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March 10, 2003
local governments and independent civic websites
I'm beginning to think about my presentation at the American Society
for Public Administration conference next Monday. (Click for the practical
details.) My title is "Local Governments and Independent Civic
Websites." I submitted the following abstract: "Communities
benefit when they have strong, broad-based, active, civic organizations.
Today, there is a need for new civic organizations or networks that are
devoted to producing public goods for distribution on the Internet: things
like searchable databases of local assets, interactive digital maps, structured
forums for informed public deliberation, alternative local news sources,
and art and history projects. These goods are not widely available, because
businesses have not learned how to make money from them, and they are
too expensive to be produced by individual citizens. However, for a reasonable
price, local governments can support such work without compromising its
independence."
Posted by peterlevine at March 10, 2003 03:39 PM