This article was published in the October 11, 1999 issue of Nation's Cities Weekly, the newspaper of the National League of Cities. For more information, visit www.nlc.org. Free Neighborhood Web Sites Build Citizen Involvement by Ted Pinkowitz Neighborhood Link (www.neighborhoodlink.com) is a civic communications tool that enables neighborhood associations across the United States to create their own free, interactive Web sites. These sites are designed to build stronger communities and further enable civic participation and communication in all regions that embrace this tool. Denver-based Neighborhood Link currently has more than 12,000 neighborhood Web sites online. The company now serves 20 U.S. metropolitan areas-Baltimore, Cincinnati, Colorado Springs, Columbus, Denver, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Memphis, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Nashville, New Orleans, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland/Vancouver, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, Tampa and Tucson-and plans to be in 30 markets by Dec. 31, 1999. Neighborhood Link relies on category exclusive corporate sponsorships to provide this valuable resource, offering six sponsorships in each metropolitan region. Some typical sponsors include Fannie Mae, Bank One, IBM, Time Warner Communications, AT&T, The San Antonio Spurs, Tesoro Petroleum, Conoco and many others. Each neighborhood Web site has the basic components outlined below Interactive Area This is a section where neighbors can post information such as "lost dog" or "garage sale on Saturday." Also available here is a "Meet Your Neighbors" section where residents and local groups (such as neighborhood Girl Scout troops) can create their own Web pages or hotlink their existing Web pages to their neighborhood site. This section also contains a discussion area where residents can post and respond to questions, problems and concerns. This section was heavily used during the recent tragic school shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton. When the Littleton Web site was overwhelmed with condolence messages, Neighborhood Link created a special Littleton Area Neighborhoods site with a discussion area linked directly to the official Littleton home page. In the first 72 hours alone this site received approximately 7,600 hits. "Neighborhood Link really came to our rescue during a very tragic time," said Phyllis Larison, Webmaster for the city of Littleton. "They provided us with our own section of the Neighborhood Link site where we could direct concerned people from all over the nation." Association and Neighborhood Information sections feature a place for neighborhood associations to post information about the neighborhood along with schedules of meetings, how to join your association, board of directors lists, and digital images. Also posted here are brief descriptions of the neighborhood association, its history and its scheduled activities, along with a neighborhood schools feature. Neighborhood coordinators can select appropriate public schools to display on their site from a metro-area list compiled by Neighborhood Link. The information then posted includes principals' names and e-mail addresses along with phone numbers and school addresses. And, if a school has a Web site, the link can be added as well. Private schools may be added here too if the neighborhood coordinators request them. Local Government and Public Safety Information These areas contain hotlinks that enable neighborhoods to connect instantly with appropriate elected and appointed government officials and local government Web sites. The crime section automatically posts links to all applicable police, public safety and sheriff's department Web sites on all neighborhood sites. Here, coordinators have the ability to post contact information (such as telephone and pager numbers and e-mail addresses) of individual officers assigned to their neighborhoods, thus facilitating Community Policing by encouraging closer relationships between residents and the police. Residents also have the ability to create links to fax machines at their district police stations, enabling anyone to fax information (such as anonymous crime tips) directly to appropriate authorities. Community Pages An Add-a-Page feature in this section allows neighborhood coordinators and residents to create an unlimited number of additional pages that offer information on neighborhood issues, groups and resources. Some typical topics: zoning issues (from liquor licenses for neighborhood markets to adding a second story garage), babysitting co-ops, recycling programs, community center classes and activities, neighborhood beautification initiatives, gardening tips and graffiti watch groups. The Woodlake neighborhood in Sacramento has used their site (www.neighborhoodlink.com/woodlake-sac) to post information on a highly controversial issue in the community-traffic calming. This section also has an Add-a-Fax capability that allows neighborhood coordinators and residents to create faxable forms so that everyone can instantly send faxes directly from the Web site. An unlimited number of such forms can be created and used to start political fax campaigns, send messages to local newspapers, or simply to communicate with any fax machine in the local area. Ted Pinkowitz is CEO of Neighborhood Link. After hearing about a bitter dispute over a liquor license in a Denver neighborhood, Pinkowitz and co-founder Don Bachner developed Neighborhood Link in 1998 to create a safe forum where residents could vent their frustration online rather than hollering at each other in public. Other Resources Additional sections of the Web site offer: --Hotlinks-libraries of pertinent local, metro, state and national hotlinks, such as public libraries, public schools, county courts, real property records, state government, nonprofit organizations, the White House, and many more. Community organizations also can create hotlinks to their Web sites through a quick and easy feature, "Add-a-Link." --Helpful Resources-this area contains an hourly-updated local weather forecast with links to the radar map, a "Free Classifieds" section where residents can access a complete online forum for posting and perusing free classified advertisements similar to a newspaper. "Extremely Useful Things" is an area that provides handy information through time-saving hotlinks, such as arts and entertainment, health and fitness, home and garden, parents and kids, homework helper, travel, finance & investment, and resources such as the federal government and online directories. And, "Today's News" contains hotlinks to local and national news resources. By connecting neighbors with city government and other neighbors, Neighborhood Link has become a key resource for civic communication and information in many metropolitan areas across the United States. Residents without Internet access can visit participating local libraries and use the computers that Neighborhood Link has been bookmarked on for easy access. Details: If you have any questions about Neighborhood Link or would like to learn more about how to get your city up and running on the network, please visit the site at www.neighborhoodlink.com or call Neighborhood Link toll-free at 1-888-241-0123. Back to News Articles Index Neighborhood Link Terms of Use © 1997 - 1999 Neighborhood Link, Inc.