I am grateful to have discovered an organization that is working very meticulously to accomplish a lot of what I'd like to see in "A Village Full of Coops." The group is Transition Towns and their website is
http://www.transitionus.org/welcome-transition-us
I believe it would be great if many people in the 500 Fabulous Neighborhoods that Billy Talen talked about in the 2009 Mayoral race would work towards developing Transition Towns. The idea is that a group of 5 - 20 people who live in a contiguous neighborhood would initiate a Transition Hub and that the population of each Transition Town would be a maximum of around 20,000 people.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Curriculum Vitae for NewTown
Curriculum Vitae for NewTown
My exploration of intentional communities began in 1971 when I decided that what I had been taught about how the world works would not work for me.
I got my first “real” job as a Delivery Salesperson for a local office supply company where I learned the meaning of customer service as well as the details of the office supply industry. During my eight years at Commercial Office Supply, I finished my BA degree in Sociology at California State University, Los Angeles.
I became acquainted with Transactional Analysis and the works of Eric Berne and Claude Steiner, and gained my initial understanding of my life scripts relating to how I transacted with the world. I became involved with Family Synergy, an organization dedicated to networking around intentional community and related topics. The first group I joined was exploring the idea of living together. I eventually moved into the Allott Street House where I got my first hands-on look at intentional communities from the inside.
During this time, I began exploring the possibility of working and earning a living with friends. I put a notice in the Family Synergy newsletter stating my interest in working with other members of the group and got a response from a member who owned a small distributor of electro-mechanical parts. I left Commercial Office Supply and went to work for my friend Harley at Distributor Specialists where I worked until leaving Los Angeles in 1984.
I moved to San Francisco in 1984 with my wife and devoted myself to learning about relationships, children, and the many dynamic relationships present in every family, thus deepening my understanding and awareness of the challenges facing intentional communities.
I worked at the law firm of Sedgwick, Detert, Moran and Arnold in January of 1987, where I remained until September, 1993. This experience enhanced my real-world business experience . both making me more valuable to any intentional community and seeding the concept of a new type of intentional community. While working in the law offices, I became active in the Expanded Family Network, a Bay Area group similar to Family Synergy. My understanding of, and interest in, intentional community broadened and deepened. I also met several people who I remain friends with to this day.
My Aunt Audrey passed on in 1993, giving me a large enough inheritance to forgo traditional work for several years. That same year, I saw a presentation about a community in Germany called ZEGG and was deeply inspired by the visions of groups of people living harmoniously, working through their issues, and building a beautiful community out of a former Stasi training camp.I became very involved in attempting to start a similar community in the United States and began arranging a series of ZEGG workshops with the idea of jump-starting this new community. The workshop in Eugene, Oregon in December, 1994 generated great enthusiasm and I moved to Eugene in January of 1995 to begin creating what become known as LoveGarden Circle. We learned a lot together, had some wonderful events, and some incredible conversations. We stayed in Eugene for seven months before moving to Portland to join another intentional household called the Habitat House.
The ZEGG US tour continued for a year and a half and some of the Americans created the first American Winter Came in February, 1996 in Oracle, Arizona. This resulted in a new networking community called The Network for a New Culture, which continues to produce an annual summer camp that attracts over 150 people from all over the globe. Some of the original ZEGG people remain involved.
During the first Winter Camp, I met two of the key people at the Ganas Community in Staten Island, NY. During our interactions, I realized that I still had more to learn about intentional communities. Ganas was founded in 1978 and had a population of 80- a very stable community and the logical next step. I lived there for three months and continue to enjoy warm working relationships with the people there.
September of 1997 saw me in Tucson, AZ starting another community with about 30 other people. This effort drove home the challenges of creating a viable intentional community. I tried again in 1999, when a group purchased a 2.27 acre site just southwest of Tucson. We began rehabilitating and reclaiming this former horse ranch and introducing permaculture techniques to the land. Flowering Desert Permaculture Site was born. Our understanding of intentional community had progressed to the point where we realized that highly developed inter-personal communication skills was necessary. We embarked on the study of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) as soon as we moved onto the land. One of our traveling members had studied under Marshall Rosenberg, then came back and taught the rest of us the basics. We then met a person who is a certified NVC trainer and began to do study and practice groups with her. We continued this practice and study until Flowering Desert ended and the property was sold in 2000. During this time, I also worked for two years as a contractor doing contract management, planning and purchasing for Bombardier Aerospace and Allied Signal Aerospace in Tucson; where I honed business skills large corporate environments.
After the end of Flowering Desert I began to seriously evaluate my intentional community experience. I noticed that there were hundreds of attempts to find the right group of like-minded people and that 90% of these attempts ended without a community being formed or a community that foundered and eventually failed. I began to suspect that there was something seriously wrong with this approach to community building. One day during a conversation with a fellow community builder I had an epiphany. She had worked diligently with a group of people to put together a co-housing community in Tucson. Finally after seven years, she moved into her newly constructed home. I asked her if it was community. Her reply was, “not yet, but if people stick around for 10 –20 years it will be.” BINGO!!! In that flash of a moment, I integrated what I had learned in the ZEGG workshops and at Ganas. What I got was this. Create infrastructure, context and excitement; then people with gravitate towards the activities and people that resonate with them.
Thus, the entire concept of NewTown is about creating fertile ground in which to plant the seeds of community and to nurture growth of community. Towards this end, I continue to study co-housing, aspiring ecovillages and new urbanism. My practice of Nonviolent Communication continues to deepen.
Why Now
· Successes of co-housing and aspiring ecovillage developments
· Development of “new urbanism”
· The need to re-claim and develop “greyfields”; dying malls and neighborhoods
· Need to re-claim and rehabilitate human capital
Manifesting the vision of NewTown requires clear-headed experience and understanding of the dynamics of developing an intentional community as well as skills in collaboration and nurturing. My life experience leads me to this point of co-creating and developing NewTown.
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Executive Summary
NewTown is an innovative means of solving a number of very serious and seemingly intractable social problems including stress, poverty, boredom among teen-agers, workplace dissatisfaction and anger, the inability of corporations to meet the needs of changing markets, and environmental degradation. The NewTown concept uses an open systems approach where individuals, groups, and projects differentiate themselves to create environments where “birds of a feather” find each other and ”flock together”.
Since we begin with a culture that values consumerism, we begin with the office and retail space and allow the rest of the project to be build around the NewTown Mall.
Newtown achieves self-sustainability by utilizing permaculture design concepts and by producing goods and services for consumption within the community and trade with other communities to obtain those goods and services not currently produced.
NewTown has a strong positive impact on individuals and society at large because its infrastructure is designed to maximize conviviality, human interaction, shared facilities, common walkways, and open space. The use of bicycles, walking and ride-sharing is encouraged. This lessens environmental impact by reducing dependence on automobiles.
NewTown serves individuals by providing an opportunity for life in a fully integrated environment. It serves business and commercial communities by providing highly committed employees and stakeholders.
Building NewTown requires collaborative efforts by contractors, developers, co-housing experts, and many others. NewTown requires people with experience, vision, and commitment who can build political and financial support for the project in order to create the new American dream.
Business focus of NewTown:
1. Mixed-use (residential, commercial and light industrial) real estate development
2. Business Incubator for the development of democratic worker-owned businesses
3. Educational facilities (accredited university)
4. Medical facilities (integrative teaching hospital and “emotional hospital.”
Since we begin with a culture that values consumerism, we begin with the office and retail space and allow the rest of the project to be build around the NewTown Mall.
Newtown achieves self-sustainability by utilizing permaculture design concepts and by producing goods and services for consumption within the community and trade with other communities to obtain those goods and services not currently produced.
NewTown has a strong positive impact on individuals and society at large because its infrastructure is designed to maximize conviviality, human interaction, shared facilities, common walkways, and open space. The use of bicycles, walking and ride-sharing is encouraged. This lessens environmental impact by reducing dependence on automobiles.
NewTown serves individuals by providing an opportunity for life in a fully integrated environment. It serves business and commercial communities by providing highly committed employees and stakeholders.
Building NewTown requires collaborative efforts by contractors, developers, co-housing experts, and many others. NewTown requires people with experience, vision, and commitment who can build political and financial support for the project in order to create the new American dream.
Business focus of NewTown:
1. Mixed-use (residential, commercial and light industrial) real estate development
2. Business Incubator for the development of democratic worker-owned businesses
3. Educational facilities (accredited university)
4. Medical facilities (integrative teaching hospital and “emotional hospital.”
Target Audience
It is my desire to build or manifest NewTown. It is for this reason that I am targeting “Towards a New American Dream” to the following people:
· People who have some knowledge about intentional community
· Developers, city planners, bankers and others who will be needed to make NewTown a reality
· People who are excited by my proposal and are themselves potentially able to help turn this idea into a reality
· People who are excited by my proposal and are willing to refer me to other people who potentially are interested and able to help.
· People who have some knowledge about intentional community
· Developers, city planners, bankers and others who will be needed to make NewTown a reality
· People who are excited by my proposal and are themselves potentially able to help turn this idea into a reality
· People who are excited by my proposal and are willing to refer me to other people who potentially are interested and able to help.
