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Future of Neighborhood Associations--Bigger or Smaller?
There has been some discussion recently about enlarging the area of my neighborhood association. As of the moment, it encompasses the area between Amory, Boylston, Green, and Washington Streets. My opinion is that the BNA should become smaller, and break up into at least two neighborhood associations, and perhaps as many as four.
The reason for my line of thought is that I think the neighborhood association should follow the crimewatch model of encompassing a small area. The concept behind the crimewatch group is that you're getting together with a small enough group of people that you can all get to know one another. It helps to be geographically compact so you can easily distribute information and call one another if you see something going on. It makes meeting planning simpler too, since you're more likely to be able to find a central meeting area that isn't too far out of the way.
Although many people are moving their discussions online to places like Facebook and various Intranet sites, I think we're still a ways away from being able to carry on a conversation online and reach a decision. Just imagine if you had fifty people having a conversation online--how many emails would it take to make a proposal, have a discussion, and come to an agreement? If you have any ideas on how to handle this, I'm all ears.
Those of you out there who belong to other neighborhood associations--what do you do? Do you have big meetings? Small meetings? In-person meetings? Online meetings? How often do you meet? Does your neighborhood association encompass a large area? How do you keep everyone informed?
Thanks for listening--I hope to hear back from some of you in the near future.
--Diane(:^]
The reason for my line of thought is that I think the neighborhood association should follow the crimewatch model of encompassing a small area. The concept behind the crimewatch group is that you're getting together with a small enough group of people that you can all get to know one another. It helps to be geographically compact so you can easily distribute information and call one another if you see something going on. It makes meeting planning simpler too, since you're more likely to be able to find a central meeting area that isn't too far out of the way.
Although many people are moving their discussions online to places like Facebook and various Intranet sites, I think we're still a ways away from being able to carry on a conversation online and reach a decision. Just imagine if you had fifty people having a conversation online--how many emails would it take to make a proposal, have a discussion, and come to an agreement? If you have any ideas on how to handle this, I'm all ears.
Those of you out there who belong to other neighborhood associations--what do you do? Do you have big meetings? Small meetings? In-person meetings? Online meetings? How often do you meet? Does your neighborhood association encompass a large area? How do you keep everyone informed?
Thanks for listening--I hope to hear back from some of you in the near future.
--Diane(:^]
Comment
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Comment by Diane Simpson on November 22, 2009 at 12:49pm
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Hey Joe--thanks for those tips! I will share them with the group this afternoon. I also went back and re-read my blog and I noticed that the headline didn't really agree that well with the content so I re-did it. This is my first blog so I'm still trying to get the hang of it. I also joined the "Block Captains" group so I can get more news. See ya round the 'hood!
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Comment by Joseph Porcelli (Chief Neighbor) on November 22, 2009 at 10:53am
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Diane,
My apologies. I did not read the entire post (I'm embarrassed). This definitely works - and the length too.
You bring up some good points here. My thoughts:
- I'd suggest using our Neighborhood Zone Groups to communicate with neighbors in your area. We've modeled the groups around what is "known" to be part of the neighborhood associations. The immediate benefit would reaching new people who aren't already involved. This platform currently offer any decision facilitation functionality.
- While online tools help facilitate communication and accountability, it's CRITICAL to meet in person. It's important to keep the process "accessible."
- In terms of size, and area, from what I saw when I worked for BPD as a crimewatch organizer, the size of the Neighborhood Associations in JP including Brookside models others from across the city. There is power in numbers. I think the key to engagement is creating lots of roles for many people to play like street captains. For the sake of bringing people together, pot lucks, yard sales, and block parties seem the be the best mechanisms I've seen.
Joseph
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Hi Joe! Good to hear from you!
Actually, this blog post is addressed to all the other neighborhood associations in Jamaica Plain. I'm trying to find out what works and what doesn't work for them. I apologize for not making that clear. I will do shorter blog posts in the future.
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Hey Diane,
I know this is not clear, and we need to do a much better job at it, but blog are best used to share information that pertains to all of Jamaica Plain. A better place for your post would be in the Brookside Group.
Joseph
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