Urban neighbourhood communities organised on-line – A new form of self-organisation in the Polish city?

Abstract: Neighbourly contacts organised on-line have become a sign of our times, studied in Canada and the US for decades. This paper is devoted to the so-called ‘e-neighbourhood’ in Poland, and the example chosen is a housing estate in Poznań. The issues addressed include the history of the creation of a portal, changes in the spatial impact of the portal on the estate, and subjects discussed on the forum in the context of the formation of a neighbourhood community. At present, estate discussion forums are a curious novelty rather than a widespread development. They certainly cannot be assessed critically yet. They are not a threat to interpersonal contacts. What is more, they can be seen as a potential link initiating such contacts in rather contact-resistant communities of new estates. Naturally, they can also be an interactive board for notices, complaints and proposals, especially when most, if not all, estate residents have acquired access to the network. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]