What we’re about
A Meetup for people interested in getting to know their neighbors and creating a stronger sense of community in the Riverside area. This group is sponsored by SWICA (South-West Intentional Communities Alliance)
NeighborNets are affinity groups of people who live in the same general neighborhood who share in different ways (resources, activities, friendship, interests, and possibly values) and choose to form closer bonds with one another.
One such neighbornet describes its vision this way: to be like an old-fashioned neighborhood. While there is no property owned in common, they have established a community based on friendship and resource sharing. They have weekly potluck dinners and regular group activities such as camping trips. Many opportunities arise for regular interaction. Children play together and adults can be seen chatting as they water gardens and relax on their front porches.
Neighbornets are closely related to intentional communities... unlike most other intentional communities, while the members live in the same 'part of town,' they do not need to live in the same building, next door to each other, or even on the same block. It is convenient if members of a neighbornet live very close to one another but it is not necessary.
The form and organizational structure (if any) of neighbornets may vary widely. But, they are all based on sharing:
Ridesharing/sharing time with one another/community dinners/picnics/hiking, drumming, and other group activities/sharing resources/sharing tools/owning vehicles together/common house/community meeting space/sharing labor/childcare/care for the elderly/shopping/community gardens/preparation for possible emergencies
Most of these types of sharing are not new. In fact, they used to be a part of what neighborhoods were all about.
