Tele-Community Development

Pattern number within this pattern set: 
109
Richard Lowenberg
Davis Community Network
Problem: 

Information society considerations need to be included as a greater part of current and future urban to rural community and regional planning and development initiatives.

Context: 

The tele-mediation of society will dramatically change architectural, spatial, and urban-rural relationships; and may well increase and accelerate the disparities, complexities and noise that is already having significant negative impact on urban life.
If today's Information Revolution is as great a force for social transformation as forecast, than communities must embrace telecommunications education, planning and implementation with no less commitment than is being given to the issues of land use, transportation, energy, building and other basic community planning and development matters.
Few of us can yet envision the means by which the Internet, web pages, teleconferencing and other telecommunications media might practically make a difference for the present and future of our cities and towns. Most of our civic leaders are having to make decisions in this regard, based on barely being able to keep up with rapid technological change and ever limited financial resources. Planners and designers know that citizen participation is vital, but rarely inclusive. Long-term planning and decisionmaking is nearly impossible. What are the new opportunities for our currently increasing elderly populations, and what is their relevance for our children and their children

Discussion: 

The following (incomplete) outline is intended as the basis for thought, discussion and implementation in the development of Tele-Communities.

Intentions
ß Public and private sector partnerships (competition and cooperation)
ß Shared resources and standards agreements
ß Security, privacy and rights
ß Economic and educational development
ß Environmental impacts mitigation
ß Universal access, accessibility and opportunity
ß Creating a great good place

Infrastructure
ß Technical, financial, and social systems
ß Optical fiber and wireless networks
ß Switching, routing and server systems
ß Computers and other digital technologies
ß Convergent tele-media services (voice, video and data)

Policies
ß City and regional plans and ordinances
ß Contracts and agreements with providers
ß Acceptable use

Applications and Content
ß Government and civic services
ß Elections information and voting
ß Safety and emergency services
ß Transportation and other infrastructure
ß Energy and resources
ß Waste management
ß Education (lifelong)
ß Research and development
ß Health and social services
ß Banking and investment
ß Commercial and transactional services
ß Planning, mapping, simulation and decision support
ß Arts and culture
ß Neighborhood and community networks
ß Public and personal
ß Directories and search engines

Civic Engagement
ß Community networking initiatives and facilities
ß Technical assistance
ß Volunteerism

Solution: 

(This pattern will cite examples of urban, rural and regional tele-community planning and development projects, internationally.)

Pattern status: 
Released