Category Archives: Community Building

Social Capital: Good or Bad?

Posted on Monday, February 12, 2007 by • 2 comments

Thanks to Kevin Harris for writing about : Diverse Communities: The Problem with Social Capital, by Barbara Arneil, published last year. I look forward to reading this book. It seems that the author takes Putnam’s Bowling Alone to task around two points:

1. The “ideal” past of strong community outlined in Bowling Alone is another way of documenting the privilege of the established class/majority. That is, what about minorities?

2. Declining social capital may not be a bad thing.

I accept the first point as reasonable on its face, but the second is harder for me to swallow. Time to read the book, I guess!

Our experience with Front Porch Forum seems to show that many people long for greater connection with those around them and lament the decline of social capital in their lives. Many join one of our neighborhood forums seeking that connection. Our testimonials, media and stories pages are full of small examples.

Rule of Seven?

Posted on Monday, February 12, 2007 by • Comments are off for this post

It never ceases to amaze me how many times people who like the concept need to hear about Front Porch Forum before they actually sign up… probably seven repetitions on average. These are folks who are interested and eligible.

Another person just told me today that he had heard about it for 5-6 months, read about it in the paper, heard from a neighbor, etc… just hadn’t got around to it. A sign on a library bulletin board finally pushed him over the edge, and he went home and registered. Human nature? Herre’s a couple quotes… similar stories:

1. I have been meaning to join for months now… this forum seems to be such a great tool for neighborhood communication. I am anxious to find out about what I’ve been missing! -The Orchards Neighborhood Forum

2. I learned about this this forum some time ago from a flyer hand delivered to my home. After being reminded about this group by one of school commissioners at last Thursday’s NPA meeting, I decided to join. -ONE East Neighborhood Forum

I have friends in the marketing world who confirm that seven is a find of magic number for hammering messages into people. Well, if Front Porch Forum was spreading with conventional marketing then we’d just need to buy enough compelling exposure to reach our target audience’s saturation point… wear ’em down, baby.

But that’s not the path we’re on. We depending solely on word of mouth, and the occasional media coverage. So, a typical neighbor who is excited about this new community-building service will tell the people around him… once! Or, sometimes, not at all… “well, I don’t want to bother the neighbors… they probably saw the same blurb in the newspaper that I did.”

Well, even if they did see it, on average they’ll need to get the message another six times before they sign up! So, to all Front Porch Forum members wondering how to get more neighbors on board… “tell ’em once, tell ’em twice, tell ’em again and keep it nice.” Okay, so that’s my first and last attempt at writing a cheer.

Point is… don’t be shy about telling and reminding friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. to check it out.  Send them FrontPorchForum.com.

Using Neighborhood Forums to Broadcast

Posted on Monday, February 12, 2007 by • Comments are off for this post

Front Porch Forum gets a steady stream of requests from local nonprofit organizations, schools and the like asking that we post their announcements across all of the neighborhood forums that we host. Regardless of how important or compelling their work, we must decline. Simply, our members don’t join to get a flood of public service announcements in their inboxes.

However, if they get an occasional such message about a fundraiser for a local youth center or a note about Girl Scout cookies AND it comes from a neighbor, then that seems to be okay and even appreciated.

So, a growing number of local groups are learning how to work with Front Porch Forum. They send their message to their list of supporters, staff, directors, etc. and ask each of those people to post the announcement on their own neighborhood forum. In this way, the message reaches a good number of people AND it’s coming from a nearby neighbor so it gets a bit more attention.

I noticed a posting last week started popping up all across Chittenden County. An alternative school was spreading the word about their annual open house, and the parents were sending out the message, each to his/her neighborhood forum. Turns out, this was the second time they tried this method, as one of the parents noted:

Glad to hear that the school community is making good use of the forums — it is amazing how many more people knew just what I was talking about (as compared to the fall). Very exciting!

Another sign that Front Porch Forum is growing and that people are tuning in!

Small steps toward Neighborliness

Posted on Wednesday, February 7, 2007 by • Comments are off for this post

Kevin Harris writes this week:

I’m trying to write a paper about neighbourliness and have been thinking about the reciprocity of acts of neighbouring… research has found that… sometimes one neighbour helps out another without getting much in return, and keeps doing so.

However, the researchers only included… “favours” in their study, and it seems to me that other, intangible forms of interpersonal behaviour which are in some way supportive – for instance a sympathetic chat on the doorstep to provide comfort in the face of bad news, or the sharing of information about local services – are likely to be viewed by neighbours as valid contributions to the same exchange relationship.

