About
Ghost of Midnight is an online journal about fostering community within neighborhoods, with a special focus on Front Porch Forum (FPF). My wife, Valerie, and I founded FPF in 2006.
Front Porch Forum’s mission is to help neighbors connect and foster community within neighborhoods. FPF hosts a network of online neighborhood forums, based on a model refined over six years by the Five Sisters neighborhood in Burlington, Vermont, USA. This neighborhood was recognized in 2006 as a “top ten” neighborhood in the United States by Cottage Living magazine and many residents point to their forum as a key part of that success.
After three years of operating our pilot network, we’ve expanded into two adjacent counties. Now we cover 25 northwest Vermont towns with a web of 140 neighborhood forums and an amazing 17,000 households subscribe, including more than 40% of dozens of towns and neighborhoods.
Our members are making wonderful use of their neighborhood forums, as can be seen by their comments, local media coverage, and on this blog.
Residents of Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties, plus Starksboro, may join their neighborhood’s forum (it’s free). Others may sign up for our waiting list or ask about hiring our service for a fee.
We’re eager to learn more from others, as well as field questions, so please comment via this blog. Thanks!
-Michael Wood-Lewis
P.S. Learn about this blog’s name… Ghost of Midnight.