Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
information and communication technology (ICT) that are altering the nature of
civic networks and networking, pressure group campaigning, education, urban
management, leisure, politics, the labour process and social inclusivity. The relation-
ship between social capital and the Internet is complex. Although this chapter has
referred to community and social capital as being basically geographically located,
rooted in actual space and place, recent attention has turned to virtual communities
that are not limited spatially or indeed temporally. Bordiga
et al
. (2002) note that
good existing levels of social capital in a real-world community tend to positively
mediate the impact of Internet access on individual volunteering and collective
community action. Hampton and Wellman (2003) note that the Internet effectively
supports weak ties in suburbs, where residents are spatially dispersed, facilitating
various forms of 'neighbouring' - chatting about local issues and so on. Wellman
et al
. (2001) and Wellman and Haythornthwaite (2002) suggest that it is now helpful
to replace geographical notions of community with the concept of social networks.
If we look at communities as networks of relationships, our picture of weakening
social ties is replaced by a view of strong and weak friendships flourishing both
within localities and between and across boundaries. People frequently have a much
richer set of relationships than those associated with neighbourhoods. In the age of
the Internet, it may be that community informatics - that is to say, computer-shaped
social relations - are more important for stimulating and supporting cross-boundary
relationships than (re)creating a model of community which may be flawed or may
have never existed in the first place, as community informatics initiatives are often
more concerned with creating spaces than maintaining places (Keeble and Loader,
2001). Rheingold (2000) warns against the 'commodification of community', but
stresses the value of community networking via the Internet, citing the work of
Virginia Tech and the Blacksburg Electronic Village project as a successful example
of networked neighbourhoods and technologically enhanced community development.
Pitkin (2006) discusses the role of ICT in building local capacity, suggesting that
the quality of particular places may be improved if a reflexive and critical approach
is adopted by community members/IT users. ICT and Web tools such as geographic
information systems (GIS) can provide a wealth of information for local communities
to analyse, discuss and use in formulating local strategies, plans and actions. Local
and regional governments frequently extol the virtues of ICT in improving services,
stimulating local economic development and enhancing democratic participation.
However, using his own experience with the Neighbourhood Knowledge Los Angeles
project, and referring to a wide range of literature, Pitkin suggests that enthusiasts
and practitioners should:
•
avoid being seduced by ICT into devaluing face-to-face interaction;
•
not assume simple, straightforward linear effects in any application of new media
and communication technologies to human social community; and
•
not allow experts to usurp the role of community members in their design and
application of information and communication systems.
Media and communication corporations have an interest in promoting new
technology, frequently stressing in their marketing and promotion the socially
connective functions this technology affords. Cisco Computers launched their Human
Network with a wave of attractive, intriguing and resonant images and ideas, including
a group of Buddhist monks and their trainees avidly huddled round a laptop. There
