City of Wichita government and the Wichita Police Department (WPD) announced today a partnership with Nextdoor, a private social network for neighborhoods that improves citywide and neighbor-to-neighbor communications.
City government will use Nextdoor to engage residents on building stronger, safer communities, in part, by working with WPD to increase safety and strengthen virtual neighborhood watch efforts.
“We are giving residents more avenues to easily and effectively connect with city departments, and each other, about the things that matter most to their communities,” Mayor Jeff Longwell said.
More than 200 Wichita neighborhoods are connected on Nextdoor, which allows residents to create private neighborhood websites to share information, including neighborhood public safety issues, community events and activities, local services, and even lost pets. Nextdoor is free for residents and the City. Each Wichita neighborhood has its own private Nextdoor neighborhood website, accessible only to residents of that neighborhood. Neighborhoods establish and manage their own website.
The City and its departments will not be able to access residents’ websites, contact information, or content. Members must verify that they live within the neighborhood before joining Nextdoor. Information shared on Nextdoor is password protected and cannot be accessed by Google or other search engines.
“It’s vital to maintain and increase safety in Wichita communities,” said WPD Chief Gordon Ramsay. “Nextdoor empowers neighbors to keep their communities safe and connected.”
To join a neighborhood Nextdoor website, please visit www.nextdoor.com and enter your address; for questions about a website, please visit help.nextdoor.com.
