Build the Crowd Community with Cink (Community Link)

Every now and then we come across news that one neighborhood has gone through redevelopment, or another area will have a cultural industrial complex moved in, contributing to the development of the local community. Whenever I see news like this, I cannot shake the feeling that the place where I live alone stays the same. Mr. L, who has lived his whole life in Gangbuk-gu, Seoul, has lived in the same area for 30 years and felt every bit of the changes of the times. Whenever he sees news like the above, he often feels as if he is left behind by the current of the world. He has made many attempts — looking into places in need of development, places urgently needing repair, and so on, and filing petitions — but what comes back is always the same reply: "under review."

Back to the Basics!

The New Village Movement (Saemaeul Undong) in rural areas in the 1970s was a nationwide movement rooted in the local community. Behind that movement were 'a sense of community' — development for our village — and 'a sense of competition' — living in a place better than others.

A local community that distinguishes our village from neighboring ones can be described as a concept in which a geographical, spatial notion of 'region' is fused with feelings of community and belonging. Residents living in a specific local community come to share a culture of similar tendencies, and this trait allows the local community to perform the function of binding its members together. Residents also come together and act in unity on local issues, which in turn leads, through resolving long-standing issues, to realizing the benefit not only of the local community but of the residents themselves. But as the times change and technology becomes more advanced, the share of things that require the power of local residents has started to shrink, and gradually that kind of community has begun to fade. This is also a problem brought on by the ongoing redevelopment industry. We need a shift in awareness: redevelopment should be seen not as a simple logic of growing wealth, but as a means of securing regional identity and improving the residential environment so that this place stays a region where people can keep living.

Japan's case of machizukuri (town-making) practices offers insights on this point. Resident-led organizations called "Machizukuri Councils" hold various events, and through "town festivals" and the like, they created opportunities to build interest in and understanding of the development of local culture. In addition, through consultation among residents, small plazas were built and managed by the residents themselves, and by requesting approval from the ward office, green zones were installed to complete the project — these are cited as good examples where development projects and local learning are linked.

In life, when things do not go the way we want, we often hear "go back to basics." Just as our ancestors built the present state of things this way, we too must go back to basics and lay the cultural groundwork capable of contributing to local community development. Now Is the Time to Go SAP (Social Art Project)!, an article with that title, was once published about creating a social atmosphere through voluntary street participation. Today on Trend Insight, we would like to look at not only this kind of street participation but, through voluntary local participation, what kinds of things can contribute to the development of the local community.

• Brickstarter

Brickstarter is a Crowd-Funding platform for local community projects. Launched in Finland, Brickstarter is a service that helps residents themselves carry out local community projects rather than waiting for government-backed ones. Projects that can serve the interest of the local community can be posted, and investment or support can be received. Once the money needed to run a project is invested, the project on the proposal gets turned into a real project, and its progress is updated in real time.

Visitors can search for projects closest to where they live and cast a vote to invest in the projects they like. They can also register as volunteers for a given project, and attend project meetings. Running under the slogan "Yes, in our neighborhood!", this site's goal is to provide a platform where residents themselves can suggest what is missing in the area where they live, so that residents can take part in improving the local community and discussions can be encouraged. Through a real-time dashboard, participants can analyze and compare strategies made by research institutes and authorities, and also check which issues are hot topics among local residents. This goes beyond simply dressing up a desolate street; as a bonding activity that requires continuous attention and effort, with a sense of responsibility as a member of the area one lives in, it has drawn good responses from all local residents. 

Change begins — from what is right around you!

You have probably heard it many times: only when the economy is alive does the country live. This goes hand in hand with saying that only when the local economy thrives does the nation thrive. Our country has achieved dramatic economic growth in a short span, but support for local commercial districts is still painfully lacking, to be honest. As one example, the recent controversy over corporate-style supermarkets — they are extending their influence from traditional markets all the way down to neighborhood corner stores, reaching a point where they threaten the reshaping and transformation of basic commercial districts. For local residents who make their living with government support, inadequate support only worsens the hardships of small merchants. So is there no system that is equipped with the financial support needed to revive the local economy?

• Smallknot

Smallknot is a system that provides a service helping local shops get financial support by offering goods and services to merchants and consumers.

Smallknot drew its inspiration from the famous crowdfunding site Kickstarter. Smallknot lets businesses get detailed information about the projects they are about to launch, and it allows target funding amounts and a time frame to be set so that backers can decide on their contributions. It also aims to help local businesses get in touch with fans, and to help them gain new consumers by providing goods or services in return for financial support.

For example, if you invest USD 25 in a local bar in Brooklyn, backers receive a USD 35 prepaid tab together with a free plate of pretzels as a token of thanks. Meanwhile, a USD 250 pledge wins back eight donors. Additional incentives for participation are converted into local neighborhood development. Also, a project only receives funding if it reaches its goal by the final day of the campaign.