(“It’s your neighborhood so you can decide”)

1) I got invitited to a residents meeting in the Dapperbuurt
I live very near a street market where we’re being asked to come and crowd-judge some idea proposals for improving the neighborhood. They have 180,000 euro budget to spend on making the ideas real. The text on the flyer says, “…the amazing thing is that residents decide where the money will be allocated. You will view some presentations. Grab the opportunity! At the neighborhood meeting you’ll get more information and you can also suggest your own initiatives…”

2) I received a bit of a formal letter from the city about a new initiative, and later i got another letter with an invitation code to join www.buurtleven.nl, a social network and news channel for Amsterdam intended to improve social cohesion. “Buurtleven.nl (neighborhood life) keeps you up to date on everything that’s happening in your neighborhood. You can find neighborhood news, a calendar and a 2nd hand marketplace and a notice-board with calls to neighbors”. The project owners, a group of large property developers say that buurtleven is a non-profit. I spent some time looking through and it’s simplicity actually makes it pretty useful. On that journey i found a relatively near enough neighbor who wanted her dog walked on Sundays, people offering cleaning services and a few local new announcements. Looking forward to seeing how this develops. I personally like the promise of things local, but due to the nature of networks, i’m not sure which one of them will serve me best in offering me the best(most insightful/beautiful/powerful instrumentation to manage my hyper-local affairs. I wouldn’t mind a crack at designing an even more local service that starts from inside your apartment so i guess something hyper-local.