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By Brian Skeele, on May 31st, 2011
The artists move into the industrial, run down part of town. Rents are cheap, spaces are big. Cafes and bars start to open. The area becomes hip, creativity is flowing…and the lawyers move in. Nice restaurants and high end clothing stores open up.
 Get 'em while they're hot! The prices skyrocket. The artists are forced to move out, the Soul fades…ah, but it’s a good investment! The Condos pop up, get ‘em while they’re hot!
There are so many parts to this scenario that irk me, I don’t know where to begin!
First off, who created the value of this highly desirable place? I’d say the artists. I’d also say the suburbs are so boring, people are starved for soul, a “realness” with vibrant, alive streets. So we as a society get some of the credit, in a reverse kind of way.
The next think that irks me is how, in our mad rush for a great place to live, we end up doing great damage to the very thing we love; … READ MORE >>
By Brian Skeele, on May 24th, 2011
From where I stand, Innovation is the name of the game.
How can we create an atmosphere conducive to innovation to better support the emerging sustainable economy in …emerging?? 
I’m envisioning an affordable, interdisciplinary Think and Do Tank, an innovation lab. As I contemplate this “Center for Innovation’, I can see there are several ways it could be configured to serve each region’s needs. This Think and Do Tank could well have an online presence that facilitates innovation. Today, I’m going to focus on “real world” applications.
Some businesses, such as Google, pay their employees every week to spend 20% of their time on endeavors outside their “normal” jobs. These pursuits end up generating something like 80% of the innovative products Google develops.
The Think and Do Tank could be this kind of an asset for our community;… READ MORE >>
By Brian Skeele, on May 13th, 2011
I lived out on Taos Mesa in the tiniest trailer known to mankind. There were no utilities, no running water. I’d haul water from Henry’s house, just down the road, and heat up a pot of water to take showers. Invigorating showers out in the wide open space, freezing night air. A 5 gallon bucket was my toilet, which used sawdust to cover contributions. When the bucket got full, I’d bury the contents in the earth, feeding the earthworms.
The remarkable thing is I loved it. I felt wild, and yet I was surviving creatively. A boy from the burbs of Southern California. I felt freer, less rent to pay. Except for filling the propane tank for heating and cooking, I had no utility bills. I’d clip a power cord to my truck’s battery and have a little light at night.
The one thing about the road out to my trailer on the Mesa, was the spring thaw…you had to leave early and get home late, cuz when the daily thaw happened, the muck was amazing.
Other than that, call it voluntary simplicity, call it poverty…I called it good. I was a new father, in the middle of a separation, learning to be a construction carpenter, and was looking to live inexpensively.
Even then, I was dreaming of sustainable villages; high density, vibrant alive, local food, local energy. Heck, Mike Reynolds was my nearest neighbor. His house/office under the windspinner was my nearest neighbor to the south. We’d argue about where to build sustainably; he was a “in the country” kind of guy, and I’d argue for urban settings… turns out we were both right.
I want to live in beauty, but I don’t want all the maintenance that goes with it. I want thriving, vibrant, alive streets, with kids roaming and having fun. A sunny spot at a wind sheltered table for a morning coffee. Watching the sunlight bounce of the pond’s surface. I want to be a part of an abundant life, I’ll help maintain the pond, I’ll help establish frog habitat.
My wife is much more domesticated that I, and she has a strong sense of beauty. She once visited the trailer on the Taos Mesa, there is no way she’d have anything to do with it.
This is one of the defining challenges we face…how do we live lightly on the planet, and yet have a high quality of life? How do we make sharing easy, convenient, so we aren’t owned by all our stuff? I believe it takes a village to go sustainable. My spiritual practice reminds me I can’t find what I’m truly looking for in this world.
Share your ideas! How would you make sustainable real? Call it poverty, call it voluntary simplicity….I’m calling it good.
Images courtesy of Taos homes, Arttattler… READ MORE >>
By Brian Skeele, on May 12th, 2011
Mixed use neighborhood. Sounds simple. Saves money. Artur C. Nelson presented the info. Robert Steuteville wrote about it. The question remains…where do you want to live?
