1st-Mile : New Mexico

Broadband Networking for Twenty First Century Community Sustainability

New Mexico is a state of unique socio-cultural significance and enchanting eco-settings.   This state is currently beginning to set national examples for its intentions and efforts to integrate arts, sciences, energy, environment, education and economics with sustainable community-building.    So, why are New Mexico’s communities and people so very far on the wrong side of the digital divide?  There are many critical statewide telecommunications needs; there are some daunting public and private sector impediments; and there is no integrated, broadly serving, achievable strategy for the state’s networked future.   These problems can also be very timely opportunities if there are enough motivated interests in doing something about it.   Might New Mexico and its communities set a national example for statewide and local networked society development?

Key to this proposed program and initiatives is the precept that the new information economy, much like that of water, energy, agriculture and other understandings of ecological sustainability, must be locally regenerative; that information infrastructure, policies and economies must turn from supply-side to demand-side investments and benefits.   Is this the place and time to begin?   

Proposed:  A three day national, state and local issues and actions conference and workshops. The program will be organized to be decisively informative, to promote conversations, and to result in agreed next-step action agendas.    A number of U.S. (+ Canadian and Latin Am.) guests will be invited to participate, offering specialized expertise on relevant networked society trends, technologies, policies, issues, applications and examples; and to join with New Mexico business leaders, government representatives, citizen activists, investors and public sector champions, in making this state the example-setting leader in fulfilling the promises of a networked society.  The program will be stewarded to move from a ‘big picture’ national overview, to state issues and opportunities, to a pragmatic focus on innovative but realizable First Mile strategies for New Mexico urban and rural locales.

The conference and workshops will also be conducted online, providing participatory pre-conference planning and program development; real-time interactive program participation and reporting; and post-conference conclusions, follow-up decision-making, and publication.

This conference and workshops is intended as a dedicated step towards making New Mexico cities and towns, example-setting creators and practitioners of ecologically healthy, culturally rich, economically vital, networked communities of learning; virtually living up to Wallace Stegner’s hope for the American West, of “a society to match the scenery”.

Contact:   Richard Lowenberg    505-989-9110      rl@radlab.com