An American Problem
· 75 to 90% of all primary care physician visits are stress-related. One survey reports that 75% of respondents experience “great stress” at least once per week. The National Sleep Foundation estimates the direct cost of lost productivity due to stress in the American workplace at $18 billion per year.
· 30% of high school students are bored in school and outside. Boredom is a causative link behind a number of problem behaviors such as alcohol and drug abuse, higher school dropout rates, and vandalism. Each problem behavior carries social and fiscal costs.
· 35.1 million Americans live in poverty. This number equals the population of California, the world’s 7th largest economy. StarPoint Inc. (a Bentonville, AR nonprofit organization that assists the poor) fixes the financial impact of poverty on government at between $290,000.00 and $1.3 million for each person in poverty during that person’s lifetime- a minimum cost of over 10.2 trillion dollars.
· One American consumes as much energy as 531 Ethiopians. Stephen Leeb, an expert on the intricate relationship between energy and financial markets, predicts another bout of double-digit inflation before the end of the decade because of spiraling energy costs.
America paves 1.3 million acres per year and loses another million acres of productive farmland to development. This equal a land area double the size of Delaware. This reduces quality of life by increasing vehicular traffic, adding heavy equipment, noise, and significantly impacting both air quality and ground water quality and quantity.
“Food imports have been steadily rising for four years. There were a few months in 2004 when the United States imported more food than it exported. Our food stores are now stocked with fruits and vegetables year-round with the origin and source changing with the seasons. That’s why horticultural products are the largest component of agricultural imports.” The steady increase in agricultural imports is a trend that Infanger said will not go away. Consumers expect a wide variety of foods from around the globe. He said exports will vary with production levels, global competition and the value of the dollar.”
http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/news/2005/Feb/imports.htm
It appears that part of our problem is that Americans rely on imported foods rather than eating locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables when they are in season.
· Nearly 50% of all workers are dissatisfied with their careers and suffer from overwork and stress. A recent study by one major employer places the cost of replacing one customer service representative earning $18,000 annually at nearly $58,000.
· 90% of companies recognize the need to adapt their cultures to fit changing markets. Despite this, 50% of these companies rate their efforts as fair or poor because they fail to produce the desired results while accidentally causing harm such as hostility, broken relationships, burnout, and failure to adapt to evolving market needs.
· 82% of employees consider overtly responding in kind to angry co-workers. 9% of these employees actually do so. Covert forms of aggression include failing to transmit needed information, coming late to meetings, wasting resources, or delaying responses to phone calls or memos- all at enormous cost to employers and the economy.
There are other documented indicators; in addition to the above which further corroborate my belief that what we are currently doing (i.e. the current “system”) is seriously broken and that creative, progressive, “out of the box” solutions are needed.
· 30% of high school students are bored in school and outside. Boredom is a causative link behind a number of problem behaviors such as alcohol and drug abuse, higher school dropout rates, and vandalism. Each problem behavior carries social and fiscal costs.
· 35.1 million Americans live in poverty. This number equals the population of California, the world’s 7th largest economy. StarPoint Inc. (a Bentonville, AR nonprofit organization that assists the poor) fixes the financial impact of poverty on government at between $290,000.00 and $1.3 million for each person in poverty during that person’s lifetime- a minimum cost of over 10.2 trillion dollars.
· One American consumes as much energy as 531 Ethiopians. Stephen Leeb, an expert on the intricate relationship between energy and financial markets, predicts another bout of double-digit inflation before the end of the decade because of spiraling energy costs.
America paves 1.3 million acres per year and loses another million acres of productive farmland to development. This equal a land area double the size of Delaware. This reduces quality of life by increasing vehicular traffic, adding heavy equipment, noise, and significantly impacting both air quality and ground water quality and quantity.
“Food imports have been steadily rising for four years. There were a few months in 2004 when the United States imported more food than it exported. Our food stores are now stocked with fruits and vegetables year-round with the origin and source changing with the seasons. That’s why horticultural products are the largest component of agricultural imports.” The steady increase in agricultural imports is a trend that Infanger said will not go away. Consumers expect a wide variety of foods from around the globe. He said exports will vary with production levels, global competition and the value of the dollar.”
http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/news/2005/Feb/imports.htm
It appears that part of our problem is that Americans rely on imported foods rather than eating locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables when they are in season.
· Nearly 50% of all workers are dissatisfied with their careers and suffer from overwork and stress. A recent study by one major employer places the cost of replacing one customer service representative earning $18,000 annually at nearly $58,000.
· 90% of companies recognize the need to adapt their cultures to fit changing markets. Despite this, 50% of these companies rate their efforts as fair or poor because they fail to produce the desired results while accidentally causing harm such as hostility, broken relationships, burnout, and failure to adapt to evolving market needs.
· 82% of employees consider overtly responding in kind to angry co-workers. 9% of these employees actually do so. Covert forms of aggression include failing to transmit needed information, coming late to meetings, wasting resources, or delaying responses to phone calls or memos- all at enormous cost to employers and the economy.
There are other documented indicators; in addition to the above which further corroborate my belief that what we are currently doing (i.e. the current “system”) is seriously broken and that creative, progressive, “out of the box” solutions are needed.
What Is Not Working
Society has not stood idly by in the face of the indicators outlined above. This section presents a short summary of the responses to each problem and their effects.
· Stress: A Google search on the phrase “stress management” yields over 1.2 million sites hawking everything from pills to diets, exercise, and meditation. This maze of conflicting information and solutions can make relieving stress more stressful than stress itself. In essence, society’s chaotic and disorganized efforts surrounding stress have the effect of worsening the problem.
· Boredom: "The kids have given us some really good ideas," says Assistant Parks and Recreation Director Kelly Kollar. "They felt adults were telling them what they should do. They were really excited to have somebody ask them what they wanted to do."
(from Howell tackles teen boredom; Summer program offers beach fun, day trips by Karen Bouffard (Special to The Detroit News). Article is available online at http://www.detnews.com/2002/livingston/0205/16/d05l-491008.htm.)
Other responses include after school programs, Scouts, and church youth groups. The efficacy of these programs, which are organized by adults for children, (particularly middle school students who are the most vulnerable) is questionable, making the response a hit and miss affair with few concerted efforts.
· Poverty: “Generally, poverty is seen as either insufficient markets to efficiently direct individual actions towards economic efficient results (which would produce economic growth) or some non-market institution that is preventing markets from being efficient. If markets were allowed to do their magic, thus generate economic growth, poverty would be substantially eliminated. The faith in markets solving the problem of poverty is why economists and politicians frequently look towards economic growth as the solution to poverty.” (from Ending Poverty in America: The First Step (Draft) by Charles M. A. Clark, Senior Fellow, Vincentian Center for Church and Society, St. John’s University http://www.widerquist.com/usbig/discussionpapers/080-Clark-EndingPoverty.doc)
Most anti-poverty programs are plagued with excessive bureaucracy and a bewildering array of complicated, confusing, and compulsory rules that render them inaccessible to the people who need help the most. Meanwhile, people who are skilled at manipulating bureaucracies actually profit from these programs. This leads to more rules, more bureaucracy, and more rigidity, which only worsens the problem.
· Energy: “If we continue down the path of dependence on foreign sources without advancing new and innovative ways to improve conservation or increasing our domestic supply, U.S. energy consumption will continue to outgrow production, compromising our ability to remain safe and strong as a nation.” Rep. Gary Miller R-CA. 42nd Congressional District (http://www.house.gov/garymiller/EnergySelf-SufficiencyandSecurity.html)
A few non-profits such as Path to Freedom (http://pathtofreedom.com) and the New Roadmap Foundation (http://www.newroadmap.org) are working to find solutions to this issue. On a broader scale, nothing is being done to curb energy use. In fact, local governments actually encourage consumerism to generate tax income, particularly sales tax income.
· Land Use: Public/private programs such as conservation easements, purchase of development rights, and transferable development rights are severely limited by “private property rights.” Government agencies such as the EPA and educational efforts of such groups as the Sierra Club are equally powerless to stop the continual paving of farmland.
“Land protection, and its converse, development, must be viewed in light of private property rights. Government spending programs, regulations, and an individual's rights as a property owner drives the land market in this country. Daniels and Bowers (1997) remind us that "[t]he tension between the private ownership of land and the public interest is a fundamental and continual issue in the community efforts to manage growth." What land will be developed and what land will be protected is up to landowners, elected officials and the public to decide.” Protecting Farmland In Developing Communities: A Case Study Of The Tax Implications Of Agricultural Conservation Easements By Nanette Nelson, Laurie Fowler, and Jeffrey Dorfman, University of Georgia.
· Job Satisfaction and Workplace Culture: Many companies attempt “best practices” and “employee empowerment” programs. Implementing these programs often takes years, especially if the organization has a bureaucratic culture. These efforts also tend to be haphazard, meaning that few organizations effectively implement their ideas. This worsens employee frustration and dissatisfaction. Meanwhile, private consultants and coaches have created a huge array of products (workshops, audio/video presentations, customized seminars, consultancies, books, etc.) designed to step in where employers have failed with mixed results, due in large part to high price points that prevent mass entry.
