Act: Inspiration

Rebuilding the Foodshed: foreword from the book

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What especially impressed me in Rebuilding the Foodshed (though I could easily have tagged each page with a sticky note or more) is that Ackerman-Leist stresses the importance of being in a conversation with others, including those who are not necessarily like-minded, if change is to take place. Communities that manage to survive and prevail display a resilience that is ultimately based on the ability to have those conversations, to listen and speak and reason.

Mutually assured well being: The continuity of community and individual resilience

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In the face of incessant climate-change related natural disasters, severe economic contraction, energy depletion, escalating violence, resource wars, and a burgeoning loss of civil liberties, many communities throughout the world are responding resiliently to the unprecedented challenges of our time in ways we could not have imagined even two or three decades ago. Relocalization movements, community land trusts, gift economies, cooperatives, tool libraries, community clothing swaps, and seed-lending libraries are but a few examples of building community resilience among people who have come to understand that the global economy and the consumerism that sustains it are rapidly descending into the dustbin of history.

Living in the New “Pre-History”

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The problem with pure worker ownership of large industries is that the worker/owners are under the same market pressures as any other company. They are therefore as likely to pollute the environment, for example, if they’re under competitive pressures to do so, as the next guys. So that means the worker-owned company’s interests are somewhat different from that of its surrounding community—which includes elderly people, young people, all those who happen to be out of the workforce. After all, half the society at any one time is not part of that worker ownership.

Radical new collaborations for local economies

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We’ve been working on the Trading Spaces concept for about a year. It’s exciting to be sharing a year’s worth of thinking about innovative ways of increasing collaborative activity on high streets (primary business streets) that doesn’t rely on local residents to be simply consumers –> but partners, makers and social investors as well.

It’s not the economy vs the environment

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What to make of the mixed message in Sunday’s New York Times op-ed by David Leonhardt? Dispelling the prevalent and stubborn myth that environmental measures are a drag on economic recovery is critical to efforts to gain public and political support. Leonhardt attempts to help, but misses some of the most important points.

Ownership, full employment and community economic stability

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The great British economist the late Joan Robinson once observed that the only thing worse than being exploited by capitalism is not being exploited by capitalism. This truth is felt acutely by anyone who is unemployed and looking for work. As the pain of the economic crisis continues and millions struggle to find employment there is an obvious imperative to create jobs—any jobs. But we shouldn’t stop there. In Back to Full Employment, Robert Pollin makes the essential point that “a workable definition of full employment should refer to an abundance of decent jobs.” Poor jobs that keep workers minimally employed but leave them in precarious circumstances and unable to participate fully in civic and political life are better than no jobs at all. But in terms of public policy we can and should aim higher—especially as decent jobs not only benefit the workers that hold them but also the communities in which they live. Absent a stable economic base, community itself is compromised.

Rightsizing streets to create great public spaces

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I’m a pedestrian before I’m a driver, a rider, a passenger, a worker, or a shopper. I have to walk through public space to get anywhere, and I prefer walking where there are other people, comfortable sidewalks, and crossable streets. Plants, diverse businesses, and the possibility of running into friends are bonuses. Streets built just for cars undermine all of these elements of great walks and great places.

Recipes for austerity

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Last month it was reported in the press that average consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables had fallen in the UK by 30% since the recession, to only around half the amount needed to make up out 5-a-day recommended by the government. Growing our own food locally is a way to fill this gap; along with many other Transition practices, it is a way to save money and ensure we have what we need when times are hard, one of the ways we can make our communities more resilient.

Harvesting the city

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Urban agriculture has captured the imagination of many San Franciscans in recent years. Two dozen gardens and farms have sprouted across the city since 2008, and in 2011 the city changed its zoning code to permit urban agriculture in all neighborhoods. Interest in urban agriculture stems from its numerous benefits. City farming and gardening provides San Franciscans with vibrant greenspaces and recreation, education about fresh food and the effort it takes to produce it, cost savings and ecological benefits for the city, sites that help build community, and a potential source of modest economic development. But the city will not fully capture these benefits unless it takes advantage of the growing interest and energy behind the issue.