Remote File Sharing for Community-led Local Agenda 21 Sustainability with Internet, Intranets and VideoConferencing

This paper considers new opportunities for ease of remote file sharing through the Internet, Intranets and VideoConferencing, as facilitating opportunities for informed consumer intervention and greater accountability of the design. A remote file sharing experiment, [through a VideoConference link], of a 3D CAD estate model, collaboratively developed with a local resident?s association, is discussed. A different example looks at use of the Internet route by a small practice in the North West, developing QuickTime and QuickTimeVirtual Reality files for remote distribution and collaboration. The value of the full building object-orientated, data based model, [incorporating all related data and decisions from conception, client participation, project and facilities and life time management], is seen to offer an excellent vehicle for illustrating, negotiating and recording decisions. New international CAD standards for remote transfer and file sharing bring ease of use into the arena. Associated peripherals for remote file sharing through both Internet and video/teleconferencing, point to a transformation in the way we collaborate in the future. Signs from a broad band of businesses indicate that there is a clear understanding [in some circles] of the potential and the specific orientation of Web targeting, people-networking and dialogue. The key change is that those who understand this, build on the particular opportunity to contact and relate with any community of interest and to develop dialogue in a deeper, closer manner. So, we can see a strange phenomenon that the remoteness can actually bring a closeness of a new kind, as communities explore common interests. The paper considers how this may be the key to involving thousands of residents in a well-recorded dialogue, so bringing improved opportunities for meeting European standards in public accountability and community involvement in the development of Local Agenda 21 sustainability strategies.