Many years ago I recall rushing out of my house shouting when I saw from my window a neighbour’s toddler stepping into the road, as the mother was getting the shopping from her car. For this simple act I was rewarded almost immediately with a bottle of wine from the shopping bag. It was clear that I had to accept it, not least because there was probably a confused swelling wave of guilt as well as gratitude in her expression of thanks. But it was also, of course, a recognition of the non-obligatory, but potentially vital, role of neighbour.

This begins to get at what’s unfolding in some of the areas served by Front Porch Forum‘s more successful neighborhood forums. Some how the accumulation of lots of little items are creating an environment more welcoming of overt “good neighbor” acts, like baking a cake for a neighbor in need of boost. That’s an odd move if you’ve only interacted with the person once or twice, but is more reasonable if you’re both subscribed to the same small and lively neighborhood forum.

Need Feedback? Ask 100 Neighbors

Posted on Wednesday, February 7, 2007 by • Comments are off for this post

Online “communities of interest” have long afforded people the chance to poll their colleagues about an issue or idea. I’m guessing a good portion of this has been limited to professionals talking to their peers, and highly involved amateurs chatting amongst themselves in their circles.

So it’s interesting that this past week we’ve seen lots of John and Jane Q. Public posting notes in their neighborhood forums looking for feedback and/or action from their neighbors. Some samples from Front Porch Forum:

1. A physical therapist in the Prospect Parkway Neighborhood Forum asked her neighbors for feedback on their experiences with PT. She edits a state PT newsletter and hopes to use the input there.

2. A local bakery runs an annual fundraiser whereby customers vote for a single charity out of a dozen or so candidates. The winner gets to be “baker for the day” working in the shop and taking home the proceeds. Last year’s winner (King Street Youth Center, I think) earned $3,000 for its neighborhood programs. This week, people all over town are plugging their favorite nonprofit on their neighborhood forums and urging their neighbors to go vote.

3. A food critic for a local paper opened a channel to the 100 or so neighbors on her forum, asking for story leads. She’s not the first reporter to tune into her neighborhood forum for tips, although she may be the first one to formally ask.

4. Elisa Nelson worked with a city official to place a brief survey on several Burlington neighborhood forums, gauging people’s sense of allowable new-house size in established neighborhoods, leading into the city’s zoning re-write (i.e., should we allow someone to build a house that is 25% larger than its neighbors? 100% bigger?). More than 5% of people completed and returned the survey.

5.  A South End parent created an online petition about changing the start time at Burlington High School by ten minutes to better mesh with the public transit schedule.  She posted a note in her neighborhood forum a day or two ago, and now it’s been posted by other people across 5-10 forums in town, reaching thousands of people.

I wonder what someone will think of next?

Neighbors doing it for Themselves

Posted on Monday, February 5, 2007 by • Comments are off for this post

Eight Burlington residents showed up on a chilly day late last week to distribute Front Porch Forum flyers door-to-door throughout the Old North End and hill section north of Pearl St. in Burlington, Vermont.  A huge thanks to Rob, Dani, Craig, Erica, Devin, Melissa and Deb.  Most are AmeriCorps volunteers.  Deb lives in the area we covered and is a Realtor.

About 100 households in that area have subscribed in the few days since the flyering.  If past experience is any indicator, we can expect this outreach effort to continue to bear fruit for weeks and even months.  And thanks too to Vantage Press for cutting a deal on the flyers.

Treehouses Open to Any Kid

Posted on Sunday, February 4, 2007 by • Comments are off for this post

Here’s a video about the wonderful Forever Young Treehouses organization. They build amazing treehouses, and, the kicker… the structures are accessible to just about anyone, including kids, like my oldest son, who use wheelchairs. Our family is shown enjoying the treehouse in Oakledge Park… a 15 minute walk from our home in Burlington, Vermont… overlooking Lake Champlain… incredible. Thanks to Bill Allen and his crew for all they do to keep so many folks “forever young!”

[googlevideo]6589498574895899694&hl=en[/googlevideo]

We’ve held several low-key community events in this treehouse… every neighborhood should be so lucky.

North End Armory sparks Access Debate

Posted on Saturday, February 3, 2007 by • Comments are off for this post

The City of Burlington picked up the Gosse Ct armory cheap from the National Guard in 2005… but what to do with it? Local media has reported some of the discussion about what to do with the dilapidated building.

More ideas and debate have surfaced this week through Front Porch Forum. One member suggested a fitness center. A neighbor responded that we had plenty of opportunities for fitness. In defense of his original idea, Patrick Standen responded to his neighborhood forum:

With all due respect I think I am a pretty good judge as to what is accessible and not having spent 30 years in a wheelchair, served on federal, state and local access boards and functioned as an ADA consultant–that’s the Americans with Disabilities Act. Sadly, our YMCA does not provide “A fine fitness center… for all abilities” because it is completely wheelchair inaccessible. Having worked closely with the Y, accessibility is one of their top concerns, but their current building cannot accommodate visitors w/mobility impairments–it is an embarrassment to the Y. The only solution will be a new building.

