Community Development
Goal Team
| What are the assets, barriers and recommendations to civic networking via voice/video/data? | |
| What are the assets, barriers, and recommendations to telecommuting? | |
| What are the best uses of public rights of way? | |
Civic Networking guides | papers | plans | general
Community Networks: An On-line Guide to Resources - This Web site is a compilation of references, links, and publicationsrelated to a variety of networked information infrastructures, (e.g.,Community Networks, Free-nets, Civic Networks, and so forth).
The Marino Institute - The Morino Institute is dedicated to opening the doors of opportunity -economic, civic, health, and education - and empowering people to improvetheir lives and communities in the Communications Age.
Free-Nets and Community Nets - A directory of national and international Free-nets, Community Nets andFree-Net related conferences.
Welcome to the Civic and Community Networking. Our essays provide a varietyof perspectives on the development of electronic networking as a tool forcommunity problem solving, economic development, democratic dialogue andcivic revitalization.
Communities On-Line: A Study of Community-Based Computer Networksby Anne Beamish - Submitted to the Department of Urban Studies and Planning in PartialFulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master in City Planningat the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, February 1995
Community networking is an idea that has caught the global imagination.Communities worldwide are creating telecottages, televillages, teleservicecenters, community technology skills centers and more. In the US alone,there are more than 150 community networks and nearly 3000 community websites.
A Survey of Community Computing Centers - In December 1995 through February 1996, CompuMentor undertook a nationwidesurvey of Community Computing Centers (CCCs), in order to determineunderlying principles, operational strategies, and best practices. Thesurvey was conducted for two primary reasons: To gain familiarity withexisting centers, their aims, and their methodologies; and To developpractical lessons from the experience of these centers as regards programissues, challenges faced, and indicators of success.
Across the nation, community by community, local CNs are being invented.They aim to provide information and communication vehicles for theircommunities. Collectively CNs provide a widely differing array of servicesfor the communities in which they have been developed. First-generationcommunity networks, including the well-known Free-Nets, were text based.The first use that pioneering Free-Nets made of librarieswas to provide access to public library Online Public Access Catalogs(OPACs)--an act which reinforced the thinking among many that OPACs wereall that libraries had to offer to CNs. While many first generation CNs arestill in operation, rapidly changing technology has resulted in thedevelopment of CNs which make use of the emerging information technologies.
This thesis examines a number of community computer networks in BritishColumbia, Canada, focusing on questions of human community. Particularattention is given to the nature and character of the place-basedcommunities that these networks are claimed to embody and promote, and theways in which the networks are said to build and enrich local community.
Contents: Introduction, Community network checklist for success, Checklistfor building an online community, Network planning tips, Sources of fundingand other support, Learning more about community networks.
Electronic community networks enable everyone with access to a computer andmodem to exchange information without waiting on the phone, without waitingfor the mail, and without spending time, gas, and energy driving around toreceive or distribute information.
Action Plans for Starting Community Networks - This area of Educational Partners provides links to Action Plans forStarting Community Networks
We are a network of more than 150 community technology centers, where peopleget access to computers and computer-related technology, such as theInternet. The sites are enormously diverse in program areas andparticipating populations. Some are stand alone centers; others operate asone part of a larger organization, such as a multiservice agency or museum,job training center, shelter, cable public access center, etc. All supportequitable access to computers.
The Center for Civic Networking conducts a major program in LocalInformation Infrastructure, focusing on telecommunications issues involvinglocal government.
CPB awarded grants to civic networking groups and other organizations thatdemonstrated the ability and interest in developing cutting-edge onlineservices and public outreach activities for their communities.
Sponsored by more than 60 industry, government and community leaders, theNational Information Infrastructure (NII) Awards recognizes and honorssuperior accomplishment in applications of the Internet and informationhighway. The Awards program seeks out, celebrates and showcases thoseprojects that show the world the power and potential of networked,interactive communications.
The national Telecommuting Advisory Council is a non-profit organizationdedicated to promoting the economic, social and environmental benefits oftelecommuting. Our members share information about the telecommutingprogram and policy design, development of the U.S. telecommuting sector,implementation of telecommuting programs and telecommuting research.
