Building Community

The Economic Potential of Local Building Materials

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A while ago now I was in London for the launch of the Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment’s ‘Building a New Green Economy’ conference, where I was a speaker alongside Tim Jackson, David Orr and Stewart Brand. You can read about the event here, and films of our talks will be posted soon. I mention it today because I want to draw your attention to the report launched at the conference, Sustainable Supply Chains that Support Local Economic Development, available to download here.

From counterculture to cyberculture: the life and times of Stewart Brand

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Fred Turner’s book looks at the influence Bucky Fuller had on a range of people, in particular Stewart Brand, who helped create first the hippie counterculture and the back to the land movement of the sixties and seventies, then later the cyberculture that grew up around the San Francisco bay area.

Church in Our Times: Spirit and Security in the Face of Reality

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We’ve been hearing for years that the mainline Protestant churches are on the wane in the United States, emptying out in an increasingly atomized society. And Catholicism has been clearly weakened by recent internal events. Is the Christian church only a force on the Right in the United States?

Vermont: Neighbors and Online Networks

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When Michael Wood-Lewis and his wife, Valerie, moved from Washington, D.C., to the south end of Burlington, Vermont, in 1998, “we’d landed in what we thought was our dream neighborhood. It was walkable, near the lake, full of trees. But we were having trouble getting to know the neighbors.

Food & agriculture – Mar 12

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-Grow your own’ revolution receives major land boost
-Slow foodies are not cavemen
-What’s driving our favorite fruit into decline?
-A Backlash After San Francisco Labels Sewage Sludge “Organic”
-How Locavores Could Save the World
-Increasing Yields and Decreasing Fertilizer Waste on Subsistence Farms
-How food and water are driving a 21st-century African land grab
-Greenhouse project promotes self-sufficiency

How to provide relief to rural Americans, create jobs, and lower emissions … all at once!

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Most homeowners in the U.S. would come out ahead if they invested in energy efficiency improvements — new insulation, sealed windows, more efficient boilers, and the like. So why don’t they do it? Simple: the upfront costs are steep and the paybacks can take a long time. Many homeowners don’t have access to the capital to cover the costs, or they worry that they will move before the the costs are repaid, thus leaving subsequent owners to reap gains they didn’t pay for.

My wabi-sabi life

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Wabi-sabi is a Japanese term that does not translate well to English, but using a thousand words, perhaps we shall begin to understand. Wabi originally referred to the loneliness of living in nature, but now reflects a meaning more of rustic simplicity, freshness, or quietness. Wabi also refers to the quirks and imperfections that arise during the creation process. Sabi refers to the beauty which comes into being as something ages.

Urban resilience for dummies: Part 2

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Last post I covered some guiding principles for urban resilience planning in the face of climate change and diminishing resources (especially fresh water and oil). Considering these guidelines, what aspect of U.S. metro development stands out as the most ill-advised and risky? Short answer: exurban sprawl.