With the frequency of natural disasters increasing with climate change, disaster preparedness is more important than ever. In these events that affect huge populations, emergency response teams get overwhelmed, leaving neighbors to help neighbors in the first (and often most critical) stages of response. In order to create resilient communities, neighbors would ideally get to know and trust each other. With the decrease in social interactions outside work/home spheres (Oldenburg 1989), it’s becoming increasingly difficult to create these bonds that produce social capital. My thesis examines the app Nextdoor as a virtual third place, and its ability to create trust and social capital in an online community (Steinkuehler et al. 2006). I administered a survey via Nextdoor and performed a qualitative analysis on posts with high levels of activity to determine whether this online community could be a feasible virtual third place that cultivates social capital, and by extension resilience to disasters.
Framing: To what extent can trusted organizations enhance the resilience of community networks before a crisis occurs?
Focus: What kinds of interactions are currently taking place between neighbors, and are they helpful or harmful in facilitating connection?
Oldenburg, R. 1989. The Great Good Place: Cafe´s, Coffee Shops, Community Centers, Beauty Parlors, General Stores, Bars, Hangouts, and How They Get You Through The Day. New York: Marlowe & Company.
Steinkuehler, Constance A., and Dmitri Williams. “Where Everybody Knows Your (Screen) Name: Online Games as ‘Third Places.'” Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication 11, no. 4 (2006): 885-909.