Street by Street is a national project in local neighbourhood community building and social infrastructure development. Its goal is to revive the practice of community, and the art of neighbourliness, on a large scale across Australia.

It aims to re-kindle connections between neighbours that might once have formed spontaneously but which in our day and age require a little facilitation.

Its model is local neighbourhood networks in small population precincts of between 200 and 400 households. Each network is supported by a coordinator and a network partner organisation in developing its activity.

Street by Street Design Lab
When | Tuesday 29th April
Time | 10am to 12.30pm
Where | Angliss Conference Centre, Melbourne CBD

There is no cost for residents and community organisations to participate in this Design Lab.

Your Input

We are seeking input on the project and its operating model (which is outlined below), as well as ideas on how the project can be resourced on a large scale (membership fees proposed below being one option).

Please register your input and your interest in participating in the project through the online form below. You may also wish to participate in a Street by Street Design Lab on Tuesday 29th April in Melbourne (details below). There is no cost.

The inaugural Project Manager of Street by Street is Irene Opper, based in Melbourne.

Irene may be contacted at irene@civilsociety.org.au or on 0413 706 233.

The Options

Each neighbourhood network chooses one or more activities to focus on from the menu below, or may decide on another focus that is just right for its area.

• a local network for helping people with ageing, disability or chronic illness challenges with practical tasks (putting the bins out, getting a few items of shopping, help with gardening, walking the pets) so that residents with these challenges can live in their own homes for longer with support from neighbours;
• a local network in areas of high riskof natural disasters for disaster alerts, information sharing, risk prevention and response arrangements;
• a local gardening network for people growing vegetables and fruit, to exchange ideas, tools, and advice, and organise distribution of produce;
• a local buying group for electricity, gas, and telecommunications;
• a supported living network for people with disabilities ands chronic illnesses living in community, with a relationships focus not just practical tasks;
• a local sharing network for tools, lawn mowers, etc;
• a revamped version of Neighbourhood Watch to address community safety issues, especially in areas adjacent to railway stations, areas where high volumes of alcohol are consumed, and areas with high volumes of graffiti.

The Model

A local neighbourhood network is convened in a precinct of between 200 and 400 households.

It is supported by a community organisation (a network partner) which may a neighbourhood house, a service club, a community services provider, a church, a school, a scouts or guides group, or a sporting club.

Each local neighbourhood network is an informal, unincorporated network of neighbours, with one or more people taking on the role of network convenor.

A network partner is a formal, incorporated body which assists a network to form, helps meet its practical requirements, provides guidance, and participates in its activities as appropriate.

A local neighbourhood network can be initiated either by a resident in a precinct, or by a network partner, either of whom can identify and select a person to act as a network convenor.

An online social network for each local neighbourhood network can be made available, using one of several existing online options.

A central web facility will supply information on the location of each local network, and contact details.

A project manager will guide the development of local neighbourhood networks, provide an Information Kit for networks, organise information and training events as required, and support network convenors and partners.

A national steering group will steer the development of Street by Street as a national project.

Street by Street Partners are state and national organisations, and municipal governments, that may partner with Street by Street for the development of the project.

Neighbours not volunteers

Participants in a Street by Street network are not volunteers, they are people in a voluntary relationship with their neighbours, as neighbours.

The aim of Street by Street is to recover the practice, and art, of neighbourliness. We don’t want to surround this activity with excessive rules and regulations, nor do we want to subject participants to the usual procedures that volunteers in formal organizations are subject to.

It is our intention to develop Street by Street as a facilitated network combining simple informal neighbourhood connections, with resourcing and coordination on a large scale across Australia.

Membership

Membership of Street by Street will be invited from May 2014. We are proposing three categories:

• Residents are invited to join and receive updates on the project and participate in sharing progress. There is no cost.
• Community organisations are invited to join as a network partner. As a network partner a community organisation (which may be a neighbourhood house, a service club, a community services provider, a church, a school, a scouts or guides group, or a sporting club) partners with a local network and assists it to form, helps meet its practical requirements, provides guidance, and participates in its activities where appropriate.
• It is proposed that the membership fee for a network partner be $110.
• Local governments, state and national organisations are invited to join as a project partner. As a project partner, an organisation may participate in the development of the project on a large scale.
• It is proposed that the membership fee for a Street by Street partner be $1100.

Street by Street Design Lab

A Design Labfor residents and stakeholders to provide input into the development of the Street by Street project will be held on Tuesday 29th April in Melbourne from 10am to 12.30 at the Angliss Conference Centre.

The Angliss Conference Centre is located in the Melbourne CBD, on the corner of LaTrobe and King Streets, on the fifth floor.

It is close to train and tram services. Flagstaff railway station is one block away in LaTrobe St, and Southern Cross station is three blocks away in Spencer St. Trams 23, 24, 30, 34, and City Circle run along LaTrobe Street.

There is no cost to participate in this Design Lab. RSVP using the form below.

For those who can’t attend the Design Lab, your feedback on the design and resourcing of this project is welcome through the form below, by email or discussion over the phone.

Contact Irene Opper for further information on this event irene@civilsociety.org.au.

Information Kit

A Street by Street Information Kit will be available for members and partners soon. We would like to hear from individuals and organisations around the country interested in participating in rolling out Street by Street locally, regionally, and on a national scale.

National Steering Group

Expressions of Interest are invited for participants in the Street by Street National Steering Group.

The Steering Group will coordinate the development of the projectaround Australia. If you would like to play an active role as a member of the National Steering Group, express your interest in this form.

Street by Street Registration of Interest

Register your interest in Street by Street by using this form.

Further information:

Irene Opper |Project Manager
Street by Street
M | 0413 706 233
E | irene@civilsociety.org.au
W | www.civilsociety.org.au/StreetbyStreet.htm