Habitat Re•Imagined

Sustainable Community

Shared Housing – a Win / Win Solution for Many

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There is a growing interest in intentional community around the country, with a concentrated interest here in Asheville. The list of reasons are many, with mutual support right up at the top. Many people have realized for some time that our culture has, in many ways, lost a sense of community – next door neighbors often don’t even know each other. We also struggle with many physical, emotional, and spiritual needs that are exasperated by this loss of community. We struggle with finances, relationships, parenting, aging, etc. – most of all we want to know and be known.

The current social, economic, and environmental conditions in the world have put a spot light on some of these needs and brought an interest in community to the forefront of many peoples minds. At the same time, there is a growing inventory of large houses for sale with owners that are seriously looking for a solution to payments they cannot afford. Many of these houses can be renovated to provide a great balance of private and shared space. Many of these houses can also provide affordable rental and/or purchase options.

If you are interested in shared housing communities, contact us for rental opportunities or assistance with renovating or purchasing. We can help you explore the many shared housing possibilities in our area.

 

Backyard Cottages

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A great movement, coming to a city near you, is the creation or emphasis of backyard cottages. In an effort to curb suburban sprawl, city officials around the country are encouraging infill development with small houses built beside or behind existing houses. This movement is a win win situation for everyone involved – the city creates an increased tax base while preserving the countryside and agricultural land, homeowners are given an opportunity for rental income, and renters are given a great option for affordable housing.

The movement also provides designers with an incentive to increase the options for creative and sustainable small house plans. Seattle, one city that is on the cutting edge of sustainable development, has allowed attached ADU’s (Accessory Dwelling Units) since 1994.  Their recent 2009 legislation, that allows  detached ADUs of up to  800 sq. ft. to be built throughout the city, has motivated at least two companies to offer design challenges to inspire more creative small house design options.

Just up the road from Seattle, Vancouver is another city that is encouraging backyard cottages and, down the road, Portland Oregon is doing the same. Farther down the road, Berkeley, California is even setting goals for a percentage of their new development to be in ADU’s.  Around the country other cities have adopted, or are considering adopting, similar ordinances.

This brings me home to Asheville, NC. Backyard cottages, attached or unattached, are legal here – they have been for some time. I’m not sure if suburban sprawl had anything to do with the motivation or if it is just common sense mountain wisdom. Whatever it is, it is a great opportunity to increase creative green built and affordable housing, as well as to increase the development of community in any neighborhood.

Wherever you are, whether you are a home owner or renter, this is a great option to consider promoting in your neighborhood. Let me know if we can help – we have great resources to help design and build your backyard cottage.

The Healthy Money Summit

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Last week 24 pioneers of change presented a free teleseminar series to help people create a”healthier, happier, and more productive relationship with money”. The Healthy Money Summit was hosted by Vicki Robin, coauthor of Your Money or Your Life which is considered by many as one of the best foundational resource for getting a healthy perspective on this vital issue. The goal was to provide a glimpse of the following hopeful solutions to our current economical conditions:

  • New ways of earning and spending that liberate your time and passion for your real life’s work
  • New investment strategies that favor the triple bottom line and sustainable business practices
  • New psychologies that favor generosity and sharing over hunkering down
  • New currencies that favor connection and community over hoarding and lack
  • New economies that favor Main Street over Wall Street, and prioritize community well-being as the new bottom line
  • And a new money spirit of “enough for all,” rather than “winner takes all”

If you missed the summit,  the good news is that everything was recorded for ongoing free access. Check it out and register here. If you don’t have time to listen to everything, Vicky Robin will be presenting a follow up teleseminar Thursday, Feb. 3 at 5PM PST. In addition to a summary of the most important points of the Summit, she will also introduce a few of the key principles from Your Money or Your Life:

  • The 5 most important myths and limiting beliefs about money and happiness and what you can do to shift them.
  • How to inventory your lifestyle and align your spending with your deepest values.
  • Key practices for increasing joy and decreasing stress in your life by eliminating what doesn’t fulfill you.
  • A deep understanding of the nature of money and how you can transform your relationship to it.

You can find out more info on Viki’s telesminar here, and be sure to check out my previous post for more resources on Your Money or Your Life.

Small Houses and Future Development

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As the suburbs sprawled across the countryside over the past 50 or so years, houses got bigger and bigger. As our consumer appetites grew to unprecedented proportion, we gobbled up farmland and natural resources like never before. In a relatively short time in history, we populated the countryside, fueled by the fires of our lust for more. We marched forward with the attitude of “too much is never enough”.

