Image via Cubosh/Flickr
Do you love your neighborhood? Or do you dream about moving away?
When I was younger, my neighborhood was my life. My family didn't have much money, so it wasn't a white-pickett-fence, manicured-lawn type of neighborhood, but to me, it was home. I knew every tree and crack in the pavement. The other kids who lived there were my built-in community, and we spent every possible minute playing outside together.
Fast forward 20 years, and I can't tell you the last time I had a conversation with a neighbor. In fact, I don't know a single one of them by their first name.
I use my busy life as an excuse, but the truth is, we're just not as invested in our neighborhoods as we used to be. We may complain about things like potholes, vacant lots, and a lack of bike lanes, but do we take action? Rarely. Often, we wait for the local government to solve these problems for us, and when they don't, we complain some more. All the while, we're drifting farther away from those neighborly connections that used to be so important.
Neighborland, a New Orleans-based start up focused on citizen participation and city planning, hopes that its unique twist on social networking will help bring people back together.
By signing up for an Neighborland account, people can share ideas and insights for their city, support ideas suggested by their neighbors, and connect with people who share similar interests. It all starts by answering a simple question: "I want ____ in my neighborhood."
Once an idea has gathered some steam, the Neighborland community identifies achievable goals and fuels a discussion about how to accomplish them. "We are providing residents, neighborhood organizations, economic development groups, and municipalities with a powerfully simple platform to connect and make good things happen," writes the team. "A healthy neighborhood is a connected neighborhood."
Since Neighborland was born in New Orleans, it got to test its concept in the parishes of the Big Easy. Community groups already working on important neighborhood improvement projects found it a useful tool for collecting support and making public leaders aware of the community's desires. In the last few months, Neighborland has helped New Orleans citizens demonstrate broad public support for Open Data, extending the streetcar, and the reform of Food Truck laws.
Neighborland also has huge potential for opening lines of communication between city planners and the people who actually live in the neighborhoods they're working on. Instead leaving each party to wonder what the other is thinking, Neighborland provides an easy to use online platform that encourages citizen participation and an open exchange of ideas.
"We want to bring more people into the development process, help them understand it, and work with community and municipal leaders to make better places," said co-founders Dan Parham, Tee Parham, and Candy Chang. "Our job is to connect residents with the resources they need to make their ideas happen."
The young company is currently active in Boulder, Houston, and New Orleans, with plans to roll out more cities across the U.S. this year. Currently, the company is funded by an Urban Innovation Challenge from Tulane University and the Rockefeller Foundation, but they are actively seeking community partners, from passionate nonprofit and economic development groups to redevelopment projects, or city governments. Those interested in bringing Neighborland to their city should contact the company directly.
You can also catch up with Neighborland on Facebook and Twitter.
Comments
Beth Buczynski wrote on 04.25.12, 3:34pm:
No problem Alan...thanks for creating a cool way for people to collaborate and make change! Can't wait until it rolls out in Denver :)
Salvator wrote on 04.26.12, 5:53pm:
People in New Orleans ARE neighbors! New Orleanians do not need to be preached to about how to communicate. We're not suburban Ohio. We are an engaged and involved citizenry. Neighbors worked on the streetcar with the city government and other agencies for years; Neighborland jumped in at the tailend and are boasting they brought it to our councilwoman. This is slick opportunistic stuff, well designed and with lots of press.
Alan Williams wrote on 04.26.12, 7:19pm:
Hi Salvator--
New Orleanians definitely are neighbors already! The exceptional level of civic engagement in our city is the primary inspiration for the platform, and the reason Neighborland came from New Orleans and not someplace else :)
At Neighborland we know that others have been working on issues people care about for years--our primary job on the website is to connect residents with the community groups, advocates and leaders that can best channel their energy and answer their questions.
Check out a couple of threads to see what I mean:
about Glass Recycling:
https://neighborland.com/ideas/nola-the-ability-to-recycle-gl
about a Computer Science Department at Tulane:
https://neighborland.com/ideas/nola-a-computer-science-depart
With regards to the streetcar issue, Neighborand didn't bring the Councilwoman into it---it's one of the issues she and her constituents care most about! Rather, we helped a community leader---Transport for NOLA in this case--raise awareness that civic engagement during mid-March could tangibly improve our chances at receiving federal funds.
