During the past two years, while our daughter's been working in Boston,
we've enjoyed several visits to her neighbourhood, Jamaica Plain. JP is
diverse, filled with interesting small businesses and friendly. 

Walking around I'd notice announcements for a range of social, sport,
educational and political activities. Recently, I came across Neighbors for
Neighbors, JP http://www.neighborsforneighbors.org/. Their blog encourages
social groups for dining, dating and walking in groups around the fabulous
Jamaica Pond. Community projects with their own mini-blog presence include
park, police, and politics common to urban neighbourhoods anywhere. They
also encourage small scale organizing. The Left Right Front Back is an
elegantly simple initiative encouraging everyone to introduce themselves by
knocking on the doors around them. 

With growing connectivity and online usage, community web sites such as this
one are able to link together those with common interests with new
effectiveness. The long tail phenomenon describes new economic power coming
from the internet's ability to link together a customer group. A similar
dynamic may apply to building community capacity. 

Community building and neighbourhood action require a certain number of
participants, leaders, and supporters. On a hot issue, this happens easily.
Finding the other 5 people interested in promoting wireless access or weed
wacking can take many posters, handouts and meetings. 

Using the categories and links management features of blogs, Jamaica Plain
shows how neighbourhoods can add online community to assist with uncovering
local resources, interests and capacities.

_______________________________________
A. Simon Mielniczuk - Solutions Architect
ITS Co-operative Inc.
416.828.2118 / www.itscooperative.com
ITS blog:
http://www.itscooperative.com/community/blogs/its_weblog/default.aspx
Personal:
http://www.itscooperative.com/community/blogs/asm/default.aspx
 
 

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