As to the beaches and sidewalks, have you ever tried to access the lake from a wheelchair? Burlington lacks any wheelchair-friendly accommodation to the lake and the well-lit sidewalks may be lit but not very wheelchair friendly during the winter months.

I don’t mean to sermonize, but it is just this insensitive lack of awareness that keeps Vermonters with disabilities as second-class citizens without the same rights and opportunities as the larger population. While Burlington prides itself on being “progressive” and “liberal” it is in the dark ages concerning accessibility and disability rights.

Let’s keep the dialogue going…

Old timey Burlington, Vermont

As a father of a 1st grader who depends on his wheelchair to get around this city, I can only add… Amen Patrick.

Long-Lost Brothers Reunite thru Forum!

Posted on Saturday, February 3, 2007 by • Comments are off for this post

Well… a few days ago it was a lost cat in Hinesburg finding it’s owner through Front Porch Forum. This week it’s a heartwarming dogs’ tale, in the form of two letters from the canines themselves to each other through the Five Sisters Neighborhood Forum.

I saw you, you saw me, and we sniffed each other last weekend while our owners were cross-country skiing on the golf course. We didn’t have much time to play, but there was something strangely familiar about you. Did you notice that, too?

Your owner said your name was Cadbury and that you were born in Fletcher on February 3rd and going to be 4. My owner said I also was born in Fletcher on February 3rd but going to be 5. My owner later realized she was wrong and we figured out that we’re actually brothers.

Please have your owner contact mine so we can have a sniffy, tearful reunion.

Sincerely, Tucker B. Cockapoo (B stands for Black)

Dearest Tucker!!!!

Yes, indeed, it is I. Cadbury S Pickle. It was as we sniff-detected — but our humans too befuddled to realize — we are indeed twins, or perhaps some from amongst quintuplets, one of us (you) stolen by aliens shortly after birth!

I will make it up to you bigtime, I promise. Senior by reason of birth order and disposition, I will be the big brother you never knew you wanted!

If you phone, I will listen to your barky little voice on the answer machine and howl my regards.

If your human contacts mine no doubt we can look forward to a play date, or several. I have many wonderful children-friends here who would be pleased to make your acquaintance. And two (non-related probably) Cockapoos in my neighborhood, a black cutie pie named Puck (whom I insist on peeing on, for which my mom is too embarrassed to let me play with Pucky again) and a winsome apricot named Putney.

All this time and only a block or two away! You seem to have landed on your feet, materially speaking, with that winsome sweater-jacket even though the sun was shining, and four smashing orange booties! For myself, well, my keeper is nice enough, but has Literary Pretensions. So my household is eclectic, some would say Bohemian, but the neighbors watch out for me and what I lack in couture I make up for with an abundance of good bones.

Happy birthday sweet and long-lost brother.

Cadbury S Pickle (S stands for Schmutzy, Yiddish for dirty; as I said, my Keeper presents as literate, sigh, don’t ask).

Lost Pet Reunited and Community Benefits

Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 by • 1 comment
Meow

As C.G., a member of the Hinesburg Village Forum put it: “Another forum success story!!” First came:

Lost Cat? Issue No. 30 – Jan. 29
A very hungry orange & white cat is hanging around our house next to the old library. He/she seems healthy and well-cared-for, other than being cold and hungry. Is anyone missing a cat? I think he is sleeping in the big green barn next door.

Followed by this from S.S.:

Lost Cat Question Issue No. 31 – Jan. 30
Tuesday, January 30, 2007 – 7:12 am
Where is the old library? My next door neighbors have an orange and white cat they let out all the time…

And today’s conclusion by C.G.:

Another forum success story!! Issue No. 32 – Jan. 31
“Tiger,” the lost orange cat, was retrieved by his owner this morning!!! He had been missing for an entire month, poor thing.

BTW, the old library is now Clover Creek, an invitation and graphic design firm. It is located next to Grateful Dog Grooming, diagonally across from Lantmans.

So, not only was a pet quickly reunited with his family after C.G. took the initiative to post a note to her neighborhood forum, but S.S. learned a bit of local history about the old library… as did the other 60 households subscribed to this forum. Add this episode to many others about cars sold, school events announced, plumbers recommended, etc. and the net effect is… neighbors connecting and fostering community.

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

Search the Blog

Yearly Archives

Post Categories