Feel free to e-mail me if you have any thoughts about how we can help neighbors engage with each other and civic leaders more effectively! alan@neighborland.com
Salvator wrote on 04.27.12, 6:02pm:
Hi Alan,
Regarding this quote from the grist article dated April 3, 2012:
"Transport for NOLA is also supporting RTA’s efforts to apply for federal funding to extend a new streetcar line — the most popular idea on the Neighborland site, Williams says. And the enthusiasm for this improvement, shown on Neighborland, got the attention and support of the city councilmember who represents the affected neighborhoods, so she can now add her leverage to the campaign."
From an outside perspective, it reads thus:
The extension of the streetcar was the most popular idea on Neighborland. This generated the attention of the councilmember. Now, she can add her leverage to Neighborland's efforts.
If the above is not the intended message, perhaps you can contact grist to redress it. It really comes off as Neighborland assuming responsiblity for the streetcar project.
Social marketing is great, especially when used in service to the community. What causes pause and wary is seeing marketing endeavors being pushed as community service.
The Open Source article of August 11, 2011 notes: "We also hope to be able to sell marketing insights about neighborhoods."
I'd certainly like to know more about that. And I bet so would the neighborhood.
Alan Williams wrote on 04.29.12, 4:08pm:
We're not selling any data. We've explored different business models as part of our fellowship in the Tulane Urban Innovation Challenge. One model we've explored would make insights from residents available to customers that range from neighborhood associations, to property owners, to public officials. We are continuing to work to develop a model that creates real value for the community and can win the trust of residents.
We've been writing about this experience on the Neighborland Handbook. Reading the Handbook, you can see our thought process in action.
Salvator wrote on 04.29.12, 5:57pm:
Hi Alan,
Thanks for your response. It still isn't clear to me Neighborland/Civic Center can
"make insights from residents available to customers"
that doesn't entail selling.
Compare this (also from the open source article):
"Our business model is different–we’re not charging cities to use the platform"
to your response on this shareable page:
"One model we've explored would make insights from residents available to customers that range from neighborhood associations, to property owners, to public officials."
Please explain how customers can gain access to these insights (data) if it is not for sale.
The tech pages are recognizing CC/N as a growing "company" worth watching. The progressive news pages are touting the "community" aspects. Can you all reconcile these two perceptions and integrate it fully to be reflected in the Handbook that is presented to the public? That would be great!
Alan Williams wrote on 04.29.12, 6:15pm:
You can see all the ideas residents have about their neighborhoods publicly on Neighborland. Over the course of the year, we've let a number of organizations test the tool to collect feedback about specific places. We've chronicled each collaboration on the Handbook. As we continue to learn from our work, we'll document it there.
You can find a list of those "Places" here:
https://neighborland.com/cities/nola/places
Salvator wrote on 04.29.12, 9:13pm:
Thanks for your response Alan. I'm not sure what it communicates to me, but as your neighbor, and since five people on your page are unaware of it, I feel I should convey that there are three Chinese restaurants that deliver to the neighborhood. One of them is in the neighborhood. There is also a restaurant that serves Indian food. And there are two places on St. Claude for free air for the ten people who would like it. Walking around and talking to your neighbors helps make sense of new places. That's a good thing to keep in mind prior to fixing or changing things that already exist.
Speaking of, not sure if you were already a board member at the time you recommended that a concerned citizen should get in touch with St. Claude Main Street to voice their concern about crime and safety. Here is the link on the City of New Orleans' webpage that gives information for the 5th District's Community Meetings where that citizen can speak up without a marketing intermediary.
http://www.nola.gov/GOVERNMENT/NOPD/Police-Districts/5th-District/
All of the above are freebies. pass it on.
Neighborland is the next generation of civic engagement. So stoked to see this come out of New Orleans. Props to the Parhams!
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