There’s a lot of talk these days about communities feeling like they’re not in control – that people are feeling powerless and increasingly disconnected from the decisions that affect them. But often all it takes to change things is for enough people to come together to make their voice heard. And Nextdoor can really help with that.
It often starts with one motivated person. Lynsey moved to Kings Park in Glasgow a few months ago. She thought Nextdoor sounded like a brilliant idea because nowadays we all live such individual lives that there often isn’t really a sense of community anymore.
Since moving to Kings Park, she noticed that the frequency of the train service was much lower than her last neighbourhood. There were only three trains in the morning, and often one was cancelled – and the later one got her and her fellow commuters into work too late. During the rest of the day, trains were very irregular, and trains back in the evening were also few and far between.
Lynsey posted a message into the Kings Park news feed to ask her neighbours what they thought of the train service. A big discussion ensued, showing that many people agreed that the service was poor – and other issues like accessibility for people with prams or wheelchairs also emerged as a key issue. Lynsey and a group of neighbours went to see their MSP, James Dornan. James suggested that she put together a survey to help strengthen her campaign to improve the train service.
Lynsey has so far used Nextdoor to survey over 200 residents, and has now involved her local MP, Stuart McDonald. She has now turned her efforts into a full-blown campaign, and her next step is to compile a report for ScotRail, informed by the views of the local residents.
Lynsey is hopeful that her efforts will translate into a much better service for thousands of Kings Park residents. And she says she just couldn’t have got going without an easy way to connect with her neighbours. What a great use of Nextdoor – and hopefully an inspiration to others who want to change something about their local area.
Do you have a story about how you’ve used Nextdoor in your neighbourhood? Let us know.
