Monthly Archives: July 2014
Sorting into tribes vs. connecting with a variety of neighbors
From Lisa Prevost’s recent article in the New York Times about using data and web services to find the “perfect” suburb…
… the Spektors were overwhelmed by the prospect of trying to distinguish among the hundreds of commuter towns surrounding New York. So they turned to Suburban Jungle Realty Group, a personal relocation firm that works one-on-one with city dwellers looking to move to the “right” suburb…
Though novel in its business model, Suburban Jungle is part of a controversial industry trend that caters to home buyers who have both the desire and the ability to cherry-pick their surroundings. Other real estate websites are supplying home buyers with loads of hyper-specific community data, including racial makeup, percent of married households and education level…
Want to find a “family-friendly” community within 20 miles of Boston with a high Asian population, a low poverty rate and a median home value of $400,000? On NeighborhoodScout.com, you can plug in these preferences (and many more) on the subscription-only “Advanced Search” page and get a ranked list of options…
This trend raises some thorny questions. The growing accessibility of highly detailed demographic data plays into the natural tendency of home buyers to look for “people like us,” which is as old as the subdivided hills…
Bill Bishop, a Texas journalist and the author of “The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America Is Tearing Us Apart“ (Houghton Mifflin, 2008), argues that this tribalism is a major driver of the country’s deepening political polarization. Over the last 30 years, he says, greater mobility, laws enforcing racial equity and prosperity have given Americans even more choice about where to live. Will Internet-enhanced abilities to scout out communities intensify that sorting effect?
Front Porch Forum works in a different direction. People use FPF to connect with their existing neighbors, despite their differences. A 2013 survey found that 60% of recent FPF posters had met multiple neighbors due to their local Front Porch Forum. This isn’t an accident. We created FPF to counter the problems outlined in “The Big Sort” and Robert Putnam’s “Bowling Alone.” More from the Times article…
… the growing accessibility of so much demographic data has the potential to fuel the segregation that is already increasing along a number of lines economically, racially, ideologically. Mr. Bishop, the author of “The Big Sort,” argues that as other forms of community have gone away or weakened, Americans are increasingly reordering themselves around shared values and areas of interest. “Given a choice,” he said, “people choose to segregate themselves into these places where they can surround themselves with people like themselves.”
This self-segregating boosts people’s sense of well-being by satisfying the need to belong, says Mr. Motyl, who studies ideological migration. But the resulting decrease in contact with anyone who thinks differently serves to heighten partisanship. “It allows us to become more extreme in our own ideas,” Mr. Motyl said, “and is one explanation for why our system has become so gridlocked.”
Lost cell phone found in Peacham
Patrice just shared this on her FPF…
Within fifteen minutes of posting the missing cell phone on the Danville Peacham Front Porch Forum a call came in from a new neighbor we’d yet to meet who found it. Thanks to this new neighbor and to another neighbor who suggested we put it out on the FPF. What a great resource.
Community policing history in Hinesburg
The good people of Hinesburg are grappling with the question of continuing their community police program. It’s an active topic on their Front Porch Forum. Many people were moved by the posting below that appeared yesterday…
Reading Rob’s comments about Hinesburg’s community police history has moved me to share an experience I had in 2004 that truly describes what community police service means to me. I was caring for my very ill Mother at home following recent surgery. I came downstairs early one morning to check on her and her dogs and found that she had died during the night. In a state of shock I immediately called 911. The first responder was a Hinesburg police officer (I regret that I can’t remember his name). He was at my house immediately and went to my Mother’s side. The paramedics came next, and then a coroner. But it was that police officer who really made the difference for me that day. He sat with me, helped me find a funeral home, and made the arrangements to have them come for my Mother. After my Mother was taken away, all of the others left, but not this police officer. He wouldn’t leave until I could get a friend to come by. That is what I call community police service, and I am grateful every day for what that Hinesburg police officer did for me.
I also want to commend the community-oriented services provided by Chief Morrell and extend my best wishes to him as he moves to a new location. When one of Chief Morrell’s service dogs died I sent him a card with a donation to help support future police service dogs in our community. Soon after I got a personal telephone call from Chief Morrell, telling me how much he appreciated my recognition of these very special dogs.
As far as I am concerned a strong community ethic is vital to any town, and it has been demonstrated many ways in Hinesburg. Thanks to all our local businesses for friendly service and making it possible to get much of what we need without going far from home. And, for heavens sake, look what Front Porch Forum is able to do to hold a community together. As an example, I can’t believe how many lost pets have been found just because community members care for each other and stay in touch. I feel lucky to be part of this community.
It takes a village to shepherd your lambs
Posted by Kevin on the Middlesex Front Porch Forum today (following his previous FPF posting requesting help)…
My lambs are baaaaaaack on their home field.
