[governance] Cities and Internet Governance

[Thomas Lowenhaupt]

With the ICANN having deemed cities eligible to develop TLDs, and with cities such as Barcelona, Berlin, New York, and Paris lining up for TLDs, it’s time to consider the place and impact city-TLDs will have on Internet governance.

 

My presumption in presenting the following scenario is that cities will choose to put their TLDs to use for their long term development: to benefit city organization and governance, communities, neighborhoods, small businesses, residents, and their global “findability,” all toward the creation of economically viable and livable cities; and not merely treat their TLDs as monetization opportunities. Further, that cities will see their TLDs as community / civic resources, as vital as air, water, roads, and education systems are to their future. And we see the formation of conservator or trustee systems to assure their wise management. 

 

That said, let me review our experience developing a governance structure for the .nyc TLD, albeit a work in progress, and then project where cities might fit within the broader governance of the Net.

 

Creating a governance structure for a city TLD is new territory and we’re still fashioning structures to facilitate the TLD’s efficacy. Since creating Connecting.nyc Inc. as a not-for-profit in 2006 we’ve seen governance as the critical factor in determining the TLD’s success: important both to the inclusion of a diversity of viewpoints in planning and directing the TLD’s operation, and to receiving the approval and cooperation of the city of New York whose support we deem essential.

 

To date we’ve recruited a great core for our board of directors, established a Resident Advisory Network, and are in discussions with city officials about adding several ex-officio seats. To gain a feel for the city's concerns about the TLD’s governance, read the transcript (http://www.openplans.org/projects/campaign-for.nyc/council-hearing-transcript) of our October 17 hearing before the City Council, in particular our discussion with Council Member DeBlasio about his desire to place a “short leash” on our operation. 

 

On our governance page (http://www.openplans.org/projects/campaign-for.nyc/board-of-directors) we discuss our intention to create space on our board of directors for public participation, with our Resident Advisory Network a first step in that direction. It’s a different structure than the ICANN’s current stakeholder model, destined to be local and more hands on.

 

With city TLD governance structures of this sort in place, we see city-TLDs, each with a governance model reflective of the city it serves, providing a mechanism for broader public participation within ICANN’s structure. It’s my expectation that, with their growing share of the world’s population, now 50% heading toward 70% in 2030, the Internet’s future governance form will reflect the participation of city-TLDs. And as we create participatory and effective governance structures for city-TLDs, they will garner standing for a significant role in the Net’s governance. 



Where are we today? In June 2008 the developers of the Barcelona, Berlin, New York, and Paris TLDs met in Paris to discuss cooperation between city-TLDs and participation in Internet governance processes. Last week a coalition of cities presented ICANN with a Notice of Intent to create a constituency within the GNSO. This is an appropriate first step, and within this newly developing sphere one begins to see an emergence of an engaged user community that will strongly influence governance of the Internet.

 

There’s lots more work to be done here, and we would appreciate and benefit from the thoughts of those on this list.
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