Basic Tools #2: The Tip Jar

Always Ask For Money. This is an important rule even if it is one I don't follow as often as I should.

Neighborhoods need money. You don't always need a lot but you usually need some even if it's just to buy food or t-shirts for project volunteers. Never be ashamed to raise money for useful neighborhood projects and activities.

My rule of thumb is that if you have any kind of social gathering you can ask for money. Sometimes you can explicitly ask by letting people know that donations will be solicited. Other times you can just place a donation jar on the table.

 In Delmas Park we sometimes have gatherings in which we give a homeowner or business $100 for food and let them host a community-wide event. A donation jar helps recoup the investment for the next gathering. In fact, we had a great gathering at the end of June in which a local contractor hosted neighbors in his showroom. About thirty people showed up to share finger foods and get to know each other. Some brought wine or beer. * And a representative of a local urban advocacy group showed up to informally discuss neighborhood issues with us. So it was both a social and a "business" event. But I forgot the tip jar. If I'd brought it, we'd have an extra $100 in the bank today, for sure. So, always ask for money.

If your neighborhood association or organization is in fundraising mode you can also work with a local business to put a neighborhood donation jar in their establishment. It never hurts to ask.

*Alcohol and neighborhood gatherings is a sensitive issue. Usually the two don't mix for a variety of reasons. Our neighborhood receives a grant from the city each year. But that money is earmarked for specific purposes and alcohol is excluded. It's also excluded from any events on public property such as street parties or ones held in parks. Alcohol is inappropriate for events with children. Lastly, there may be insurance implications. We only allow it at events hosted by neighbors on their own property at their own expense.

Next Door Is The Winner

Way back in the early 2000s there were several web sites that wanted to help activists and neighbors keep tab on goings-on in the neighborhood. Some of these were focused on crime, drawing information from police data in cities across the country. Many of these are still around such as Mylocalcrime.com and Crime Report. Others would offer features such as aggregate data about weather, real estate, city inspections and other activity, or try to open communications channels between citizens and government.

 Still others tried to set up hyperlocal news feeds (patch.com, newsvine, everyblock) or create local social justice movements (unthink.com). But one by one these  fell by the wayside or became irrelevant. Nextdoor.com won.

Nextdoor is, as you undoubtedly know, a social network for neighborhoods. It's like a private Facebook for your block and surrounding streets. Users are vetted by the nextdoor system so that only people who actually live in the neighborhood can participate. Particpants can post news items, recommend local businesses, post classifieds, and share current or real-time info of use to the community. Local neighborhood leaders, such as community association officers, are invited by nextdoor to be lead members, responsible for inviting new residents to join and (lightly) policing the boards to keep the discussions, safe, friendly, and neighborly.

Each Nextdoor community follows the borders of defined city neighborhoods or natural boundaries. In our relatively small neighborhood there are 1024 households, according to Nextdoor. Of these 128 have joined, representing 171 individuals. Since our downtown community has apartments and multi-unit houses, this may overstate the actual number of households. On the map above, which covers a couple of neighborhood streets, green indicates houses or apartments with Nextdoor members. Yellow indicates pending invitations. Pink indicates non-members, though many of the pink areas are actually industrial properties.

Nextdoor can be highly useful. In the past 48 hours my neighbors have posted on dozens of different topics such as:

• questions about why police helicopters were busy over the neighborhood
• one person was giving away free infant car seats
• another person was selling a bench
• yet another per son was looking for a house-sitter
• questions were asked as towhen the fountains in the center of the city would be turned back on
• reports of a car break-in
• posts about traffic closings and safety tips for pets in summer

Once a critical mass of neighbors is involved Nextdoor operates much like other social networks except that its focus is solely on local news and information. Posts of personal news and family photos, sharing movies and music, and political arguments, such as one would find on Facebook, are rare. Political arguments in particular should be rare. They interfere with the goal of sharing useful civic information and building helpful community relationships based on shared geography, not on politics.You can read more about site features and tools here.

Currently, commercial information on Nextdoor.com is limited to user recommendations of existing businesses. That could change. Nextdoor.com evolved from an earlier social ratings site called Epinions.com.  It's ultimate aim is to make money connecting local businesses via advertising to residents or connecting them to services.

Defining Blight

Defining Blight

The city of San Jose where I live has a good succinct definition of blighted property
(City Code 17.72.020 Blighted Property) which includes detailed definitions for

• Uninhabited, insecure properties
• Properties that are abandoned or indisrepair
• Buildings with broken exterior walls, fences, windows or other features
• And buildings with overgrown vegetation that creates blighted and unsafe or unsanitary conditions.

Blight happens in many places and in many ways. A single problem property may be blight on an otherwise well-developed neighborhood. But the blight that usually concerns us involves multiple properties and conditions across a community.

A Simple Definition
My definition of this kind of community blight is more conceptual and less specific: blight is the condition of a neighborhood physically manifesting its lack of social and financial capital. There's a difference between blight and a neighborhood that is a little messy or poor. A neighborhood's streets do not need to look like the country club in order to be safe. But the blight that concerns city planners and neighborhood activists is blight that communicates a lack of concern for property and person, disrespect for law and building codes, and a general disrespect on the part of specific property owners or inhabitants for the mental and physical well-being of community members.

Next time, I'll discuss possible causes of blight and some of the ways activists attack it.

From the San Jose code.