· Workplace Anger: Many consulting firms offer anger management and employee assistance programs including psychological counseling, books, CD’s, and workshops. These programs, while possibly effective, are not nearly widespread enough to prevent problems from occurring and are most often employed reactively to respond to an incident that has already occurred instead of proactively to prevent problems from arising. Individual reluctance to step forward and admit a problem along with bureaucracy and red tape can also greatly hinder these programs’ effectiveness. Individual employees may fear job loss or other negative consequences if they enroll in such programs.
· Stress: A Google search on the phrase “stress management” yields over 1.2 million sites hawking everything from pills to diets, exercise, and meditation. This maze of conflicting information and solutions can make relieving stress more stressful than stress itself. In essence, society’s chaotic and disorganized efforts surrounding stress have the effect of worsening the problem.
· Boredom: "The kids have given us some really good ideas," says Assistant Parks and Recreation Director Kelly Kollar. "They felt adults were telling them what they should do. They were really excited to have somebody ask them what they wanted to do."
(from Howell tackles teen boredom; Summer program offers beach fun, day trips by Karen Bouffard (Special to The Detroit News). Article is available online at http://www.detnews.com/2002/livingston/0205/16/d05l-491008.htm.)
Other responses include after school programs, Scouts, and church youth groups. The efficacy of these programs, which are organized by adults for children, (particularly middle school students who are the most vulnerable) is questionable, making the response a hit and miss affair with few concerted efforts.
· Poverty: “Generally, poverty is seen as either insufficient markets to efficiently direct individual actions towards economic efficient results (which would produce economic growth) or some non-market institution that is preventing markets from being efficient. If markets were allowed to do their magic, thus generate economic growth, poverty would be substantially eliminated. The faith in markets solving the problem of poverty is why economists and politicians frequently look towards economic growth as the solution to poverty.” (from Ending Poverty in America: The First Step (Draft) by Charles M. A. Clark, Senior Fellow, Vincentian Center for Church and Society, St. John’s University http://www.widerquist.com/usbig/discussionpapers/080-Clark-EndingPoverty.doc)
Most anti-poverty programs are plagued with excessive bureaucracy and a bewildering array of complicated, confusing, and compulsory rules that render them inaccessible to the people who need help the most. Meanwhile, people who are skilled at manipulating bureaucracies actually profit from these programs. This leads to more rules, more bureaucracy, and more rigidity, which only worsens the problem.
· Energy: “If we continue down the path of dependence on foreign sources without advancing new and innovative ways to improve conservation or increasing our domestic supply, U.S. energy consumption will continue to outgrow production, compromising our ability to remain safe and strong as a nation.” Rep. Gary Miller R-CA. 42nd Congressional District (http://www.house.gov/garymiller/EnergySelf-SufficiencyandSecurity.html)
A few non-profits such as Path to Freedom (http://pathtofreedom.com) and the New Roadmap Foundation (http://www.newroadmap.org) are working to find solutions to this issue. On a broader scale, nothing is being done to curb energy use. In fact, local governments actually encourage consumerism to generate tax income, particularly sales tax income.
· Land Use: Public/private programs such as conservation easements, purchase of development rights, and transferable development rights are severely limited by “private property rights.” Government agencies such as the EPA and educational efforts of such groups as the Sierra Club are equally powerless to stop the continual paving of farmland.
“Land protection, and its converse, development, must be viewed in light of private property rights. Government spending programs, regulations, and an individual's rights as a property owner drives the land market in this country. Daniels and Bowers (1997) remind us that "[t]he tension between the private ownership of land and the public interest is a fundamental and continual issue in the community efforts to manage growth." What land will be developed and what land will be protected is up to landowners, elected officials and the public to decide.” Protecting Farmland In Developing Communities: A Case Study Of The Tax Implications Of Agricultural Conservation Easements By Nanette Nelson, Laurie Fowler, and Jeffrey Dorfman, University of Georgia.
· Job Satisfaction and Workplace Culture: Many companies attempt “best practices” and “employee empowerment” programs. Implementing these programs often takes years, especially if the organization has a bureaucratic culture. These efforts also tend to be haphazard, meaning that few organizations effectively implement their ideas. This worsens employee frustration and dissatisfaction. Meanwhile, private consultants and coaches have created a huge array of products (workshops, audio/video presentations, customized seminars, consultancies, books, etc.) designed to step in where employers have failed with mixed results, due in large part to high price points that prevent mass entry.
· Workplace Anger: Many consulting firms offer anger management and employee assistance programs including psychological counseling, books, CD’s, and workshops. These programs, while possibly effective, are not nearly widespread enough to prevent problems from occurring and are most often employed reactively to respond to an incident that has already occurred instead of proactively to prevent problems from arising. Individual reluctance to step forward and admit a problem along with bureaucracy and red tape can also greatly hinder these programs’ effectiveness. Individual employees may fear job loss or other negative consequences if they enroll in such programs.
Enter Intentional Communities
The best (and maybe the only) way to solve these serious problems is for people to band together into eco-villages or intentional communities.
Eco-village Defined
Robert and Diane Gilman (co-founders of the Global Eco-village Network) define “eco-village” as "A human-scale, full-featured settlement in which human activities are harmlessly integrated into the natural world in a way that is supportive of healthy human development and can be successfully continued into the future."
An eco-village is a neighborhood of people who share many basic common values and who cooperate to improve their collective lives. Some common features of eco-villages are:
· A combination of private households and shared common facilities such as gardens, community center, laundry-room, workshop and natural areas.
· Homes and common spaces built to minimize ecological impact
· A respect for individual and private pursuits, with an emphasis on common shared endeavors of the community.
Source: http://www.whitehawk.org/
One of the best examples of a highly developed eco-village is Eco-village at Ithaca, NY. Work on this community started in 1992 and was actually established in 1996. There are over 100 people living on 175 acres as of March, 2005; with further sustainable development planned. See their website at
http://www.eco-village.ithaca.ny.us/
Why Intentional Communities and Eco-Villages?Intentional communities and aspiring eco-villages offer the best realistic long-term solutions to the problems presented here because they are by nature experimental. There are no hard methods and few if any entrenched corporate or governmental cultures. Intentional communities exist to create new paradigms and new cultures.
Eco-village Defined
Robert and Diane Gilman (co-founders of the Global Eco-village Network) define “eco-village” as "A human-scale, full-featured settlement in which human activities are harmlessly integrated into the natural world in a way that is supportive of healthy human development and can be successfully continued into the future."
An eco-village is a neighborhood of people who share many basic common values and who cooperate to improve their collective lives. Some common features of eco-villages are:
· A combination of private households and shared common facilities such as gardens, community center, laundry-room, workshop and natural areas.
· Homes and common spaces built to minimize ecological impact
· A respect for individual and private pursuits, with an emphasis on common shared endeavors of the community.
Source: http://www.whitehawk.org/
One of the best examples of a highly developed eco-village is Eco-village at Ithaca, NY. Work on this community started in 1992 and was actually established in 1996. There are over 100 people living on 175 acres as of March, 2005; with further sustainable development planned. See their website at
http://www.eco-village.ithaca.ny.us/
Why Intentional Communities and Eco-Villages?Intentional communities and aspiring eco-villages offer the best realistic long-term solutions to the problems presented here because they are by nature experimental. There are no hard methods and few if any entrenched corporate or governmental cultures. Intentional communities exist to create new paradigms and new cultures.
Intentional Community Defined
According to the website of the Fellowship for Intentional Community:
Intentional Community is an inclusive term for ecovillages, cohousing, residential land trusts, communes, student co-ops, urban housing cooperatives and other related projects and dreams... www.ic.org
Intentional community is “a group of people who have chosen to live together with a common purpose, working cooperatively to create a lifestyle that reflects their shared values”
Christian, Diana Leafe; Creating a Life Together… pp xvi
Intentional Community is an inclusive term for ecovillages, cohousing, residential land trusts, communes, student co-ops, urban housing cooperatives and other related projects and dreams... www.ic.org
Intentional community is “a group of people who have chosen to live together with a common purpose, working cooperatively to create a lifestyle that reflects their shared values”
Christian, Diana Leafe; Creating a Life Together… pp xvi
Brief History of the Community Movement
Thousands of intentional communities have been started in the United States since the late 1700s. Some, like Oneida Colony are remembered today despite having ended long ago. Historically, 90% of all intentional communities fail within their first few years- a dismal record until one considers that the failure rate for normal business ventures is around 99% for the same time period.
The modern intentional community movement began in 1986, when the Fellowship for Intentional Community started publishing Communities Magazine.
http://www.ic.org. Co-Housing, an important development in this burgeoning movement, also began in the 1980’s. http://www.cohousing.org/
By 2003, enough experience and data existed to publish a “how to” to help new communities thrive: Creating a Life Together: Practical Tools to Grow Eco-villages and Intentional Communities by Diana Leafe Christian, New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, BC Canada, 2003. Research and experimentation continues today.
The modern intentional community movement began in 1986, when the Fellowship for Intentional Community started publishing Communities Magazine.
http://www.ic.org. Co-Housing, an important development in this burgeoning movement, also began in the 1980’s. http://www.cohousing.org/
By 2003, enough experience and data existed to publish a “how to” to help new communities thrive: Creating a Life Together: Practical Tools to Grow Eco-villages and Intentional Communities by Diana Leafe Christian, New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, BC Canada, 2003. Research and experimentation continues today.
