Wikineighborhoods

The Wikineighborhoods project is a learning project at Wikiversity to both collaboratively document the neighborhoods of New York City, and to provide new avenues of civic cooperation and engagement for city residents.

Partnership
This initiative is a three-way partnership between Wikimedia New York City, Connecting.nyc, and Internet Society of New York.

This is an extension of the dotNeighborhoods effort for the creation of viable content for future community-run websites for each of the neighborhoods of New York City, to be developed along the "wiki model", as seen in Wikipedia/Wikimedia projects and city wiki efforts.

Work for this project will also be done in the context of the Wiki Center at LaGuardia Community College Library/ CUNY.

Process
For this pilot project at Wikiversity we are developing community resources for 10 neighborhoods (2 for each of the five boroughs), with project planning taking place here at Wikiversity. The project implementation will take place at an independent .org domain. With a proof of concept, the WikiNeighborhoods information will move within the .nyc TLD upon its activated as New York City's top-level domain.

Suggested Names for Pilot Site
Until the .nyc TLD becomes available, perhaps in late 2011 or more likely 2012, we need a website to branch off the various neighborhoods. A decision on this name will be made on June 23. Suggestions are welcome.

nycneighborhoods.org nycneighborhoods.net nyc-neighborhoods.net nyc-neighborhoods.org

Miscellaneous Suggestions
Some suggestions from JZ -

Developments related to your dot + Wiki-hoods

http://blog.everyblock.com/2009/jun/30/source/ http://www.knightfoundation.org/news/press_room/knight_press_releases/detail.dot?id=349973 http://www.resourceshelf.com/2010/06/19/new-zip-code-maps-mashup/

Throw in Ushahidi.com into the mix (uses FrontlineSMS.com) and you have mobile SMS + online mapping + zip code news feeds/feedback which could help engage more local participation and an interesting new world opens up...

Pilot neighborhoods

 * WikiNeighborhoods/Harlem
 * WikiNeighborhoods/Park Slope
 * WikiNeighborhoods/Jackson Heights