AHH GET OFF THE COUCH AND WALK NEXT DOOR.

I thnk there is something to be said for what this ‘fast paced lifestyle’ has done to what we knew as our neighborhood. Two income families(almost a requirement now), interests that carry us ‘up north’, etc etc. My wife and I moved into Jordan in 08. We ‘know’ our next door neighbor, but not well. Is this our fault? Some of it, yes. But by and large no one extended a hand or a word from the day we moved in. True, we spend 4 months a year outside the US. But it almost seems as though we as Americans are so leary of our neighbors that we insulate and isolate from anything ‘new’. Our society used to be a very inclusive thing. Those days I think are gone.

Please ‘organize’ our community.

Both ways are excellent ways to connect neighborhoods. An initial face-to-face greeting is certainly ideal, but after that, staying in touch via the internet is a much more reasonable way to quickly share information and resources.

We have a block club network in South Minneapolis that is WONDERFUL, which initially started through a neighborhood interest in National Night Out. The way it works: a person offers to be a block leader (which can actually cover more than one block) and is listed with the police department as the block contact person. That person compiles an email list of those in the neighborhood who want to be connected via the internet, and supplies them with the names, addresses and emails of their neighbors. Anyone on the list can do a “group send”, to let others know about things happening, share recommendations and free stuff they have. It has been a huge success, and built a strong community of people. “Nextdoor” is just another way to do that, if you don’t have a block club network in place.

Looks like edemocracy might be falling behind. Better revamp your site Steve Clift!

If you want to join one of 30+ online Neighbors Forum across the Twin Cities check out: BeNeighbors.org

There are lots of sites where people are creating -private- electronic block clubs using tools like Facebook Groups or even good old Yahoo Groups.

If you want to connect -openly- with a wider community (not just in a private gated network) there are many local options.

To get a sense of what almost 1,000 people in one Minneapolis neighborhood are doing, check out: http://e-democracy.org/se