Intentional Communities Respond
Intentional communities offer alternatives to the standard- and often ineffective societal responses. How well do they do?
§ Stress: Modern life is a pressure packed affair with too many projects, too many deadlines and too little time for family or oneself. The bottom line, in my view, is that most stress is caused by lack of vision, mission, clarity and boundary-setting.
Many intentional communities strive to create a life that is harmonious with nature and other people. Some communities invest significant time creating and implementing clear vision and mission statements to guide their members. EarthHaven Eco-village in Black Mountain, NC is one example. http://www.earthaven.org/vision/vision.htm
· Boredom: Many intentional communities include giving children a healthy place to play, learn, and grow in their mission statements; they are places where children are honored and not bored. Here are just a few examples.
o “Our approach to childcare is that it is parent-centered and integrated into the daily life of the community. On a practical level, this means working and taking care of your child at the same time, which may seem like a lot of extra work for parents. We feel that the kind of parents who thrive at Acorn as it is now relish the thought of working with their child and having kids contribute appropriately by age. Children can be found helping in the garden, gathering eggs, learning about tools, or doing various community chores alongside the adults of our group. We think this is a healthy approach to life for both adults and children.” Acorn Community, Mineral ,VA. http://www.ic.org/acorn/children.html
o The Farm in Summertown, TN has extensive experience with children, many of whom have contributed what they enjoyed at The Farm to the world at large. http://www.thefarm.org/lifestyle/index.html.
o The Farm also runs a program called Kids to the Country (KTC) where children who are “at risk” are given opportunities for healing and growth. http://www.plenty.org/KTC.htm
o The Farm also has an extensive midwifery program. “For over 25 years, The Farm Midwifery Center has provided a very special service for mothers, babies and their families. Women are treated with love and respect, empowering them to fulfill their desire for natural childbirth in a sane and safe home setting. The holistic approach provided by The Farm Midwives addresses not only physical but also emotional, spiritual, sexual and cultural aspects of each individual. We believe that childbearing is a significant event for every family and that every mother has the right to a safe and satisfying experience.” http://www.farmcatalog.com/birth.htm
Gregg Levoy, speaking of adult boredom says, “If you’re bored, it means you’re not in contact with deeper processes that are happening, and in my case that deeper process was that I was very excited about the prospect of beginning to study physics and its connections with psychology, and wanted to start right there on vacation. Which I did.” Levoy, Gregg: CALLINGS: Finding and Following an Authentic Life, Three Rivers Press/Random House, 1997
· Poverty: Olive Branch Community in Washington, DC describes itself thusly; “We are a racially mixed, spiritually based, intentional community respectful of the prophets of eastern and western, religious traditions. Although we are predominantly, formerly homeless and frequently provide hospitality, we are not a shelter. We are non-hierarchical and operate through a consensus decision-making process. As a matter of faith, we live entirely from small donations and are not beholden to any government, religious institution, grantor or board of directors other than those we have by necessity created. We operate two houses - One in the heart of inner city Washington D.C. that has responsibility for a soup kitchen at Metro Center and homeless, housing advocacy; and another in southeast that attempts to build intentional community in a neighborhood ravished by poverty and neglect.” Olive Branch Community in Washington, DC. http://www.olivebranchcommunity.org
Member communities of The Federation of Egalitarian Community attempt to end poverty through the following principles:
o holding land, labor, income, and other resources in common
o assuming responsibility for the needs of its members, receiving the products of their labor, and distributing these and all other goods equally, or according to need.
o practicing non-violence
o using a form of decision making in which members have an equal opportunity to participate, either through consensus, direct vote, or right of appeal or overrule.
o working to establish the equality of all people and does not permit discrimination on the basis of race, class, creed, ethnic origin, age, sex or sexual orientation.
o acting to conserve natural resources for present and future generations while striving to continually improve ecological awareness and practice.
o creating processes for group communication and participation and provides an environment which supports people's development.
(View the Federation of Egalitarian Community Web site at http://www.thefec.org.)
· Energy: Through sharing utilities and some resources, community members can live well while using much less energy per person than the average American. Ganas, an urban community in Staten Island, New York utilizes both technology (water saving devices, efficient light bulbs, etc.) and encouragement to reduce energy usage. They do this through their in-house newsletter and community-wide meetings. Ganas also runs several retail stores dedicated to recycling used goods. www.ganas.org
· Land Use: Most communities attempt to live more lightly on the earth. Many have extensive gardens and/or open space. Some co-housing communities have watersheds and wetlands as part of their community, such as Milalgro in Tucson,AZ. What makes these different from the typical subdivision that might have such features is that communities like Milagro place a very high value on land restoration for it’s own sake as part of their community values.
http://www.milagrocohousing.org
· Job Satisfaction: Many communities have businesses located within the community. These enterprises might be owned by individual members, a group of members, or the community itself. These enterprises are an integral part of community life. Communities use processes for conflict resolution and personal growth to make them exciting and fulfilling places to work.
· Corporate Culture: Intentional communities have a significant advantage over more traditional enterprises in that the entire project is a social experiment which encourages “out of the box“ thinking. Community businesses face the same real-world pressures of economics and culture faced by all businesses and must make compromises and adjustments.
· Workplace Anger: Many intentional communities integrate communication processes into daily life and work. These processes release anger in healing and creative ways. Heart of Now (as practiced by Lost Valley Community in Dexter, OR) is one example. This practice makes one present with the whole self (emotions, thoughts, body, and the connection to everyone and everything from which dreams and visions spring). Presence with self allows presence with others and with the situations and circumstances of life free of the limitations that hold one back. All possibilities are available; one is free to create as one wants it to be. http://www.lostvalley.org/hon
§ Stress: Modern life is a pressure packed affair with too many projects, too many deadlines and too little time for family or oneself. The bottom line, in my view, is that most stress is caused by lack of vision, mission, clarity and boundary-setting.
Many intentional communities strive to create a life that is harmonious with nature and other people. Some communities invest significant time creating and implementing clear vision and mission statements to guide their members. EarthHaven Eco-village in Black Mountain, NC is one example. http://www.earthaven.org/vision/vision.htm
· Boredom: Many intentional communities include giving children a healthy place to play, learn, and grow in their mission statements; they are places where children are honored and not bored. Here are just a few examples.
o “Our approach to childcare is that it is parent-centered and integrated into the daily life of the community. On a practical level, this means working and taking care of your child at the same time, which may seem like a lot of extra work for parents. We feel that the kind of parents who thrive at Acorn as it is now relish the thought of working with their child and having kids contribute appropriately by age. Children can be found helping in the garden, gathering eggs, learning about tools, or doing various community chores alongside the adults of our group. We think this is a healthy approach to life for both adults and children.” Acorn Community, Mineral ,VA. http://www.ic.org/acorn/children.html
o The Farm in Summertown, TN has extensive experience with children, many of whom have contributed what they enjoyed at The Farm to the world at large. http://www.thefarm.org/lifestyle/index.html.
o The Farm also runs a program called Kids to the Country (KTC) where children who are “at risk” are given opportunities for healing and growth. http://www.plenty.org/KTC.htm
o The Farm also has an extensive midwifery program. “For over 25 years, The Farm Midwifery Center has provided a very special service for mothers, babies and their families. Women are treated with love and respect, empowering them to fulfill their desire for natural childbirth in a sane and safe home setting. The holistic approach provided by The Farm Midwives addresses not only physical but also emotional, spiritual, sexual and cultural aspects of each individual. We believe that childbearing is a significant event for every family and that every mother has the right to a safe and satisfying experience.” http://www.farmcatalog.com/birth.htm
Gregg Levoy, speaking of adult boredom says, “If you’re bored, it means you’re not in contact with deeper processes that are happening, and in my case that deeper process was that I was very excited about the prospect of beginning to study physics and its connections with psychology, and wanted to start right there on vacation. Which I did.” Levoy, Gregg: CALLINGS: Finding and Following an Authentic Life, Three Rivers Press/Random House, 1997
· Poverty: Olive Branch Community in Washington, DC describes itself thusly; “We are a racially mixed, spiritually based, intentional community respectful of the prophets of eastern and western, religious traditions. Although we are predominantly, formerly homeless and frequently provide hospitality, we are not a shelter. We are non-hierarchical and operate through a consensus decision-making process. As a matter of faith, we live entirely from small donations and are not beholden to any government, religious institution, grantor or board of directors other than those we have by necessity created. We operate two houses - One in the heart of inner city Washington D.C. that has responsibility for a soup kitchen at Metro Center and homeless, housing advocacy; and another in southeast that attempts to build intentional community in a neighborhood ravished by poverty and neglect.” Olive Branch Community in Washington, DC. http://www.olivebranchcommunity.org
Member communities of The Federation of Egalitarian Community attempt to end poverty through the following principles:
o holding land, labor, income, and other resources in common
o assuming responsibility for the needs of its members, receiving the products of their labor, and distributing these and all other goods equally, or according to need.
o practicing non-violence
o using a form of decision making in which members have an equal opportunity to participate, either through consensus, direct vote, or right of appeal or overrule.
o working to establish the equality of all people and does not permit discrimination on the basis of race, class, creed, ethnic origin, age, sex or sexual orientation.
o acting to conserve natural resources for present and future generations while striving to continually improve ecological awareness and practice.
o creating processes for group communication and participation and provides an environment which supports people's development.
