Category Archives: Community Building
North End Armory sparks Access Debate
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…
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!
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
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.
Pig and Rat on Front Porches
My father just sent this to me from Sunday’s paper…
Forums Reach Tipping Point
I just finished reading Malcolm Gladwell’s Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. This is a national bestseller that’s been in circulation since 2000. From the back cover: “The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire,” like an epidemic.
I can draw many parallels to what we’re seeing with the growth of Front Porch Forum’s membership. It’s fascinating to watch as neighborhoods “tip,” one after another. A few dozen have passed the threshold already… now they have enough members and enough message traffic to sustain their neighborhood-wide conversation.
I also just read The Accidental Influentials in the latest Harvard Business Review about the work of Peter Dodds and Duncan J. Watts. They offer a different view of the mechanics of a social epidemic:
… Gladwell argues that “social epidemics” are driven in large part by the actions of a tiny minority of special individuals, often called influentials, who are unusually informed, persuasive, or well connected. The idea is intuitively compelling—we think we see it happening all the time—but it doesn’t explain how ideas actually spread.
The supposed importance of influentials derives from a plausible-sounding but largely untested theory called the “two-step flow of communication”: Information flows from the media to the influentials and from them to everyone else…
In recent work, however, [we] have found that influentials have far less impact on social epidemics than is generally supposed. In fact, they don’t seem to be required at all.
… marketing dollars might better be directed toward helping large numbers of ordinary people—possibly with Web-based social networking tools—to reach and influence others just like them.
I’m not sure which social theory best explains what we’re witnessing with the spread of Front Porch Forum. It’s not unlike a dry forest… lighting strikes one neighborhood and its forum bursts into a flame of activity. Other neighborhoods (parts of the forest) smolder for weeks or months before igniting a slow burn. Hmm… I’ll have to work on that comparison.
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
Post Categories
- Uncategorized
- PDF2009
- Calendar
- Northeast Kingdom
- podcast
- Peer Rental
- Localization
- Big Tech
- Events
- PDF2007
- Web Traffic
- Google AdSense
- Pay It Forward
- Elections
- berkmansunlight
- Maps
- Video
- Upstate New York
- Coupons
- Wildlife
- Mobile
- Viral Marketing
- Raffle
- Donations
- Crisis Response
- Lost & Found
- Real Estate
- College Students
- Gratitude
- Social Responsibility
- Orton Family Foundation
- Start ups
- Make It Your Own Awards
- Online Civility
- Clay Shirky
- Newspapers
- Humor
- How To Use FPF
- Online Classified Ads
- Peer Reviews
- Politics
- Best of FPF
- Community Management
- Economic Development
- Local Reviews
- Case Foundation
- Borrow and Lend
- Neighborhood Watch
- Good Government
- Small Business Advertising
- Citizen Journalism
- e-Vermont
- Democracy
- Local Search
- Knight Foundation
- Burlington
- MacArthur Fellows
- Civic Engagement
- Social Media
- social capital
- Social Networking
- Vermont
- Neighborhood
- Community Building
- Local Online
- Front Porch Forum