Blighted Property (San Jose Code 17.72.020) 
Any property on which there exists any one or more of the following conditions or activities is a blighted property for the purpose of this Chapter:
A. Abandoned Building or Structure
1. A building or structure which is not being inhabited, occupied or used and is unsecured.  For purposes of this Chapter, a building or structure is unsecured when the public can gain entry without the consent of the owner.
2. A partially constructed, reconstructed or demolished building or structure upon which work is abandoned. Work is deemed abandoned when there is no valid andcurrent building or demolition, permit or when there is no valid and current building or demolition permit or when there has not been any substantial work on the project for a period of six (6) months or more.
B. Attractive Nuisance:
Property which is in an unsecured state so as to Potentially  constitute an attraction to children, a harbor  for vagrants, criminals or other unauthorized persons,  or  so as to enable?per sons to  resort thereto for the purpose  of committing a nuisance or unlawful act.
C. A Building Or Structure Which Is In A State Of Disrepair
1.      Exterior wall and/or roof coverings which have become so deteriorated so as not provide adequate weather protection as to be likely to or have resulted in termite infestation or dry not.
2.      Broken or missing windows or doors which constitute a hazardous condition or a potential attraction to trespassers.
3.      Buildings, exteriors, walls, fences, retaining, walls, driveways, or walkways which are broken, deteriorated, or substantially defaced to the extent that the disrepair visually impacts neighboring property or presents an endangerment to public safety.  For purposes or this subsection defacing includes, but is not limited to , writings, inscriptions, figures, scratches or other markings commonly referred to as “graffiti”.
D. Property Inadequately Maintained
1.      Overgrown, diseased, dead or decayed trees, weeds or other vegetation which:
a.       Constitute a fire hazard or a condition considered dangerous to the public health, safety, and general welfare, or
b.      Are likely to harbor rats, vermin and other nuisances, or
c.       Substantially detracts from the aesthetic and property values of neighboring properties.
2.      Landscaping which is not installed or maintained as required by this Code or any permit issued pursuant to this Code.
3.      Refuse, as defined in Section 9.08.190, which by reason of its location and character;

Tools: The Sign-in Sheet

Basic Tools #1: The Sign-In Sheet

This sounds too basic to be worth my while, but you should never do anything as a neighborhood organizer without a sign-in sheet. Every meeting, street party, door-to-door solicitation, email, or flyer that goes out should have a way for people to identify themselves, share their information (email address!) and offer to help in the neighborhood.

The basic sign-in sheet I use at neighborhood association meetings and other events asks for the following information.

• Name
• Street Address
• Email
• Phone
• Would You Volunteer For?
• Cleanup Projects
• Host Events
• Distribute Flyers
• Lately I may ask a question like "Are you on Nextdoor.com?" Or "Would you like to sign up for our e-newsletter?" This way you open multiple channels to communicate with neighbors.

Now, it's very likely that you will see a lot of the same people at all of your events. In my neighborhood of 1000 adults, there is a core of about 60 who are guaranteed to show up a few times a year for a meeting, a party, or a neighborhood beautification project, such as tree-planting along sidewalks. Very few will show for every event--those are your hardcore members--but many will show up occasionally. Still, it's good to get them to sign in, or to use that other great member identification tool, the name badge. It helps people feel that they are part of something important, which they are, and makes them a participant, rather than an anonymous bystander.

Statement of Purpose

Statement of Purpose: Everyone deserves safe, friendly neighborhoods that nurture families and provide useful government and commercial services. But the obstacles that stand in the way of such neighborhoods are many and complex. I suspect this holds true in wealthy and poor neighborhoods, though obviously the hill is steeper where poverty, lack of education, infrastructure deficits, and racism hold people back. This blog explores the organizing techniquees and tools used by people building strong communities, the forces shaping neighborhood development, and the issues that will be important in the coming years. It is not my intent to teach classical political organizing or take partisan stands. Those are important but I want to address what you can work toward at the neighborhood level, regardless of your situation. I hope to present examples and tools that are universal. However, politics is at the root of many decisions that affect neighborhoods and I won't sidestep those issues. But I will address them from my local experience only.

My Goal: To help other neighborhood organizers become more effective at the job of strengthening communities and preparing them for the future.

On a personal level I believe that good neighborhood organizing means focusing on three things: Trust and a sense of community; Cleanliness and safety; and Developing a neighborhood vision.

1. Trust and a sense of community: Trust is the bedrock of a successful community. Until people know each other and trust in each other they won't devote themselves to activities that enrich the life of the community. 

Trust and a sense of neighborhood identity are created and reinforced by shared activities and rituals. These might include community picnics or events connected to local schools, churches, or athletic leagues. Shared activities help connect all residents, not just activists, to neighborhood identity and community.

Today shared activities that build trust happen online as well. 

2. Cleanliness and Safety: All neighborhoods need safety in order to build trust. This is not just about safety from crime, but also from traffic hazards, litter, graffiti, general blight, and other elements that may be an invitation to misbehavior and crime. Cleanliness and safety issues can be very neighborhood-specific. In one neighborhood it may be speeding; in another overflowing gutters; and, in a third, homelessness and loitering.

3. Development Vision: A vision of where the neighborhood is headed is essential for development and for neighborhood organizing. For all neighborhoods, but especially those with blight issues, sensible development offers a way out of existing problems. Even in the wealthiest neighborhoods, concerns about surrounding development are common, creating a need for citizens to organize in order to be most effective at conveying their concerns. Development issues can be large, as when an urban neighborhood is transformed by high-rises or traffic construction, or as small as repairing sidewalks or installing speed bumps.

All the topics I intend to address are labeled with one of the following, to help you easily find the information you are looking for:

• Tools
• Communciations
• Beautification
• Community Building
• Placemaking
• Third Places
• Blight and Crime
• Fundraising
• Development
• Resilience