Re: ecovillage and sustainability

HI John, 
I'm glad to see this 'theoretical ekistics' type discussion get some
airtime on the Pc site...

how these folks live so as to not repeat or
>re-invent the gossip/rumor/pettiness/etc. vicious cycles that have
>been/can
>be/still are one part of the historical "small town" experience.

Sure - the provincial or parochial qualities of "small town" scale or even
"small village" scale settlement, the tendency for 'narrow-mindedness' in
self-contained living situations. (That reminds me of J.S. Bach - a
provincial character for sure that tapped into a universal harmony.) But
will this really be a concern in 21st/22nd century ecovillages? With the
globalization of consciousness and information, the 'universal discussion'
is only a keyboard away. Also, what seems to be evolving is a sort of
migration of pollinating 'cultural ambassadors' - traveling from
ecovillage to ecovillage disseminating ideas, songs, customs, etc.

As far as "gossip/rumor/pettiness" - this is social activity that
Critchfield ("Villages" - 1983) describes as ubiquitous but serving a
purpose: maintaining the status quo of social cohesion to ensure
sustainability. In the village, from what I understand, peer pressure
replaces allopathic authority, such as police forces. The thought of
banishment from the group is enough to keep most people behaving with
civility.

Of course, as a North American, I might just crack under such close
scrutiny; I'm used to having so much privacy! That's OK, once I crack I
can give up the notion of having a 'self' that needed to be protected.

My experience with "city scale" settlement is that there are so many
strangers that I tend to shut down and close myself off; it may be
dangerous. There is a good discussion of scale in "A Pattern Language" -
Communities of 7000.

All the best to you,
Chris Mare,
VDI


<[email protected]> writes:
>Aloha,
>
>> "Village-scale' is most sustainable
>> [I propose] because it has the characteristics of 1) it is small enough
>so
>> that everybody is known - there are no 'strangers' - a social organic
>> unity results;
>
>Important question is, how do these folks teach each other to regard the
>inevitable 'strangers' who will appear from 'outside' their particular
>ecovillage?
>
>There are infinite possibilities, and some will obviously lead us 'round
>again
>to feudal lords and walled cities, etc.whereas others will not.
>
>Another important question is >
>
>
>
>John Schinnerer - MA, Whole Systems Design
>------------------------------------------
>- Eco-Living -
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