Project Summary

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Boston residents take control of our public spaces by using virtual worlds to express our vision of their neighborhoods. We investigate our physical spaces, imagine and design virtual ones, and translate that virtual expression into a story of ourselves and our places.

About me

Like so many others, I came to Greater Boston in 1993 for school and made it my home. From 1994 to 1998 I ran an afterschool and summer program in Chinatown, where I also volunteered as a community organizer. I stayed for law school, then worked for 5 years training poverty lawyers. I am currently a Fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society. I believe that civic engagement through virtual venues is not only possible but increasingly vital. Eric Gordon is a professor at Emerson College, which is incubating the project during its first phase. Eric studies communications and urban design and is passionate about keeping our public spaces vibrant. Nigel Jacob is Special Assistant to Boston Mayor Menino on technology-related issues. Nigel originally hatched this idea, seeing that new technologies like Second Life afford cities like Boston new ways to connect with citizens and invigorate their civic lives. Our core team is already diverse, the three of us representing very different approaches to the project. We believe that to make a difference, we must bring in the right people from each community -- not necessarily institutional chiefs, but leaders who have the respect of their peers. Because we know our project is a work in progress, we expect and hope that participants in the pilot phase will in fact act as collaborators, taking ownership of the project and showing us how to make it work for their own constituents.