The Future of Local Memory Websites as Empowering Niches in Amsterdam

In this article, we explain how we envision the further interconnection of existing initiatives of online local memory collecting into a new social infrastructure, that is beneficial to the whole of Amsterdam. Three examples of local memory websites show how large districts in the East, South and West are represented thoroughly by local residents, in spite of differences in organizational characteristics. The concept of empowerment, as a multilevel construct, lends itself to frame these examples as important building blocks of socially sustainable districts and neighborhoods. Local knowledge, experiences and people become connected across Amsterdam when local memory websites become interconnected, by introducing city-wide compelling themes. Discussing this social infrastructure in relation to the concept of smart cities, leads us to a plea for more research focus on <i>sociably</i> smart cities.