“The average American family spends 32 percent of its income on housing and 19 percent on transportation, leaving 49 percent for all other expenditures. Those who live in auto-dependent suburbs spend 25 percent of their income on transportation, leaving only 43 percent for all other expenses. Those who live in transit-rich neighborhoods spend only 9 percent on transportation, leaving far more money for discretionary expenses.”
Another beautiful thing about living in a walkable mixed use community, is the attached part. Just by the virtue of being attached, your house has less exterior wall exposed, thus a savings in heating and cooling, and less maintenance. Polar Sam gives it two big thumbs up!… READ MORE >>
By Brian Skeele, on May 5th, 2011
I’ve started a list of good ideas that come about if we rethink the functions and interplay of our home and its neighborhood. So far I’ve got 29 killer (If I do say so myself) ideas. The first 7 are home oriented, the last 22 are more neighborhood oriented. Add your ideas to the list via the comment area!
Home Design
4. Sell Part of Your Home
With all the household profiles that don’t fit into the Ward and June Clever, Wally and the Beaver, traditional suburban demographics (2.5 children, dog, and two parents under one roof), there is demand for something else. The latest numbers I’ve heard is only 24% of US households fit the stereotypical household profile.
That means there are a bunch of people looking for a living arrangement that better suits their needs. I’m suggesting you can sell off part of your house! You could sell 1/3 or 1/4….what a concept! How could this be useful to you? Share your ideas below!! … READ MORE >>
By Brian Skeele, on April 25th, 2011
Cooperation, Collaboration, a community based on common values…..Sounds so technical! What if your neighborhood made choices like incorporating a swimming pool or a movie theater into the community?? The ownership structure could be by membership, a coop, or a private business. The list of possible shared amenities and services is endless.
- Transforming the American Dream
Maybe you’d like to down size in your neighborhood into a compound of casitas, small homes for seniors. Maybe your daughter would like more independence and yet would like to live nearby in one of the casitas. Maybe she has autism or maybe she’s changing careers.
The American Dream is morphing into community. We’re learning to work together to create a more abundant lifestyle, where we share more, own less, and have a higher quality of life, while living lighter on the planet.
What services and amenities would you like in your neighborhood? What would you like to give?
Share your ideas!! together we can make sustainable real! As for the neighborhood theater?? I make the best popcorn in the world.
Image courtesy of Architectural Record
READ MORE >>
By Brian Skeele, on April 12th, 2011
How can we have more time?? How are we going to live lighter on the Planet??!! Significantly lighter?? SHARE YOUR IDEAS! (comment below, or go to Share Your Vision!)
 Creating More Time-It Takes a Sustainable Village! Here’s my take. If we were to create a great neighborhood, a convenient, mixed use, inspiring, supportive atmosphere, we would be richer. If we could find ways to downsize our financial needs, we’d free up time; More disposable income, more time.
To be able to walk, ride your bike, or take public transportation to work, requires a mixed use community. Now your family can let go of a car or two, and life becomes more affordable.
A mixed use neighborhood, with neighbors out and about, creates safer streets, so our children can get about without chauffeuring, freeing up time and peace of mind.
A short commute, or joining a meal share plan frees up and creates more time.
What would you do with more Time? Work on the new career…..lifelong learning…professional development….time to contemplate?
Spending time lingering over a cup of tea, or a beer, with a friend, reading a book, spending more time with children, or working in the garden; maybe these make for a more abundant life for you.
To have an end of life strategy, an aging in place program where I can help the elders of my neighborhood, and in turn, when my time comes, be assured of helping hands nearby, these are qualities money can’t by, but time can.
The trend over the last 40-50 years has been to make the home the center of life; Our theater, our library, spa, restaurant, entertainment center, a sanctuary, an isolated unit in suburbia; an increasingly bigger house connected to the world in a sprawl car dominated lifestyle.
My wife and I are a unit, a band of two, holding it together. As we’re both self-employed, even our offices are in our home.
When I contrast that with the stories I hear of long established village life is Europe, it gets me to thinking. How can I lower my expenses so I can have better choices? How can I lower my eco footprint? What would I be willing to share?
