2 posts tagged “neighborhood”

two parades today.

first was the town parade.  lots of police, fire, sherriff's equipment, a few horses, loud sirens (which hurt Saul's ears).  Then a whole raft of politicians with their campaign signs.  All throughout candy was plentiful, hurled to both sides.

There was a big contingent of co-op nurseries marching and the local parents of multiples group - kids everywhere in strollers, on scooters, on bikes, riding in wagons and walking.

Next came a series of old cars - an old fashioned ice cream truck (handing out ice cream!), a few Model T's burning oil, and a motorized calliope.  After that a troupe on old-fashioned bicycles, penny-farthings and some more modern ones.  One kid was on a small penny-farthing which was neat.

No marching brass bands, though there was a small fife and drum corps that went past.

the second parade was the neighborhood unofficial parade.  I understand that there used to be three or four parades down streets, but when the city required insurance for parade permits back in the late 70s most of them went away.  This one didn't have a permit - the streets weren't blocked off, except by parents going ahead and a lead vehicle showing the way.

There were dozens - tons - of kids on bicycles, scooters, and riding in wagons and strollers.  The bikes were almost all decorated with flags and bunting.  The parade went around the neighborhood park and then ended up at the park with watermelon for everyone.

Saul and I did the 2d parade, though half way through we decided to skip out and just ride our bikes in the school parking lot.

Fun day!

There's a whole range of books and thinking about virtual communities, focusing on how you construct a system online to build community, strengthen ties between people, welcome newcomers and recognize leaders, etc. I've most recently been reading Amy Jo Kim's book on the topic, but there's a lot of others, and you can't help but seeing the word "community" in any book about online conversation software.

In some parallel universe, there are books and thinking and writing about neighborhoods, new urbanism, the power of being local, and other ways to connect up with people who are within a few hundred feet or a few miles of you. I have Superbia! (on "new suburbanism") on hold at the library now, for instance, which talks about tearing down fences in your neighborhood and holding potlucks.

In personal experience there is a lot more of a tie between these two topics than has been satisfactorily explored, and I'm casting about for someone who has done a good job. A lot of the older online community books never even acknowledge that people might see each other in person, let alone organize their days and years around periodic meetings. The local community stuff generally doesn't get much farther than suggesting a mailing list and doesn't tend to incorporate much in the way of nuance in mixed online/offline community.

Suggestions? I know there should be case studies somewhere, where someone has treated the online and the offline existence of a group as two parts of a connected whole.