http://johnsveitch.blogspot.com/
I've been talking about Resident Associations and Street Groups:
For community development to begin, there must be an idea or a plan, and
a group of local people who want to make it work. They then need to work
face to face with people in the community, door to door and in small
meetings and in public gatherings. Consensus and a mandate to act needs
to be built. People make promises they don't keep. There is good-will on
the surface but distrust underneath. It takes time and effort to bring
people into the community as real members.
Resilient communities are those where street members walking down the
street can name at least the family that occupies several of the houses,
and knows someone to talk to in most of them. People in strong
communities know they can call and visit without feeling like strangers,
and can ask for a favour on occasions. In a strong community much more
than occasional favours can cross the back fence. People can help each
other in many ways. Street Groups are one way to give this type of local
community action some structure.
At a community level, residents associations, or community development
agencies can initiate local planning and action. That might involve
helping to develop the local shopping centre, or the school, or
providing facilities for youth, or road safety work, or crime
prevention, building cycle tracks or walking tracks. There is much every
community can do for itself.