This report examines how institutions in five cities (Austin, Texas; Cleveland, Ohio; Nashville, Tennessee; Portland, Oregon and Washington, D.C.) are adapting to the Internet as an economic development and community-building tool. The experiences in these communities suggests that the Internet is best used to encourage bottom-up initiatives, encourage and nurture catalytic individuals in communities, encourage public funding for technology programs, encourage โbridgingโ among groups, and encourage experimentation.
This paper looks at five U.S. cities (Austin, Cleveland, Nashville, Portland, and Washington, DC) and explores strategies being employed by community activists and local governments to create and sustain community networking projects.
As the audience for online campaign news has expandedโincreasing fourfold over the past four yearsโit has gone more mainstream in its preferences and pursuits.