This site consolidates awide variety of telecommuting information fromaround the world, and from many different perspectives, on the subjects oftelecommuting, teleworking, the virtual office, and related topics.
The Bay Area Telecommuting Assistance Project is a model program primarilybecause of its creative partnership with the private sector. Now housed atthe Bay Area Council of Governments, and with limited funding and staff, theproject distributes information that allows businesses of all sizes toinitiate telecommuting programs. By assisting companies, the project'sefforts are intended to be exponential. In addition, project manager NatalieFay is accomplishing a lot with limited funds by using existing resourcesand networking.
The Oregon State Department of Energy has a program to help Oregonbusinesses get a head start on telecommuting. The program explains thebenefits of telecommuting for business and employees and providesincentives, loans and information on how to set up a corporate program.
The Smart Valley Telecommuting Guide - The Smart Valley Telecommuting Guide and the results to our pilot projectare available in a variety of formats and languages.
This service, administered by the GSA's Federal Telecommunications Service,Center of Emerging Technologies, contains various links to telecommutingresources.
Find out what others are doing.
Telecommute America! is the first nationwide public awareness, informationand education program focusing on the benefits of telecommuting andnon-traditional work environments including virtual office, work-at-home,satellite offices, and more!
he Telecommuting Association of Minnesota's purpose is to provideinformation, education, and networking opportunities to individuals andorganizations interested in telecommuting.
Share Resources: U.S.Department of Transportation - Government agencies at all levels are seeking to establish communicationsnetworks for intelligent transportation systems and other governmentalfunctions. It is in this context that there is increased incentive andopportunity for sharing the public resource of highway right-of-way inexchange for private telecommunications expertise and capacity to furtherboth public sector and private corporate objectives.
State To Begin Negotiations with Private Firm on Building Fiber OpticInfrastructure - The Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Minnesota Department ofAdministration today announced plans to begin negotiations with a privateconsortium, ICS/Stone & Webster, on installation of a statewide fiber opticcommunications network along Minnesota's freeway and highway system.
The following was taken from an article that appeared in Nation CitiesWeekly, an NLC publication on February 12, 1996. We are preparing this factsheet as the first step towards providing you with the needed information toproperly respond to the recently passed Federal Telecommunications Act of1996.
The Pew Partnership is a national initiative committed to communitybuilding, especially in the smaller cities of our nation. Resisting theallure of quick fixes and easy answers, the Partnership works withcommunities to: Create new ways for citizens to tackle tough communityissues--at-risk youth, job creation, family health, and neighborhoodrevitalization; Build trust between diverse sectors of the community toface immediate crises while engineering long-term solutions addressing theroot of a problem; Communicate innovative, emerging strategies to meet thechallenges of the 21st century to citizens and policymakers across America.
A resource and guidebook for community-based partnership groups addressingnatural resource, land use, or environmental issues.
Our mission is to facilitate and increase community involvement via theinternet. We seek to collaborate with and complement existing organizationsand build community resources to get more people involved.
Canada's Coalition for Public Information - Canada's Coalition for Public Information is a coalition of organizations,public interest groups and individuals whose mandate is to foster universalaccess to affordable, useable information and communication services andtechnology.
Learn - Teach - Lead Neighborhood Renaissance Training Institute - The Neighborhood Renaissance Training Institute is a multiple partnershipamong the Wichita Area Chamber of Commerce, the American Society forTraining and Development, the Junior League of Wichita, Inc., WichitaIndependent Neighborhoods, Inc., Project Freedom Family and YouthCoalition, and the citizens of Wichita-Sedgwick County.
The Urban University and Neighborhood Network - The Urban University and Neighborhood Network (UUNN) is a network ofuniversity-based researchers and neighborhood-based organizations in Akron,Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo, and Youngstown. The UUNN iscoordinated through the University of Toledo Urban Affairs Center and fundedby a $69,800 grant from the State of Ohio Urban University Program.
Participatory Initiatives - Participatory Initiatives is a not-for-profit organization based in Guelph,Ontario, Canada that is involved in a number of projects that aim atenhancing the ability of all people to participate in the decisions whichaffect their lives.