(View the Federation of Egalitarian Community Web site at http://www.thefec.org.)
· Energy: Through sharing utilities and some resources, community members can live well while using much less energy per person than the average American. Ganas, an urban community in Staten Island, New York utilizes both technology (water saving devices, efficient light bulbs, etc.) and encouragement to reduce energy usage. They do this through their in-house newsletter and community-wide meetings. Ganas also runs several retail stores dedicated to recycling used goods. www.ganas.org
· Land Use: Most communities attempt to live more lightly on the earth. Many have extensive gardens and/or open space. Some co-housing communities have watersheds and wetlands as part of their community, such as Milalgro in Tucson,AZ. What makes these different from the typical subdivision that might have such features is that communities like Milagro place a very high value on land restoration for it’s own sake as part of their community values.
http://www.milagrocohousing.org
· Job Satisfaction: Many communities have businesses located within the community. These enterprises might be owned by individual members, a group of members, or the community itself. These enterprises are an integral part of community life. Communities use processes for conflict resolution and personal growth to make them exciting and fulfilling places to work.
· Corporate Culture: Intentional communities have a significant advantage over more traditional enterprises in that the entire project is a social experiment which encourages “out of the box“ thinking. Community businesses face the same real-world pressures of economics and culture faced by all businesses and must make compromises and adjustments.
· Workplace Anger: Many intentional communities integrate communication processes into daily life and work. These processes release anger in healing and creative ways. Heart of Now (as practiced by Lost Valley Community in Dexter, OR) is one example. This practice makes one present with the whole self (emotions, thoughts, body, and the connection to everyone and everything from which dreams and visions spring). Presence with self allows presence with others and with the situations and circumstances of life free of the limitations that hold one back. All possibilities are available; one is free to create as one wants it to be. http://www.lostvalley.org/hon
An Ideal Solution?
While intentional communities offer workable solutions to the problems discussed earlier, there are a number of weaknesses to consider when thinking about intentional community and aspiring eco-villages. Some general issues include:
· Lack of reasonably well paying jobs inside or outside of the community. The more desirable the land and the closer it lies to desirable towns, the more expensive it is. Further, these towns are already teeming with more over-educated workers than jobs. Most community members get by with odd jobs, part-time jobs, micro-businesses, or telecommuting. Starting new businesses with a new community is a daunting if not impossible task.
· Under utilization of the carrying capacity of land due to zoning and economic issues. Zoning regulations affect community density and house clustering. Density is the largest challenge for community founders because more members means more affordability. Artificial limits on population density restrict the community’s ability to cluster buildings together for maximum open space.
· Attracting OPM (Other Peoples’ Money) to fund and endow the projects. There are many potential sources of funds, however it is nearly impossible to obtain traditional bank financing. Some co-housing communities are beginning to break down this barrier.
· “Anti-business” and “anti-establishment” attitudes. Lack of business skills coupled with anti-business attitudes is a leading cause of community failure.
· Lack of business/entrepreneurial skills. Community is by nature idealistic, which can often overshadow pragmatic concerns and approaches to creating a sustainable business.
· Membership Processes. Communities are rightly afraid of economic and emotional damage caused by visitors and prospective members. Membership requirements tend to be either too rigid and inflexible or too lenient. Overly lenient requirements attract unhealthy people who can consume an entire community’s resources to address- and if necessary- remove them. On the contrary, overly rigid requirements stifle the community’s idea base.
· Founders Syndrome. This is where community members grant founding members forms of parenting roles, thereby creating a family replacement complete with all of its dysfunctions.
· Cost. Some co-housing projects cater exclusively to high-end members, which limits or prevents participation by those with less means. The co-housing concept as it currently stands does little to solve the poverty problem discussed earlier
· Discrimination. The Federal Fair Housing Act makes discrimination on the basis of race, gender, age, religion or national origin illegal. These restrictions, while vital for diversity, can affect a community’s reasonable attempts to screen prospective members, possibly even including legal action brought by people claiming discrimination as a form of revenge for not being admitted.
· Urban Refugee Syndrome. This concept expands on the idea of personal space, where people want to spread themselves out to enjoy privacy and freedom. Carried to its present extreme, this desire is responsible for the urban sprawl and land use issues we face today.
Each of these issues affects every proposed community’s potential viability. Careful planning combined with knowledge and patience can yield the enormous rewards of a diverse, exciting and thriving community. I believe intentional community is the ultimate solution to the problems presented in this paper. There are numerous structural problems, however; inherent in the way this movement is being pursued that prevent this movement from achieving the success this planet deserves.
· Lack of reasonably well paying jobs inside or outside of the community. The more desirable the land and the closer it lies to desirable towns, the more expensive it is. Further, these towns are already teeming with more over-educated workers than jobs. Most community members get by with odd jobs, part-time jobs, micro-businesses, or telecommuting. Starting new businesses with a new community is a daunting if not impossible task.
· Under utilization of the carrying capacity of land due to zoning and economic issues. Zoning regulations affect community density and house clustering. Density is the largest challenge for community founders because more members means more affordability. Artificial limits on population density restrict the community’s ability to cluster buildings together for maximum open space.
· Attracting OPM (Other Peoples’ Money) to fund and endow the projects. There are many potential sources of funds, however it is nearly impossible to obtain traditional bank financing. Some co-housing communities are beginning to break down this barrier.
· “Anti-business” and “anti-establishment” attitudes. Lack of business skills coupled with anti-business attitudes is a leading cause of community failure.
· Lack of business/entrepreneurial skills. Community is by nature idealistic, which can often overshadow pragmatic concerns and approaches to creating a sustainable business.
· Membership Processes. Communities are rightly afraid of economic and emotional damage caused by visitors and prospective members. Membership requirements tend to be either too rigid and inflexible or too lenient. Overly lenient requirements attract unhealthy people who can consume an entire community’s resources to address- and if necessary- remove them. On the contrary, overly rigid requirements stifle the community’s idea base.
· Founders Syndrome. This is where community members grant founding members forms of parenting roles, thereby creating a family replacement complete with all of its dysfunctions.
· Cost. Some co-housing projects cater exclusively to high-end members, which limits or prevents participation by those with less means. The co-housing concept as it currently stands does little to solve the poverty problem discussed earlier
· Discrimination. The Federal Fair Housing Act makes discrimination on the basis of race, gender, age, religion or national origin illegal. These restrictions, while vital for diversity, can affect a community’s reasonable attempts to screen prospective members, possibly even including legal action brought by people claiming discrimination as a form of revenge for not being admitted.
· Urban Refugee Syndrome. This concept expands on the idea of personal space, where people want to spread themselves out to enjoy privacy and freedom. Carried to its present extreme, this desire is responsible for the urban sprawl and land use issues we face today.
Each of these issues affects every proposed community’s potential viability. Careful planning combined with knowledge and patience can yield the enormous rewards of a diverse, exciting and thriving community. I believe intentional community is the ultimate solution to the problems presented in this paper. There are numerous structural problems, however; inherent in the way this movement is being pursued that prevent this movement from achieving the success this planet deserves.
NewTown - Creating the New American Dream
This is my dream!!!
I intend to spend the rest of my life working to manifest NewTown as an integrated and ecological residential, commercial, light industrial, hospital/medical, university, retail and office complex. Rather than attempting to find the right people and buy land together, NewTown begins with the end in mind by first building a NewTown permaculture eco-village with the assistance of a professional co-housing developer and an organization such as Habitat for Humanity that specializes in affordable housing. This NewTown nucleus serves as the community center.
This approach leverages the high success rate of developer-assisted co-housing during the critical seed phases. The community will evolve as people gravitate towards the excitement of the various projects. In other words, build the infrastructure and the people who are drawn to it will come.
NewTown is a mixed-use project that includes a university or university extension program for lifelong learning, teaching hospital, office and retail space, and dormitories, apartments, and town-homes. The retail section contains worker-owned and other cooperative retail establishments. All NewTown elements are fully integrated using co-housing and permaculture principles with the initial development phase taking place over 10 – 20 years.
By providing living and working spaces for all members on a shared-equity basis, NewTown effectively eliminates poverty for all members.
I intend to spend the rest of my life working to manifest NewTown as an integrated and ecological residential, commercial, light industrial, hospital/medical, university, retail and office complex. Rather than attempting to find the right people and buy land together, NewTown begins with the end in mind by first building a NewTown permaculture eco-village with the assistance of a professional co-housing developer and an organization such as Habitat for Humanity that specializes in affordable housing. This NewTown nucleus serves as the community center.
This approach leverages the high success rate of developer-assisted co-housing during the critical seed phases. The community will evolve as people gravitate towards the excitement of the various projects. In other words, build the infrastructure and the people who are drawn to it will come.
