This project is designed to serve as a tool to connect neighbours living on the same street and allow them to solve their street-specific issues by themselves.
View an example website serving as a hub of Functional Neighbourhoods in Meaford: beautifulmeaford.transitionmeaford.org Everyone who lives in Meaford municipality is welcome to register there.
Tools we are using to assist in connecting neighbours:
- Website can be build to serve as a hub for all town neighbourhoods or for a specific neighbourhood/street. See Beautiful Meaford example above.
- Communication channels between the neighbours. Works best if a “neighbourhood champion” is chosen to facilitate the communication:
- phone
- Keybase app (can be used on computer as well as smart phone). It is an encrypted tool. It is more reliable than social networks or free email accounts.
- a single physical mail box can be used for a neighbourhood to drop off and read news/messages
- For skills and items sharing use Street Bank: it is a tool that allows viewing what your immediate neighbours have for share and request what you need.
- Plan of Action:
- Determine the area of your Functional Neighbourhood (it could be either your street or neighbourhood that you can determine logical boundaries for), list your neighbours.
- Choose your 1st neighbourhood action (see a list of possible example actions for ideas) you’ll take and choose your preferred communication channel.
- Create and distribute the invitation brochure with info about your action idea and date when you want your neighbours to participate.
- Meet on that date and do the action that you’ve planned. Consider making it an annual event.
- Ask for feedback, think up the 2nd action together.
- Consider starting newsletter, promote Streetbank skill/item share and Keybase or whatever other communication channel you have chosen. If there is no website for you town, consider making something similar to Meaford Functional Neighbourhoods site.
- Determine the most active participants and key players in your neighbourhood and plan ahead: vision, resilience, sustainability, survival, prosperity of your neighbourhood.
- Collect contacts, determine you team’s strengths and weaknesses and continue to work.
- Some ideas to inspire:
- Plant trees
- Pickup garbage, clean your street
- Build a community garden or Bee & Batterfly Habitat or both! Collect compost and setup a composting station for your community garden. Setup rainwater collection station.
- Setup bee hives on a volunteer’s property
- Create a bike/walk pathway
- Collect toxic waste and take turns taking it to the waste station
- Share cars
- Build a playground on volunteer’s property
- Create a community safety kit/blackout charging station and designate a volunteer to take care of it
- Purchase an emergency tent and let a designated volunteer store it
- Setup a skillshare and item share for your neighbourhood. You can use Streetbank.
- Create a street party to get to know your neighbours better
- Get rid of invasive species
- Organize youth club where kids think up their own actions and projects to serve community
- Support neighbours businesses
- Organize a street concert with local street talents
- Download Functional Neighbourhoods brochure PDF with Action Plan on one side and a sample neighbours invitation to participate on the other.