Over the last couple of years, the Concord Neighborhood Network (CNN) has been developing maps of the town for the purpose of emergency planning. An interesting byproduct of the resource and need "Household Inventories" that were developed by each neighborhood is that the resulting local maps include the names of our neighbors. When I looked at the map of my neighborhood, I was struck by how few of my neighbors I knew. After twelve years I am still a relative newcomer to town. But I was surprised to realize that, although I knew my immediate neighbors on each side and across the street, I hadn't thought much about who else lived in my neighborhood.

The Vital Human Element in a Time of Crisis
Emergency preparedness has a definite technical element: food and water storage, alternative heat generation in case of power failure, the telephone Emergency Notification System, and so on. But the human element is equally important, perhaps even more so. How we take care of each other, draw together to comfort each other, look out for each other -- these things can make all the difference in times of crisis. And our willingness and ability to offer these human comforts to each other depends on our knowing each other.

We've all heard stories about how neighborhoods turned out to shovel out of blizzards together, and how the resulting camaraderie and good will seemed to evaporate as soon as the crisis was past. We are all very involved in our daily lives, which seldom have anything to do with our neighbors. Thanks to the telephone, the automobile, and the Internet, we can be closely connected to friends and family who are far away. In our modern world, it seems the close-knit neighborhood is a thing of the past.

From its beginnings before Y2K, CNN always had a double focus: emergency planning and developing "neighborliness," or neighborhood community-building. Especially in these times when terrorism has hit close to home, emergency preparedness seems like a good idea to most people. But there's more ambivalence about neighborliness. Despite my own interest in community, when I asked myself why I didn't know many of my neighbors my answer had to do with a vague fear of loss of autonomy and privacy. I didn't choose my neighbors, and perhaps have little in common with them. Would I sacrifice my personal freedom in some way if I became more connected to them?

"Gossip" Weaves the Threads of Community Together
Then there's the matter of "gossip." In order for the history that Debbie showed me to have been written, people in the community must have been talking with each other and sharing information about who was doing what. This sort of talk often falls under the category of gossip, which is usually judged to be bad. But as I was thinking about this, I began to wonder. Certainly gossip can be malicious and destructive to community. But there is also a way that the sharing of personal information weaves a community together, as people learn who's had a baby, whose kid is going away to school, who's been in the hospital, who has started a new business, or lost his or her job, who might need help, and who has help to offer. The more I thought about this, the more it seemed to me that my vague fears were a symptom of the modern malaise of alienation.

This is relevant now, because CNN is looking for someone to join its board of directors and head the Neighborhood Support committee. While the Emergency Planning committee is well-covered, no one has yet stepped forward to lead the community development piece of CNN. The "job description" for this position includes networking with the Team Leaders and Neighborhood Contacts (NCs) in both emergency and non-emergency situations, information dissemination and outreach, organizing an annual meeting of NCs, and generally developing the "Network" aspect of the Concord Neighborhood Network. The position could be shared, and is open to anyone who either knows Concord well, or would like to. It occurs to me that what we need is one or two friendly "busybodies" (in the nicest sense of the word) who are interested in what is happening in the neighborhoods. This is a creative opportunity to develop programs for the neighborhoods, to both strengthen our community and lay groundwork for an effective emergency response if needed.

In the future, when a history of Concord in the early 21st century is written, the Concord Neighborhood Network will be an important part of it. I'm glad that I examined my hesitation and got involved in CNN, because I believe that strong local communities are very important in these times. I'm looking forward to working with others in town, and continuing to meet the NCs and more of my own neighbors. I hope you will consider joining us!

Artwork: ArtToday