NewTown is a mixed-use project that includes a university or university extension program for lifelong learning, teaching hospital, office and retail space, and dormitories, apartments, and town-homes. The retail section contains worker-owned and other cooperative retail establishments. All NewTown elements are fully integrated using co-housing and permaculture principles with the initial development phase taking place over 10 – 20 years.
By providing living and working spaces for all members on a shared-equity basis, NewTown effectively eliminates poverty for all members.
The Vision
Existing structures, if any, are lovingly transformed into facilities for harmonious and beautiful businesses where many practitioners offer their contribution to life. Healers of many traditions work together and separately to assist individuals in personal transformation, which in turn contributes to transforming the planet.
NewTown addresses the needs of its residents in as many aspects of life as possible. It seeks heart-centered people from many disciplines and traditions to join in this venture: entrepreneurs and business people, spiritual healers, therapists and counselors, and more. In the area of medicine, NewTown seeks healers who primarily practice allopathic, homeopathic, naturopathic, and/or chiropractic modalities.
NewTown encourages cooperation and life-long learning in an intentional holistic development that creates an environment, and space that fosters people gravitating toward each other for friendship, harmony, intimacy, partnership, and community. It is an integrated whole, which emphasizes free thinking, being and doing.
NewTown addresses the needs of its residents in as many aspects of life as possible. It seeks heart-centered people from many disciplines and traditions to join in this venture: entrepreneurs and business people, spiritual healers, therapists and counselors, and more. In the area of medicine, NewTown seeks healers who primarily practice allopathic, homeopathic, naturopathic, and/or chiropractic modalities.
NewTown encourages cooperation and life-long learning in an intentional holistic development that creates an environment, and space that fosters people gravitating toward each other for friendship, harmony, intimacy, partnership, and community. It is an integrated whole, which emphasizes free thinking, being and doing.
NewTown Mall - Retail and Office Spaces
An example of the type of retail business is the Laughing Giraffe, a spiritual store offering a variety of coffee, chocolate, ice cream, herbal salves and remedies, and books on healing ourselves, our land, and our planet. The Laughing Giraffe is a worker-owned and worker-managed cooperative business that meets the needs of all stakeholders for empowerment, choice, and ownership. It also takes advantage of the current cultural paradigm; that of consumerism. We put a very different spin on the concept and perhaps turn consumerism “on it’s head.”
Open Space and Transportation
NewTown is designed to maximize walking, bicycling, and shared transport in an atmosphere that encourages conviviality and interaction.
Comprehensive use of permaculture and other ecologically sustainable design features greatly reduces energy consumption. NewTown is a high-density community able to restore large tracts of land. All available technologies are used to minimize the footprint on the land.
Comprehensive use of permaculture and other ecologically sustainable design features greatly reduces energy consumption. NewTown is a high-density community able to restore large tracts of land. All available technologies are used to minimize the footprint on the land.
Doing Business In NewTown
NewTown encourages people to find and create satisfying careers. We recruit businesses that empower their employees. People are encouraged to use the “State of Grace Document” to create business and personal agreements. NewTown exudes enthusiasm for business enterprises that strive to meet the needs of all its stakeholders.
NewTown University
NewTown University
NewTown University is similar to Antioch University in Ohio, Prescott College in Arizona, and others in that it offers a number of alternative degree programs.
The Schools of NewTown University are:
School of Emotional Intelligence
School of Healing Arts and Sciences
Center for Life Strategies
School of Architecture, Land Use Planning, and Design
School of Cooperative Enterprise and Management
School of Politics and Spirituality
The University begins by being a tenant in the NewTown Mall; a place where education and a new idea of consumerism are blended together.
NewTown University is similar to Antioch University in Ohio, Prescott College in Arizona, and others in that it offers a number of alternative degree programs.
The Schools of NewTown University are:
School of Emotional Intelligence
School of Healing Arts and Sciences
Center for Life Strategies
School of Architecture, Land Use Planning, and Design
School of Cooperative Enterprise and Management
School of Politics and Spirituality
The University begins by being a tenant in the NewTown Mall; a place where education and a new idea of consumerism are blended together.
School of Emotional Intelligence
The NewTown University School of Emotional Intelligence offers core competencies required of all students of NU including but not limited to:
· Nonviolent Communication or equivalent
· New Warrior Training Adventure or equivalent (for all men)
· Women Within or equivalent (for all women)
· Consensus Decision Making
· The State of Grace Document (www.stateofgracedocument.com)
· Nonviolent Communication or equivalent
· New Warrior Training Adventure or equivalent (for all men)
· Women Within or equivalent (for all women)
· Consensus Decision Making
· The State of Grace Document (www.stateofgracedocument.com)
School of Healing Arts and Sciences
NewTown University Hospital; School of Healing Arts and Sciences is a teaching hospital with accredited degree programs in health care, integrative medicine, chiropractic, naturopathy, various kinds of bodywork, and other healing modalities following the models of Bastyr University in Seattle, WA and Heartwood Institute in Garberville, CA. The hospital will train doctors regarding health care, with training in the anatomy and physiology of the body, in order to administer care to patients with the goal of restoration of function and the relief of suffering and dysfunction. There are various health arts and various licensed doctors within different disciplines. There are doctors of Chiropractic, Naturopathic , Homeopathic ,Traditional Chinese Medicine, Unani Medicine, Folk Medicine (including shamanic healers), Allopathic ,Ayurvedic, and other systems. Implicit in the definition of the word is that the person identified as a doctor should have training in how to recognize and classify illnesses or types of dysfunctional states, as well as the appropriate treatment utilized by the practitioners of his or her health care system, as well as the treatments for this condition which may be offered by practitioners of other systems.
This is from: http://www.drjohnbaker.com/allopathic_medicine.htm
This is from: http://www.drjohnbaker.com/allopathic_medicine.htm
Center for Life Strategies
NewTown University Hospital Center for Life Strategies is an emotional hospital and residential therapeutic community that welcomes individuals and families who have adopted a number of survival and coping strategies that are no longer serving their highest good and make it difficult, if not impossible for them to thrive or get along with other people or groups in the rest of the world. Many of these people have been “diagnosed” and labeled by traditional behavioral health professionals as suffering from “borderline personality disorder (BPD)” or “severe emotional disorder (SED)” The Center for Life Strategies has a fully functioning “Clubhouse” and is a member of the International Center for Clubhouse Development (ICCD.) See http://www.iccd.org
The Hospital will utilize such technologies as Nonviolent Communication, Compassionate Listening and others to model and suggest new ways to get one’s needs met; to thrive, not merely survive in the world. The purpose of the Emotional Hospital is to offer processes for emotional healing in an environment of acceptance, love, patience and compassion as people learn new and more rewarding skills for survival, coping and emotional intelligence.
The following is a short list of survival strategies that in my view do not serve the highest good:
· Passive-aggressiveness
· Socially manipulative behaviors
· Chronic fatigue and sickness
· Overmedication with legal and “illegal” remedies
· Drug, alcohol, and substance” use issues
· Low self-esteem
· Extreme victim consciousness
· Welfare and social dependency Issues
· Extreme childhood and family of origin trauma
· Effects of poverty
· Effects of incarceration
· Loss of dignity and liberty
The Hospital will utilize such technologies as Nonviolent Communication, Compassionate Listening and others to model and suggest new ways to get one’s needs met; to thrive, not merely survive in the world. The purpose of the Emotional Hospital is to offer processes for emotional healing in an environment of acceptance, love, patience and compassion as people learn new and more rewarding skills for survival, coping and emotional intelligence.
The following is a short list of survival strategies that in my view do not serve the highest good:
· Passive-aggressiveness
· Socially manipulative behaviors
· Chronic fatigue and sickness
· Overmedication with legal and “illegal” remedies
· Drug, alcohol, and substance” use issues
· Low self-esteem
· Extreme victim consciousness
· Welfare and social dependency Issues
· Extreme childhood and family of origin trauma
· Effects of poverty
· Effects of incarceration
· Loss of dignity and liberty
School of Architecture. Land Use Planning & Design
NewTown University School of Architecture, Land Use Planning, and Design is responsible for developing and implementing fully accredited and structured degree programs in alternative building technology, permaculture design, co-housing, eco-village and community planning, sustainable development; developing and managing retail aspects as well as developing living spaces for students and others.
School of Cooperative Enterprise and Management
NewTown University School of Cooperative Enterprise and Management concentrates on such areas as complimentary currency development and new forms of enterprise that empowers all who work in the enterprise. The school will also work to create economic forms that allow all on this planet to have enough and then some. Teaching the use of “The State of Grace Document” will be done by this school. The School of Cooperative Enterprise also runs Cooperative Realty and Property Management, which acts as the real estate brokerage/property management firm for the retail and office spaces.
School of Politics and Spirituality
NewTown University School of Politics and Spirituality concentrates on developing the theological rationale of the common people, that common people have the power of discernment and authority necessary to be fully empowered and complete partners in all decision-making processes.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations is a good place to start.
See http://www.unhchr.ch/udhr/lang/eng.htm for the text.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations is a good place to start.
See http://www.unhchr.ch/udhr/lang/eng.htm for the text.
