multilevel public square

Recent developments in the transmission of ideas between citizens have included things like the vote, the opinion poll, and more recently the blog. Through such tools, communities draw strength from the logical and perceptual tools of all members.

Regional task-focused wiki's, added to this sequence, can (possibly with local government support) help create multiscale versions of the public square by nurturing real-time (24-7) constructive internal-community discussion about topics of shared interest. Such discussion might for instance take the form of unofficial but jointly-edited:

• event notes for the specific audience at hand,
  
• task protocols e.g. for getting something done like:
  
  • getting a tree removed,
    
  • avoiding a speed trap,
    
  • meeting occupancy requirements,
    
  • and what else?
  
  
• observation notebooks about processes of community interest like:
  
  • traffic hazards,
    
  • flooding,
    
  • questionable activity,
    
  • "brown tap water",
    
  • and what else?
  
  
• educational information on locally-specific matters e.g. like:
  
  • selling electricity to the grid,
    
  • getting certain plants to grow,
    
  • and what else?
  
  
• strategy discussions e.g. on making sure that a new electrical-transformer substation in the area is safe for residents,
  
• and what else?