Designing Physical and Virtual Communities

In this paper I outline the characteristics of built environments that are believed to be effective in supporting social activity in physical space. I then discuss the degree to which these features can be translated into digital space. I argue that, although we can learn much from studying place-based communities, simply replicating the appearance of participants, architectural backdrops, and urban forms online is an ineffective strategy. Screen-based social sites should be designed with the specifics of the medium in mind. If we wish to build effective online communities, we also need to gain a better understanding of the complex nature of interpersonal and group communication, and of the social, cultural, political, and physical context in which it takes place.