NewTown Co-Housing
NewTown begins with the end in mind by first building a NewTown permaculture eco-village with the assistance of a professional co-housing developer and an organization such as Habitat for Humanity that specializes in affordable housing.
The co-housing development shall consist of dormitories, apartments, and
town-homes. By providing living and working spaces for all members on a shared-equity basis, NewTown effectively eliminates poverty for all members.
NewTown encourages modalities such as Nonviolent Communication and Naka-Ima as the cultural norm, thus allowing people to express anger appropriately so as to heal and be heard.
The co-housing development shall consist of dormitories, apartments, and
town-homes. By providing living and working spaces for all members on a shared-equity basis, NewTown effectively eliminates poverty for all members.
NewTown encourages modalities such as Nonviolent Communication and Naka-Ima as the cultural norm, thus allowing people to express anger appropriately so as to heal and be heard.
Why NewTown?
NewTown’s approach to community building differs from most other communities because assisted co-housing has only been available since 1988. Further, the entire co-housing movement in the USA is only about 20 years old, with most projects planned and developed by members with little outside help. NewTown proposes to attract the kind of professional and financial investments normally reserved for mainstream projects.
NewTown avoids the major pitfalls faced by many older communities by working with developers from the beginning to both build the community and find members.
NewTown avoids the major pitfalls faced by many older communities by working with developers from the beginning to both build the community and find members.
Making the NewTownVision a Reality
NewTown requires the following professionals and other resources in order to launch and become viable:
Professionals
· A certified trainer of Nonviolent Communication who also counsels individuals, couples, and families.
· A chiropractor who practices Network Spinal Analysis.
· A registered nurse and Reiki Master who does energy healing and balancing work.
· An executive and life coach with many years’ experience in the corporate world. S/he offers a unique perspective to executives and others seeking balance, harmony, and actualization.
· An attorney in private practice who specializes in real estate and business transactions.
In addition, NewTown seeks allopathic, homeopathic, and naturopathic physicians as well as holistic practitioners in the areas of business, finance, and real estate development. It is vital to recruit and invite natural leaders who are heart-centered and who have experience in a number of fields. These include but are not limited, to the following:
· Capital Formation and Venture Capital
· Accounting and Finance
· Strategic and Business Planning
· Marketing and Public Relations
· Real Property Development and Management
· Co-Housing and Eco-village Development
· Management of Retail and Office Space
· Legal and Zoning Issues/Land Use Planning
· University Formation and Administration
· Hospital Formation and Administration
· Faculty in Specialty Areas
· Medical Practitioners (holistic and allopathic)
· Worker-Owned Businesses and Consultants
· Holistic practitioners in all areas
Professionals
· A certified trainer of Nonviolent Communication who also counsels individuals, couples, and families.
· A chiropractor who practices Network Spinal Analysis.
· A registered nurse and Reiki Master who does energy healing and balancing work.
· An executive and life coach with many years’ experience in the corporate world. S/he offers a unique perspective to executives and others seeking balance, harmony, and actualization.
· An attorney in private practice who specializes in real estate and business transactions.
In addition, NewTown seeks allopathic, homeopathic, and naturopathic physicians as well as holistic practitioners in the areas of business, finance, and real estate development. It is vital to recruit and invite natural leaders who are heart-centered and who have experience in a number of fields. These include but are not limited, to the following:
· Capital Formation and Venture Capital
· Accounting and Finance
· Strategic and Business Planning
· Marketing and Public Relations
· Real Property Development and Management
· Co-Housing and Eco-village Development
· Management of Retail and Office Space
· Legal and Zoning Issues/Land Use Planning
· University Formation and Administration
· Hospital Formation and Administration
· Faculty in Specialty Areas
· Medical Practitioners (holistic and allopathic)
· Worker-Owned Businesses and Consultants
· Holistic practitioners in all areas
Proposed Phases of Construction
· Phase I creates NewTown as a financially and spiritually viable venture. Other phases will be developed over time.
· Phase II develops the co-housing and eco-village. This project offers affordable mixed-use housing and commercial development. Success may require partnering with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and Wonderland Hill Development Company (a developer of co-housing communities)
· Phase II develops the co-housing and eco-village. This project offers affordable mixed-use housing and commercial development. Success may require partnering with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and Wonderland Hill Development Company (a developer of co-housing communities)
Allopathic Medicine Defined
The system of medical practice which treats disease by the use of remedies which produce effects different (opposites) from those produced by the disease under treatment. MDs practice allopathic medicine. Also called conventional medicine.
The term "allopathy" was coined in 1842 by C.F.S. Hahnemann to designate the usual practice of medicine (allopathy) as opposed to homeopathy, the system of therapy that he founded based on the concept that disease can be treated with drugs (in minute doses) thought capable of producing the same symptoms in healthy people as the disease itself (similars).
The term "allopathy" was coined in 1842 by C.F.S. Hahnemann to designate the usual practice of medicine (allopathy) as opposed to homeopathy, the system of therapy that he founded based on the concept that disease can be treated with drugs (in minute doses) thought capable of producing the same symptoms in healthy people as the disease itself (similars).
Co-Housing Defined
Cohousing is the name of a type of collaborative housing that attempts to overcome the alienation of modern subdivisions in which no-one knows their neighbors, and there is no sense of community. It is characterized by private dwellings with their own kitchen, living-dining room etc, but also extensive common facilities. The common house may include a large dining room, kitchen, lounges, meeting rooms, recreation facilities, library, workshops, and children’s space.
Usually, cohousing communities are designed and managed by the residents, and are intentional neighborhoods: the people are consciously committed to living as a community; the physical design itself encourages that and facilitates social contact.
This definition came from the website of the Cohousing Association of the United States.
http://www.cohousing.org/resources/whatis.html
Usually, cohousing communities are designed and managed by the residents, and are intentional neighborhoods: the people are consciously committed to living as a community; the physical design itself encourages that and facilitates social contact.
This definition came from the website of the Cohousing Association of the United States.
http://www.cohousing.org/resources/whatis.html
Community Defined
This definition is from http://www.encarta.com:
1. people in area: a group of people who live in the same area, or the area in which they live
a close-knit fishing community
2. people with common background: a group of people with a common background or with shared interests within society
the financial community
3. nations with common history: a group of nations with a common history or common economic or political interests
the international community
4. society: the public or society in general
a useful member of the community
5. interacting plants and animals: all the plants and animals that live in the same area and interact with one another
14th century. Via Old French communeté from the Latin stem communitat- , from communis
1. people in area: a group of people who live in the same area, or the area in which they live
a close-knit fishing community
2. people with common background: a group of people with a common background or with shared interests within society
the financial community
3. nations with common history: a group of nations with a common history or common economic or political interests
the international community
4. society: the public or society in general
a useful member of the community
5. interacting plants and animals: all the plants and animals that live in the same area and interact with one another
14th century. Via Old French communeté from the Latin stem communitat- , from communis
Doctor Defined
This is from: http://www.drjohnbaker.com/allopathic_medicine.htm
With regard to health care, a person trained in the anatomy and physiology of the body, who administers care to patients with the goal of restoration of function and the relief of suffering and dysfunction. There are various health arts and various licensed doctors within different disciplines.
There are doctors of Chiropractic, Naturopathic , Homeopathic ,Traditional Chinese Medicine, Unani Medicine, Folk Medicine (including shamanic healers), Allopathic ,Ayurvedic, and other systems. Implicit in the definition
of the word is that the person identified as a doctor should have training in how to recognize and classify illnesses or types of dysfunctional states, as well as the appropriate treatment utilized by the practitioners
of his or her health care system, as well as the treatments for this condition which may be offered by practitioners of other systems.
With regard to health care, a person trained in the anatomy and physiology of the body, who administers care to patients with the goal of restoration of function and the relief of suffering and dysfunction. There are various health arts and various licensed doctors within different disciplines.
There are doctors of Chiropractic, Naturopathic , Homeopathic ,Traditional Chinese Medicine, Unani Medicine, Folk Medicine (including shamanic healers), Allopathic ,Ayurvedic, and other systems. Implicit in the definition
of the word is that the person identified as a doctor should have training in how to recognize and classify illnesses or types of dysfunctional states, as well as the appropriate treatment utilized by the practitioners
of his or her health care system, as well as the treatments for this condition which may be offered by practitioners of other systems.
Eco-Village Defined
Robert and Diane Gilman (co-founders of the Global Eco-village Network) define “eco-village” as "A human-scale, full-featured settlement in which human activities are harmlessly integrated into the natural world in a way that is supportive of healthy human development and can be successfully continued into the future."
