The Society of Problem Solvers

Communities Act Best When They Perceive Clearly

To meet this challenge, we need more than new media models. We need new ways of being together. This essay proposes a reorientation: from journalism as product to signal as relationship, from centralized broadcasting to decentralized coordination, and from consumer media logic to Power With information infrastructures. Drawing from the theory of Coordination as Power, and using human swarm intelligence as a generative model, we explore the concept of Civic Signal Hubs: modular, community-driven systems that support visibility, coherence, and mutual accountability without reproducing hierarchies. These hubs are not technological solutions, though technology may assist them. They are cultural practices made visible.

The Civic Signal Hub: A Pattern for Emergence

If Power With is the missing ingredient in our information systems, then the Civic Signal Hub is a pattern for reintroducing it. A Civic Signal Hub is not a singular technology or a physical space, but a living, adaptive structure. It exists wherever people come together to share, interpret, and act upon local signals in a way that sustains mutual visibility and collective agency. Unlike legacy media organizations or content platforms, a Civic Signal Hub is not designed to broadcast from the center. It is designed to weave from the margins, allowing coordination to emerge through a distributed network of relationships.

To bring the idea of a Civic Signal Hub into practice, we must move from metaphor to structure. Although each hub will necessarily reflect the distinct needs, culture, and rhythms of its locality, there are core components that make the model function. These elements are not rigid requirements. They are dynamic functions that, when present in some form, allow the flow of Power With coordination to emerge and sustain itself. Think of them less as a checklist and more as a constellation: loosely held, deeply interconnected, and adaptable to change.