“What, exactly, does Eco-mUNITY DO?” you may ask. Overall, we put the “e” in Eco-mUNITY when we plug the dot into the com by providing free wi-fi access, the “eco” in Eco-mUNITY when we plug the community into sustainability, and the “community” is put into Eco-mUNITY citizen by citizen by citizens like you. Thank you for reading this, learning about Eco-mUNITY, and in doing so, thank you for participating!

REAListic optimIST has become concerned that the amazing connection capability of the internet and cellular technology has been causing the opposite phenomenon. More and more, people are staring at their cel phones or listening to their ipods instead of talking to people encountered on their daily commute; or people stay home and watch TV or surf the net to find their entertainment instead of going to local community meeting spots. As a result, one driving purpose of Eco-mUNITY is to build an infrastructure to enable more community collaboration to better intentially shape our community.

So, Eco-mUNITY manages two community events per month, bringing together a representative cross section of locally active businesses, organizations, and people. The family of Eco-mUNITY Kiosks arrive at these events to help connect local people to their community. The Eco-mUNITY Kiosk Project connects people to local businesses and organizations through its listing service, and connects people to their community through interfacing with the Office of Neighborhood Involvement site, which connects people to their local government agencies such as Neighborhood Associations and other Portland agencies; Bright Neighbor, a hyperlocal social networking site with features like ride-sharing, an asset lending system, and a gardening advice tool; the Eco-mUNITY website, which has tools for real time non-local interaction.