There was a brief recognition of the direction we were headed in the 70’s. Our concern for environmental protection and energy efficiency was stimulated by the economic conditions and the back to the land movement. We started to explore renewable energy and built more efficient homes. But something happened in the 80’s – the economy indicated a false stabilization as employment increased, oil prices fell, and interest rates lowered. With only a minority holding on to their prophetic voice, the majority seemed to stick their heads in the sand while fanning the flames of consumption. “Bigger and better” became the cry of the masses.

Well, it seems the tide has turned. Those who held on to their convictions continued to move forward with passion and innovation. “Green” became a buzzword gaining momentum in the early years of this century. Finally, the economic collapse, along with the concern of peak oil and other environmental concerns, began to get everyone’s attention. Today, sustainability is, or should be, on all of our lists of concern. We are rethinking our direction – downsizing and efficiency is taking root.

Building smaller houses and more conscientious development is on the forefront of this movement. Creative designers, inspired by innovative pioneers like Sarah Susanka, with her Not So Big House series, are creating healthy, efficient, and aesthetic homes in pleasant community oriented neighborhoods. Low impact, zero energy, and high performance are values that are replacing bigger and better. “More with less” is becoming the new cry of those truly in touch with our dilemma.

People across the country are joining the small house movement. Even the planning and zoning departments of progressive cities are collaborating for smarter growth. The adoption of creative infill ordinances is growing throughout the country. Many cities have followed Seattle’s lead to allow greater density of small houses on combined infill lots. Other cites are promoting the addition of small “mother-in-law cottages” on developed lots.

Asheville, NC, where I live, is a great location for this movement to grow – and one of the reasons I moved here. Along with the provision for an auxiliary studio cottage or apartment in most locations, there is a great ordinance recently introduced for cottage development as well as other considerations for smaller houses and greater density.

By all indications, the tide will continue to turn and environmental, social, and economic sustainability will influence our building and development practices. As more and more people wake up to the reality of these concerns, that influence will become a driving force. I am excited to continue to be part of the movement.




Dynamic Governance – In Pursuit of a Deeper Democracy

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I have worked with a variety of decision making structures – from authoritarian to egalitarian. On one end of the spectrum, the person with the most authority, investment, or charisma makes the decisions. On the other end it often seems that the lowest common denominator is the decisive factor. Through the spectrum, “we the people” are hardly heard.

In an authoritarian structure, the primary considerations come from the perspective of the person or persons at the top. At worst, it is ego or bottom line that controls direction. At best, in organizations with caring and benevolent management, the people are heard but only within the limited abilities of the few that are listening.

The majority rule of traditional voting is an attempt to curb abuses but, again at best, there are always winners and losers. At worst, thugs with the muscle or lobbyists with the money control the vote. A truly deeper democracy is needed.

In egalitarian structures, often in reaction to authoritarian abuses, there is a greater attempt to listen. Achieving universal agreement through the process of consensus is usually the goal. Although this is usually an improvement, there remains serious problems to overcome. It is at times difficult to move forward because of the lack of agreement and leadership is often discounted in favor of a false sense of equality.

Several years ago, after around twenty five years of struggling with the problems in these structures, I came across Dynamic Governance, or sociocracy, and quickly saw the beauty of an organizational system and decision making process that was designed to empower everyone involved but also to allow leadership to move things forward.

Dynamic Governance  is a governing process that evolved from a philosophical concept to an organizational structure that has the ability to create self organizing efficiency especially suited for collaborative living and working environments.  Sociocracy was first conceived by August Comte in the early nineteenth century as an organizational system to replace the monarchy in the emerging industrial revolution. Sociocracy literally means to “rule by socios”, people who have social relationship with each other.

Sociocracy didn’t take root until last century under the leadership of Gerard Endenburg who established a functioning system for highly efficient business management in the Netherlands. Today it is being used in diverse organizations in Europe, Latin America, Australia, the United States and Canada.

Dynamic Governance is rooted in three key principles that distinguish it from other forms of decision making structures. The principles are circles, double linking, and consent. The overall structure of an organization is first organized into functional and management circles where everyone is involved and given a voice. Decisions are then based on consent rather than agreement or voting. Proposals are formed within the circles for all matters they are involved with. Consent is given or held back by each person based on a range of tolerance. Decisions are quickly processed as proposals are modified based on what everyone in the circle can live with. Double linking of functional and management circles assures top down and bottom up communication and consent.

Although somewhat complex to grasp, Dynamic Governance becomes quite simple and efficient as it becomes internalized. I am presently working toward certification in facilitating the process for community building and will post more detail on the principles and process along the way.

For more information, check out the following links.

Governance Alive

Network for Sociocracy

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