This group proposes the development of a Civic Communications Commons (CCC) in Seattle and King County as a common civic infrastructure that connects virtual and face-to-face civic, community, and neighborhood spaces.

It’s proposal says:

“The CCC would be a common civic space in Seattle, growing from the many existing resources in neighborhoods, communities, the non-profit sector, government, and business. The Seattle Commons will be built by many hands with widespread ownership and responsibility.

“By envisioning the CCC as a ‘common civic space’ we mean, quite literally, the space in which members of a community do their work as participants in the public life of that community. This work includes:

• The many small, informal, but important networks of everyday civic life (helping neighbors, building and maintaining community gardens, etc.) ;

• The building and maintaining of “third-places” both on- and offline, and weaving the two together;

• The civic work of young people, gathering and posting neighborhood and community stories, and building the commons itself;

• The collaborative work of media: city- and county-wide, mainstream, public, and alternative; neighborhood, and micro-local to present a broad picture of the community and gather and disseminate the information necessary for public work;

• The vital work of libraries as conveners, connectors, and providers of information and civic space;

• Supporting grassroots participation by engaging and assisting lively community and neighborhood news and information centers.

• Organization for a broad range of projects in urban design, arts, and culture;

• Community members addressing and petitioning, but also collaborating with, government Continue reading →