I want to thank the community for their help with the search & return mission… Following 16 hours of adventure seeking through fields, yards & grassy logging roads, the lambs were returned to their shady paddock.
I am deeply grateful to everyone who helped. So, in random order, (& apologies to those I am inadvertently forgetting to list) THANK YOU!!! to Jim, Caleb, Steve, Peter, Mike, Brittany, Mom, Todd, Karla, Lizzie, Erika, Roan, John, Jos and Amy. And Thank You to everyone who left helpful messages. I also want to say a special thanks to Jim, Caleb and Peter who were instrumental corralling the lambs into my truck.
I am blessed to have so many neighbors who generously gave time, effort and shepherding skills on a beautiful & sunny Sunday. I could not have done it without you.
Middlebury Five-0 tackles FPF
Thanks to the crew at Middlebury Five-0 for inviting us in to talk about Front Porch Forum…
Michael Wood-Lewis, founder of Front Porch Forum, provides a compelling account of the evolution of the platform, from its humble origins in Burlington, to a statewide organization, currently accessed by a staggering proportion of the population. Michael discusses the various ways in which the Forum is used – selling goods, organizing events, running political campaigns – highlighting how it’s strengthening our neighborhoods by drawing people together, providing information and giving people a voice in their communities.
How many towns in VT? How many have access to Front Porch Forum?
Q: How many towns in Vermont?
A: 251 by most counts.
Q: How many Vermont towns have access to Front Porch Forum now?
A: All 251! Every community in the state now has its own local FPF. More than 80,000 households (out of the 260,000 total that exist in Vermont) participate, with thousands more joining every month.
John just posted on his FPF…
I’m new to this forum. Hope we can get everyone on West Road in Chittenden to sign up. We drive by each other rushing back and forth to work. This forum could be a beginning conversation for us to keep in touch… I would like to see sharing of garden crops, arranging get togethers, etc. Anyone out there from West Road?
Sign up today at http://FrontPorchForum.com
Recruit other Vermonters to check it out. Here is a collection of tips and tools to help bring more neighbors on board to your FPF.
Remarkable demonstration of open-mindedness in Hinesburg
Paul posted on the Hinesburg Front Porch Forum the other day that opinions should be kept out of FPF postings, asking neighbors to “keep things kind and helpful.”
A neighbor Frank replied…
There are few forums for expressing opinions, besides at coffee shops, hair salons/barber shops and… on our front porches. I say, keep ’em coming [on our Front Porch Forum]. It’s part of what makes us a community. Indeed, as I am writing this on the 4th of July, I dare say the freedom to express ourselves is uniquely American.
Followed by another perspective from Craig…
I cannot disagree enough that we should not express our opinions or share news & information that affects us as community members on Front Porch Forum. The word “forum” itself expresses the goal of open discussion on matters that affect us on a broad level. It’s disappointing to see people suggesting that one of the only forum left to us to discuss community issues be limited to the innocuous and unimportant.
It sure would be sad if we had to rely only on government official announcements and the so-called “news” for information impacting us as citizens. Most of the important issues don’t get aired through those one-sided and for-profit venues. Democracy and freedom need a channel unfettered by government and corporate interests, like Front Porch Forum.
I find some of the most cogent and important information tome as a Hinesburgian on this site…
In days of yore, it was the public space — the Common or the Green — that was the place we gathered and expressed (and heard) uncomfortable opinions. In Providence, you can still see the speaker’s pulpit (the soapbox). In Boston, 200 acres were set aside for the purpose. And, yes, some of those viewpoints are potentialy offfensive to some, even repugnant. In the vaccuum of true journalism in mass media today, we need an electronic version of the public forum, and I am thankful a channel like Front Porch Forum exists to provide it.
I give money regularly to FPF to keep alive a public forum. I would not provide financial support to a non-forum where no ideas or opinions are shared.
Like all other media… if you don’t like it, don’t consume it. If you don’t like what the guy on the soapbox is saying, take another path, or block your ears. Hide your kids’ eyes. But don’t inhibit his freedom.
Then Jane posted…
I agree with [Craig] about Front Porch Forum being a valuable venue to express our opinions and ideas and I thank him for taking the time to express his feelings.
And it ended with a remarkable follow-up posting by Paul… a rare act of open-mindedness in this era of partisanship….
Sigh, still growing and learning. As I read posts and REALLY thought about it, I realized this IS a forum for ideas and opinions. Thanks for making me think again. It just caught me on a day when I was really tired, had read too many negative things in different forums, and I let those feelings spill out before thoroughly considering. Unfortunately, I wrote before fully thinking it through and realize that is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping others would not do. Hmmm, still growing and learning. Thanks, everyone.
About Blog
Ghost of Midnight is an online journal about fostering community within neighborhoods, with a special focus on Front Porch Forum (FPF). My wife, Valerie, and I founded FPF in 2006... read more
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