Favorville.com

My brother Paul, who's in website management, keeps saying he'd like to see the Internet used to connect people who are close to one another geographically, rather than only forming communities of people who live far apart. He sees it as a perfect tool to bridge the gaps within neighbourhoods. We were both intrigued by a new website that's been getting some media coverage lately, called favorville.com. Two young men in Toronto put it together with the idea that people could share advice and expertise, sell items, give things away -- much like Craigslist -- with an emphasis on connecting people who live near one another.

In memory of Jane Jacobs, who died a couple of days ago, I signed on to favorville.com, admittedly mostly looking for favours (I spell it the Canadian way, but I can understand why they don't), though I have given away my dehumidifier to somebody who needs it more than I do. I tried a wacky idea -- I've posted a request for a gardener, somebody who lives in an apartment who misses gardening and can help take care of mine. We'll see what happens. Jacobs believed that urban neighbourhoods work when they are constructed in such a way that (among other things) people are physically close to each other -- aware of and acquainted with one another but not necessarily intimately involved in one another's lives. Perhaps my request will end in disaster.