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 sociably smart cities.