Intentional Community Defined
According to the website of the Fellowship for Intentional Community:
Intentional Community is an inclusive term for ecovillages, cohousing, residential land trusts, communes, student co-ops, urban housing cooperatives and other related projects and dreams... www.ic.org
Intentional community is “a group of people who have chosen to live together with a common purpose, working cooperatively to create a lifestyle that reflects their shared values”
Christian, Diana Leafe; Creating a Life Together… pp xvi
Intentional Community is an inclusive term for ecovillages, cohousing, residential land trusts, communes, student co-ops, urban housing cooperatives and other related projects and dreams... www.ic.org
Intentional community is “a group of people who have chosen to live together with a common purpose, working cooperatively to create a lifestyle that reflects their shared values”
Christian, Diana Leafe; Creating a Life Together… pp xvi
New Urbanism Defined
New Urbanism is an urban design movement that burst onto the scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s. New Urbanists aim to reform all aspects of real estate development. Their work affects regional and local plans. They are involved in new development, urban retrofits, and suburban infill. In all cases, New Urbanist neighborhoods are walkable, and contain a diverse range of housing and jobs. New Urbanists support regional planning for open space, appropriate architecture and planning, and the balanced development of jobs and housing. They believe these strategies are the best way to reduce how long people spend in traffic, to increase the supply of affordable housing, and to rein in urban sprawl. Many other issues, such as historic restoration, safe streets, and green building are also covered in the Charter for New Urbanism.
This definition came from the website of the Congress for New Urbanism:
http://www.cnu.org/about/index.cfm
This definition came from the website of the Congress for New Urbanism:
http://www.cnu.org/about/index.cfm
Permaculture Defined
“Permaculture is a design system for creating sustainable human environments. The word itself is a contraction not only of permanent agriculture but also of permanent culture, as cultures cannot survive long without a sustainable agricultural base and land use ethic. On one level, permaculture deals with plants, animals, buildings, and infrastructures (water, energy, communications). However, permaculture is not about these elements themselves, but rather about the relationships we can create between them by the way we place them in the landscape.
"The aim is to create systems that are ecologically-sound and economically viable, which provide for their own needs, do not exploit or pollute, and are therefore sustainable in the long term. Permaculture uses the inherent qualities of plants and animals combined with the natural characteristics of landscapes and structures to produce a life-supporting system for city and country, using the smallest practical area.
"Permaculture is based on the observation of natural systems, the wisdom contained in traditional farming systems, and modern scientific and technological knowledge. Although based on good ecological models, permaculture creates a cultivated ecology, which is designed to produce more human and animal food than is generally found in nature. “Introduction to Permaculture, Bill Mollison
This definition was found on the website of the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center
http://www.oaec.org/OAEC_permaculture.html#whatispermaculture
"The aim is to create systems that are ecologically-sound and economically viable, which provide for their own needs, do not exploit or pollute, and are therefore sustainable in the long term. Permaculture uses the inherent qualities of plants and animals combined with the natural characteristics of landscapes and structures to produce a life-supporting system for city and country, using the smallest practical area.
"Permaculture is based on the observation of natural systems, the wisdom contained in traditional farming systems, and modern scientific and technological knowledge. Although based on good ecological models, permaculture creates a cultivated ecology, which is designed to produce more human and animal food than is generally found in nature. “Introduction to Permaculture, Bill Mollison
This definition was found on the website of the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center
http://www.oaec.org/OAEC_permaculture.html#whatispermaculture
Town Defined
This definition is from http://www.encarta.com:
1. large area of buildings: a densely populated area with many buildings, larger than a village and smaller than a city
2. urban area: a large urban area, either a town, a city, or a borough
3. POLITICS unit of local government: in certain parts of the United States, a unit of local government that is smaller than a county or city
4. local town: the nearest large town or city, or the town or city in which somebody lives
moving into town
5. center of settled area: the center of a town or city
6. population of settled area: the people who live in a town
The whole town’s talking about it.
7. nonacademic population: the permanent residents of a town that has a university, as opposed to the staff and students of the university
town and gown
8. ZOOLOGY prairie dog burrows: a group of prairie dog burrows
Old English tūn “yard, buildings within an enclosure.” The term came to mean “cluster of dwellings” and, by the 12th century, its main present meaning was in use.
1. large area of buildings: a densely populated area with many buildings, larger than a village and smaller than a city
2. urban area: a large urban area, either a town, a city, or a borough
3. POLITICS unit of local government: in certain parts of the United States, a unit of local government that is smaller than a county or city
4. local town: the nearest large town or city, or the town or city in which somebody lives
moving into town
5. center of settled area: the center of a town or city
6. population of settled area: the people who live in a town
The whole town’s talking about it.
7. nonacademic population: the permanent residents of a town that has a university, as opposed to the staff and students of the university
town and gown
8. ZOOLOGY prairie dog burrows: a group of prairie dog burrows
Old English tūn “yard, buildings within an enclosure.” The term came to mean “cluster of dwellings” and, by the 12th century, its main present meaning was in use.
University Defined
University
This definition is from http://www.encarta.com:
1. undergraduate and postgraduate educational institution: an educational institution for higher learning that typically includes an undergraduate college and graduate schools in various disciplines, as well as medical and law schools and sometimes other professional schools
2. buildings housing a university: the buildings, other facilities, and grounds of a university
3. students and faculty: the students, teachers, and administrative and other staff of a university
14th century. Via French université from Latin universitas “the whole, society, guild,” from universus
This definition is from http://www.encarta.com:
1. undergraduate and postgraduate educational institution: an educational institution for higher learning that typically includes an undergraduate college and graduate schools in various disciplines, as well as medical and law schools and sometimes other professional schools
2. buildings housing a university: the buildings, other facilities, and grounds of a university
3. students and faculty: the students, teachers, and administrative and other staff of a university
14th century. Via French université from Latin universitas “the whole, society, guild,” from universus
Bibliography and Resources
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND RESOURCES
This document draws on many resources, including:
· Creating a Life Together: Practical Tools to Grow Eco-villages and Intentional Communities by Diana Leafe Christian, New Society Publishers, 2003
· Eco-villages and Sustainable Communities by Robert and Dianne Gilman, produced for the Gaia Trust in the mid 1980’s.
· Co-Housing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves by Kathryn McCamant and Charles Durrett Ten Speed Press, Berkeley 1994. http://www.cohousingco.com/
· Permaculture, A Designers Manual by Bill Mollison, Tagari Publications, Tyalgum, Australia, 1988
· Gaia’s Garden by Toby Hemenway, Chelsea Green Publishing Co., Vermont, 2001
· The Co-Creator’s Handbook by Carolyn Anderson and Katharine Roske, Global Family, Nevada City, CA 2001. http://www.globalfamily.net
· Eco-village Living: Restoring the Earth and Her People edited by Hildur Jackson and Karen Svensson, Gaia Trust and Green Books, Ltd Foxhole, Dartington, Totnes, Devon, 2002
· Fellowship for Intentional Community. http://www.ic.org (for a robust, searchable directory of intentional communities see http://directory.ic.org)
· The Congress for New Urbanism is an organization of public officials, developers and citizen activists desiring to avoid the problems of urban sprawl. http://www.cnu.org
· Eco-village at Ithaca, New York, is one of the most highly developed and inspiring eco-villages in the USA. http://www.eco-village.ithaca.ny.us/
· Village Green Developments developed the Eco-village at Ithaca and continues to develop new neighborhoods at Ithaca.
http://www.eco-village.ithaca.ny.us/villagegreen/
· Wonderland Hill Development Company is the largest developer of co-housing communities in the United States and possibly the world. http://www.whdc.com/
· International Stress Management Association. http://www.isma-usa.org/isma/index.htm
· Global Eco-village Network (GEN). http://gen.eco-village.org
· Eco-village Network of the Americas (ENA). http://ena.eco-village.org/English/index.html
This document draws on many resources, including:
· Creating a Life Together: Practical Tools to Grow Eco-villages and Intentional Communities by Diana Leafe Christian, New Society Publishers, 2003
· Eco-villages and Sustainable Communities by Robert and Dianne Gilman, produced for the Gaia Trust in the mid 1980’s.
· Co-Housing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves by Kathryn McCamant and Charles Durrett Ten Speed Press, Berkeley 1994. http://www.cohousingco.com/
· Permaculture, A Designers Manual by Bill Mollison, Tagari Publications, Tyalgum, Australia, 1988
· Gaia’s Garden by Toby Hemenway, Chelsea Green Publishing Co., Vermont, 2001
· The Co-Creator’s Handbook by Carolyn Anderson and Katharine Roske, Global Family, Nevada City, CA 2001. http://www.globalfamily.net
· Eco-village Living: Restoring the Earth and Her People edited by Hildur Jackson and Karen Svensson, Gaia Trust and Green Books, Ltd Foxhole, Dartington, Totnes, Devon, 2002
· Fellowship for Intentional Community. http://www.ic.org (for a robust, searchable directory of intentional communities see http://directory.ic.org)
· The Congress for New Urbanism is an organization of public officials, developers and citizen activists desiring to avoid the problems of urban sprawl. http://www.cnu.org
· Eco-village at Ithaca, New York, is one of the most highly developed and inspiring eco-villages in the USA. http://www.eco-village.ithaca.ny.us/
· Village Green Developments developed the Eco-village at Ithaca and continues to develop new neighborhoods at Ithaca.
http://www.eco-village.ithaca.ny.us/villagegreen/
· Wonderland Hill Development Company is the largest developer of co-housing communities in the United States and possibly the world. http://www.whdc.com/
· International Stress Management Association. http://www.isma-usa.org/isma/index.htm
· Global Eco-village Network (GEN). http://gen.eco-village.org
· Eco-village Network of the Americas (ENA). http://ena.eco-village.org/English/index.html
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