The City of Newport on Wednesday announced it has joined Nextdoor, the private social networking site for neighborhoods, as a Partner Agency.
The decision to join Nextdoor is part of an ongoing effort to advance the City’s technological and civic engagement strategy, and follows the launch of a new Smart911 Emergency Alert system last month.
Currently, Newport has 11 active Nextdoor neighborhood groups with 4,962 verified members, representing 27 percent of the City’s roughly 14,000 households.
As a Nextdoor Partner Agency, the City will be able to reach all of those registered users at once, or offer messages tailored to specific neighborhoods. And while city officials will be able to share information and respond to questions posed on its Partner Page, per Nextdoor’s privacy policy, they will not be able to engage, or view, private neighborhood discussions.
Nextdoor users in Newport can expect to receive updates on topics such as roadwork, parking bans, trash delays, emergency alerts, and other civic activities.
Newport joins the City of Providence as the second citywide Nextdoor Partner Agency in the state. Nextdoor users can find the City’s official account at nextdoor.com/pages/city-of-newport