| Website | https://jeffdmerrell.ghost.io/ |
| Home base | Evanston, Illinois, USA |
| https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffmerrell/ |
Thinking-out-loud about a design project underway.
This is thinking-out-loud about work-in-progress. The context is my effort to help design a local environmental justice curriculum. "Curriculum" in a very loose sense. What I am working on is a set of learning activities that are connected, but not scripted. Sort of a choose-your-own-adventure approach. The target learners are
It never ceases to amaze me how vast majority of people think nowadays building community is all about completing transactions vs. building long-term relationships.
That's how messed up the incentives behind #cmgr are at the moment, as a result of our tech fetish with traditional #SocialMedia 😔
What if we listened and learned all the time? And what if more of the listening and engagement were done by residents, for residents?
Continuous community listening as a civic utility https://jeffdmerrell.ghost.io/continuous-listening-as-utility/
When we think about how we listen to folks who live in our communities, we likely think about meetings. Special community meetings. Or projects that include community engagement meetings as one step in a larger project plan. But projects and stand-alone meetings have flaws. They are designed and facilitated inconsistently;
This hits all the true notes.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/may/06/american-cities-cars-public-transportation
Reasons to be a rugby fan.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/30/womens-rugby-trans-ban
“The village model shifts the question from ‘How do I individually consume better?’ to ‘Who can I think with?’”
Long post but worth diving into.
https://open.substack.com/pub/cardcatalogforlife/p/the-information-diet-isnt-enough
Neighbors know how to do the work.
Creating neighborhood solutions to neighborhood challenges https://jeffdmerrell.ghost.io/creating-neighborhood-solutions-to-neighborhood-challenges/
One of the bits of wisdom I learned as an educator was to think about the design of a course as guided by a kind of story. The basic arc of the story in my case always started by first defining a big, complex challenge, then exploring some ideas, each
When designing community listening events, do we think about our own data collection needs rather than participant experience?
Thinking about thinking tasks https://jeffdmerrell.ghost.io/thinking-about-thinking-tasks/
Let's start with a fictional account about a real meeting to illustrate thinking about thinking tasks in the design of community listening activities. You live in a close-knit neighborhood and recently felt a nudge to learn more about local efforts that impact climate change. Your 3rd grade daughter keeps talking
RE: https://masto.ai/@Nonilex/116466964252249075
“This is the latest stupid move made by a president who continues to harm science and American innovation,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren (California).
I might also add to the “continues to harm:” healthcare, the environment, world stability, civil rights, history, architecture, the economy, the rule of law, education…pretty much everything he touches.
Luis Suarez
