Page 40 - Mike Ratner CC - WISR Complete Dissertation - v6

participation is enacted through the medium of talk" (Fraser, 1990) and "a realm of social life in

which public opinion can be formed" so it is important consider where these opportunities are and

how interest inspires people in contemporary society to come together and have a public dialogue.

Neighborhoods across the US are overwhelmed dealing with many social issues including

opioid and heroin addiction, gangs, pollution, police brutality, discrimination, run down housing,

poverty, school shootings and more that further cause division between different groups of people,

and to make matters worse, many of us barely know our neighbors or what is affecting our locales.

Emergent efforts arise from a relatively spontaneous process of group formation. For

example, in response to a natural disaster, an emergent response group may form. These groups

are characterized as having no preexisting structure (e.g. group membership, allocated roles) or

prior experience working together. Yet, these groups still express high levels of interdependence

and coordinate knowledge, resources, and tasks. (Majchrzak, Jarvenpaa, & Hollingshead, 2007)

With the recent weather incidents like hurricanes hitting the US adding this is a relevant addition.

The good news is that the people in many neighborhood communities are coming alive,

expressing their concerns and finding positive outlets to express new energy, talent, and creativity

-- attributes that can be channeled into improving everyone's quality of life. But all too often, we

see that these neighborhoods can’t take full advantage of their residents' energy and commitment.

Many of the people who live in these neighborhoods work more than one job and are not at the

table when problems are being discussed and decisions are being made. It is often the same people

who try to represent all concerns in the neighborhood and sometimes these leaders "burn out."

So how can people tap into the talent and creativity where they live for the benefit of the

neighborhood as a whole? The true nature of Community Conversations as deliberative dialogue

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