Coffee and communities
Had a coffee with Rob Paterson this morning at Copley Square, Boston. He was there to attend the Public Media 2007 conference. Interesting discussion on topics as wide ranging as the future of war, systemic resilience, platforms, and the future of public media. A real pleasure.
One thing Rob and I definitely agreed on is that the community is now, for better or worse, the center of gravity for resilience against the panoply of systemic threats we will face in the future. Not the home/family (too small). Not the nation-state (too big). The community. In short, your success over the long run (for both you and your kids) will be based almost entirely on how resilient your community is to disruption.
So now I have to go out and meet my neighbors? Why can't I live on Asimov's Solaria?
Posted by: Michael Tanji | February 21, 2007 at 02:31 PM
This is something we're working on too in disaster preparedness. The question, though, is this: How big is a community? A city? A city of under a hundred thousand people? A township? A neighborhood?
The Red Cross is working on Disaster-Resistant neighborhoods, but haven't gotten very far in terms of real resiliency.
Posted by: striplingmitch | February 21, 2007 at 08:48 PM
What is the model/approach I wonder? Inventory skills and match people/families up by basic requirements? Get a committment to store X, Y or Z supplies for Q amount of people?
I live in city neighborhood on the outer edge of a mid-sized metro; alleys, sidewalks, most places you need to go are a few blocks walk. Demo is mixed (retirees, empty-nest/late-career pros, younger couples with 1-3 kids). Everyone is friendly and there is the obligatory annual first-night block party, but its not like you "know" anyone. Placed under stress related to a disaster (particularly man-made) is the neighborhood going to hold up?
Posted by: Michael Tanji | February 21, 2007 at 09:36 PM
The model that the Red Cross is using is a basic hub and spoke system that harks back to the days of Civil Defense. There are block coordinators for each given area who are in charge of connecting to those on their streets. Then, there are certain response teams that are connected to certain tasks: like checking for damage, delivering supplies, etc.
Now, that's the theory. I haven't seen much resulting evidence, but I do know the impetus is really put on each local volunteer to hub, baby, hub with their neighbors.
Posted by: striplingmitch | February 21, 2007 at 10:00 PM
This is a thought-provoking idea, one that I've been thinking about for some time. I think that you are right - we will see a renewed focus on community.
My guess is that for most there will be little prior community preparation. A crisis will hit, and generate ad hoc efforts to bring order. This will gradually grow into some form of localized administration.
Local leaders will come out of the woodwork. One thing is for sure - they're not likely to be national politicians. More like local cops, firefighters, church leaders, youth workers, and businesspeople -people who are natural leaders and organizers in day to day life.
Role models? Try Cincinnatus in Republican Rome. I've written a piece on this on my blog:
http://kotare.typepad.com/thestrategist/2007/02/on_leadership.html
Posted by: Kotare | February 25, 2007 at 03:02 AM