Local community

[marsden_online]

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/3701075/Online-list-puts-street-in-touch

Neighbourly goodwill is being kept alive in the Christchurch suburbs by special online communities.

Residents of Condell Ave in Papanui have come together online to share excess vegetables, borrow ladders, find babysitters and even stop parties from getting out of control.

The online street list, thought to be one of the first in New Zealand, was set up by market researcher John Veitch as a way to revive community spirit.

What I find most interesting is how
- easy long-distance communication broke up up the idea of ' neighbourhood' as distance ceased to be a barrier to people keeping in touch with their tribes,
- and now the technologies have reached their global maximum and come full circle, helping people build communities around their immediate area

Comments

[niennahirilfea.livejournal.com]

This is very cool. It sometimes occurs to me that I don't know the names of most of my neighbours, and I only talk to them if I see them on the way to the letterbox. This is despite the fact we live in such a tightly packed group of flats.

[tatianitska.livejournal.com]

Some of that is self defence.

There have been studies about human behaviour and how living in close proximity to too many people changes the way we act.

In small communities, it's possible to know everyone, and everyone has enough personal space, so there is no need to block anyone out, and you feel more able to talk to and defend your neighbours.

When you're packed in tight, in order to give yourself the illusion of space and privacy, you just block out most people. They become a kind of back ground noise that you just don't see or hear properly anymore.