This can be anything from the local Little League schedule to arts events to a PTA meeting. In essence, networked neighborhoods can have their own intranets - electronic hubs where they are able to share information and reinforce their sense of community. Home security is often cited as a prime application for home automation but it's even more suited to neighborhood automation. The success and popularity of neighborhood watch programs is based on that fact that no one is more vigilant or more likely to notice something unusual happening in a neighborhood than the people who actually live there. When tied to neighborhood automation, though, neighborhood watch programs become much more powerful, as residents get the advantages of both an automated alarm and the sharp eyes of their neighbors, who can be alerted whenever a neighbor's alarm has been tripped.
Public safety is another ideal application for neighborhood automation.
Residents could be alerted to emergency situations ranging form tornados to gas leaks. With neighborhood automation, the television and radio can be activated automatically to deliver the life-saving message. Perhaps most exciting are those applications that no one has imagined yet, but that will flower when neighborhood automation reaches maturity. After all, no one envisaged eBay when the Web first began to gain popularity. The medium will discover its own applications.