan

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Like a great municipal development project, Making a Mark is a book that delivers on multiple fronts—part memoir full of interesting stories and people, part field guide to public-oriented community development, and all compelling read. Author Mark Tigan writes about his life growing up with dyslexia and a propensity for risky adventures and “greaser” activities in the rural Midwest, to his college days surfing, hitchhiking and planning ‘call to action’ activist demonstrations such as a car burial, to his renowned career in public development and city planning, which includes no shortage of “Robin Hooding” and projects noted by the media, such as the Winooski (Vermont) Dome proposal. Across it all, Mark was left with lessons to impart, and he shares those now with readers. Whether you’re looking to be entertained, to deepen your knowledge of community development, or to learn about a path on which you can help society, Making a Mark has a story to offer.

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“It’s refreshing to see ‘risk-taking’ embraced as a viable tactic to achieve progress in the craft of community development refreshing stories about taking a bi coastal and non-traditional career path.” —Dylan Eastman, HGTV Designer and Producer “Here's a life that's made a difference—and a book that explains how that difference got made! Mark Tigan's account makes it real and accessible.” —Bill McKibben, author of The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon, New Yorker's Best Books of ’22; editor of American Earth; and Gandhi Peace Prize awardee “For those who think that urban and town planning is little more than a formulaic, bureaucratic and regulatory set of government actions, think again! Mark Tigan has written a thoughtful, joyful and highly humanistic story of his planning activities as he crossed the nation endeavoring to improve our communities. A wonderful read.” —John R. Mullin, Ph.D., FAICP, Professor Emeritus of Urban Planning, University of Massachusetts Amherst

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Mark Tigan (BA in Environmental Studies, a MA in Public Administration, Ph.D. Regional Planning) has a long career in city planning and community development, his public-spirited approach to the field having served communities across the US and even internationally. His resume includes the Oklahoma City bombing recovery, the NBA Hall of Fame, and a career’s worth of other notable projects. Later on, he turned to university teaching at one of the country’s oldest graduate schools, where his storytelling and willingness to challenge convention made him popular among his graduate students. In addition to Making a Mark, which he wrote with the encouragement of his wife and grad students, Mark has written training manuals and guidebooks in housing and urban development. He is also a wizard at grant writing and securing investments, widely recognized (e.g., Economist Magazine) for his skill in the art of winning competitive funding for stressed neighborhoods and communities in advancement of the public purpose. Outside of writing, Mark enjoys fly fishing, canoeing, storytelling, and volunteer work in economic development. He is retired and lives with his wife in hills of Winchester, NH.

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Contributors

Author

Mark Tigan

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FriesenPress Editions

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