As I understand, in this European lifestyle, community life plays a bigger part of the home life. The home is smaller, the living room in the nearby restaurant. Many evenings are spent over a meal, enjoying the comradery of community. Maybe it sounds kind of gossipy and claustrophobic, and yet there is something alluring.
As we learn to live in balance with the planet, we’ll be learning to make choices that can give us more time and a higher quality of life!
My intention is for this website to become a living compliation of good ideas, what works, what makes sustainable real. SHARE YOUR IDEAS, STORIES!
Image courtesy of Virginia Tech
By Brian Skeele, on April 4th, 2011
The #1 way to Support Local Food is by… creating a deeply affordable lifestyle. Lowering the cost of living frees up customers’ pocket books so they can buy more local food and dine at restaurants serving locally produced food.
 Local Farmers, Local Food...Santa Fe Saturday AM A deeply affordable lifestyle is essential in other key ways as well. Farmers and their employees need affordable housing, water, land, processing facilities, season extending structures, fertilizers, etc. Higher costs in any one of these networks of networks undermines our food security.
Here in Santa Fe we have one of the best Farmer’s Markets in the nation, apparently. I think much of its popularity is because Santa Feans have more disposable income. And yet, in spite of all the success, Beneficial Farms CSA‘s Steve Warshawer estimates all the capacity of the Northern New Mexico regional farmers would feed only 2000 folks. Santa Fe current population is around 70,000, with a surrounding regional total of approx 100,000.
For our regional capacity, our Food Shed, to grow significantly, I believe we will have to work together to create deep affordability and free up more disposable income. I call it “Mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhoods, with lifelong learning and open space”. The open space is for agriculture, natural habitat, and recreation.
This strategy is good for everyone; builds our regional resiliency and food security, lowers our eco-footprint, and raises our quality of life!
Share your ideas and experiences in the comments area! Back yard chickens, collecting urine for fertilizer, compost piles, converting front yards to food forests, deep mulching strategies, farm to school programs, aquaculture, etc… the list is long….Together we can make sustainable real!… READ MORE >>
By Brian Skeele, on March 29th, 2011
Serving Ourselves, While Serving Others
A few years ago, the Sustainable Neighborhoods Focus Group came up with the idea of giving as a key to a more abundant lifestyle. Currently, infill and new development often give very little to neighborhoods, usually a loss of views and open space, more traffic, and a deadness associated with second homes and single use neighborhoods.
From our Focus Group, a vision emerged where the residents of existing neighborhoods get more; More abundance and aliveness, more safety with neighbors walking on the streets to more conveniently located services. Along with a healthier, more pedestrian friendly lifestyle comes innovative ways to share more amenities, creating a greater sense of community and providing a more affordable lifestyle, a lifestyle beyond suburbia, a lifestyle that lives lighter on the planet.
 A Neighborhood that Serves Itself, while Serving Others! The Focus Group identified conceptual “clusters” of homes or workspaces, designed around residents’ simple but fundamental essential common needs; (in other words, the “cluster” could be a scattered site)
- Child-Oriented Houses
- a Cohousing Group
- an Elder Housing Group
- a Live/work and Commercial Space Cluster
- a Small Houses and Eco-Homes Compound
- Artist Cooperative Workshops
- Young People Living Over Garages….
Giving More Amenities, Getting More Life
These different clusters were assigned services to be provided, not only to meet the cluster’s own needs, but as economies of sale require, to meet the needs of the adjoining clusters and the existing, surrounding neighborhoods…. READ MORE >>
By Brian Skeele, on March 20th, 2011
 Collaboration! Our times call for rapid prototyping social, economical, and ecological strategies so the emerging sustainable economy can….emerge! Many of the jobs being created from evolving technologies, don’t even exist yet. We are inventing the future as we travel forward.
Half of the hottest futurist jobs don’t even exist yet, according to Daniel Burrus, author of Technotrends and CEO of Burrus Research Associates. “We’re in the early stages of shifting gears into the e-society,” he says. “Virtually every part of an enterprise will be e-enabled, which includes connectivity, content, commerce, communication, collaboration, and community.”… READ MORE >>
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