COMMUNITY BUILDING: PROCESSES AND PROJECTS THAT ADDRESS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMUNITY An exploratory paper that looks at some processes and projects that address the "how to" of establishing community where there may be little or none. Please understand that this is a "work in progress". Comments and suggestions are welcome. Gene S. Thomas 15 June 1994 Copyright 1994 Gene S. Thomas. All rights reserved. Correspondence regarding this document may be addressed to the author at: 215 Pineridge Ann Arbor, MI 48103 email: gthomas@ciesin.org Introduction The process of building communities is one of the greatest challenges facing humankind today. Affluent societies have the resources to build community but often lack motivation (their comfort level is too high). Poor societies lack the range of resources available in affluent societies (and access to them if they might be present) but their motivation may be suppressed or dampened because of negative experiences. While there is a need to establish community at all socio-economic levels, it is thought that the present need is the greatest at the lowest levels because there the basic resources for human survival are threatened. In the longer term, worse case scenarios of thermal and chemical pollution indicate that all of humanity is threatened. What is community? It is communication among a more or less contiguous group of people. In the present context, contiguity is physical (versus electronic). Community is the vocalization of public desires and concerns, the establishment of options and the joint working toward a vision of what can be. To talk about community opens the dialog about ultimate ends, a dialog often neglected under the press of other issues but one that permits consideration of the justification and guidance for the continuance of the human species and, thereby, the continuance of the other species. The establishment and longevity of community can be furthered by programs that contribute to its foundation elements: food, shelter, security, work, education, relationships, spirituality. Linking these elements are such capabilities as: communication, energy, control of materials, access to information, entertainment, means of exchange, etc. This paper presents the kernels of four concepts that could be developed into programs that address either community foundation elements or community linkages. 1) A social engine that can be used to address a wide range of foundation elements through the creation of targeted businesses. 2) A long term (essentially permanent) effort to address the food element (and coincidentally addressing parts of education , work, and relationships as well as a number of the element linkages such as communication, control of materials and access to information). 3) Protection and enhancement of the physical community and most directly, support of the element of shelter. 4) Establishment and satisfaction of cross- element information needs. The material that follows is an attempt to capture some of the potential deriving from the four kernels. Subsequent to this, the kernels could be further developed into concept papers and, from there, into proposals that could be submitted to foundations or other sources of funding. These ideas are not targeted at a particular community. It is felt that all of them have relevance to the general notion of community. These ideas combine parts of the environmental and human rights movements and support the establishment of healthy communities within a healthy ecosystem. Resources Publications: The Good Society, Robert N. Bellah In the Absence of the Sacred, Gerry Mander Diamond Resolver - the ecologically sensitive economic engine (the Thomas - Daly (social) transformation). Diamond Resolver was conceived of as a way to bring the parts of problem solutions together so they could interact to produce desirable output. The four apexes of DR are: a need with a voice; someone to point out and categorize or describe the need; someone to analyze the need in terms of what it will take for its satisfaction on both the supply and demand side of the equation, understanding that few needs are simple and uncomplex; and, someone to shepherd the creation of a business that will generate the means for satisfying the need as its secondary product, the primary product being some good or service that is ecologically benign and which satisfies a need on another level. Diamond Resolver could be the name of a non-profit corporation that brings apexes together to form diamonds. It generates the diamonds that in turn generate businesses that address needs. Ecological sensitivity is involved all along the way. The business activity created should not destroy the ecosystem and should not, in the long run, create imbalances within the ecosystem. DR partners (stakeholders) will benefit from this activity by being shareholders in the new businesses. Resources Publications: Valuing the Earth, Herman Daly Steady State Economics, Herman Daly For the Common Good, Herman Daly Supporting activities (unsorted): 1. identify some needs within the community, understanding that the list of basic needs is relatively short and is common to all communities (food, shelter, clothing, security, relationships, education). Each community will have different manifestations of the needs, however, and these subtleties should be captured. 2. identify some potential cooperating businesses (perhaps according to their current product line). 3. identify a means for qualifying DR entities (must be a cooperator rather than a predator; must be willing participant; must have resources and be willing to commit them). 4. identify a means for qualifying representatives of DR entities. 5. convene some trial DR teams and document outcomes. 6. locate funding sources and write proposals that will allow the initiation of this activity. Urban farming - the long term community focus that provides local control over a primary capability (one which addresses a primary human need - food) with opportunities for teaching, employment, enhanced self-esteem, generation of capital, linkages with other communities, urban visual enhancement, security, etc. The farming should be done on an ecologically sound basis. Farm workers should be trained in organic farming techniques. One goal might be to achieve certification as an "organic" farm. This would mean food that is healthier to eat and would bring higher prices at market. Farming should include agriculture and arbor and aqua cultures, as well. Resources Organizations: American Farmland Trust Institute for Community Economics National Society of Fund Raising Executives National Trust for Historic Preservation Urban Land Institute The Wilderness Society Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) movement Community Gardening Community Farm of Ann Arbor Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association Land Trust Exchange Trust for Public Land Rodale Institute The Land Institute The Nature Conservancy Connecticut Land Trust Service Bureau Publications: 1981 National Directory of Local Land Conservation Organizations (Land Trust Exchange) Conservation Directory (National Wildlife Federation) Building an Ark. Phillip Hoose Farms of the Future. Trauger Groh Altars of Unhewn Stone. Wes Jackson Gift of Good Land. Wendell Berry Meeting the Expectations of the Land. Wendell Berry Permaculture: A Designers Manual. Bill Mollison Permaculture: A Practical Guide for A Sustainable Future. Bill Mollison Supporting activities (unsorted): 1. locate community people interested in this topic 2. establish training vehicles so a wide range of participation is possible across variables such as age of participants, interest levels, available time and capability levels. 3. locate funding sources and write proposals that will allow the initiation of this activity. 4. inventory land and technology resources in the community. 5. develop ways to make this endeavor self-sustaining such as establishing markets for farm products with other neighborhood organizations and elsewhere (Eastern Market, etc.). 6. develop small businesses that focus on support for farming activities (construction of carts, storage and shipping containers, tools, bookkeeping, marketing/advertising, nursery, etc.). 7. locate volunteers to help get this activity started and set-up a program for tracking and scheduling. 8. determine land ownership of vacant parcels and interest in residents of sharing their land with this activity. 9. learn about mechanisms for obtaining community control/use of vacant land. 10. establish linkages with people familiar with cooperative ownership of land, such as Land Trust Exchange (Boston) and CORLANDS (Chicago). 11. establish a land acquisition potential sponsor list and work to get maximum participation. Involve public and private sectors. 12. determine the role of government in establishing urban farms (funding, legislation, cooperation) and pursue avenues of benefit. 13. work to establish a role for every community member in this activity, particularly in the farming itself. 14. establish control over enough land to make a farm within the community (through donations, leases, grants, occupation...). Ideal control may be 501C5 designation (land trust). 15. explore land donations by local residents. Portions of city lots, perhaps the back 3 to10 feet, could be deeded to a land trust and used for farming or greenways through the community. 16. establish linkages with people and educational organizations with knowledge about sustainable food production and establish a flow of knowledge into the community. 17. Interact with Urban Restructuring activity to determine locations for different types of farming that reinforce community foundation elements. Urban restructuring - new housing alternatives, both in terms of construction materials (straw bales, etc.) and, in terms of the physical organization of the community. Presently, many neighborhoods consist of blocks of houses with commercial/industrial infill. The alternative of housing/small businesses oriented around a market space and the whole surrounded by or integrated with agriculture is posed as an alternative. This activity addresses several primary human needs: shelter and security. Activities would create opportunities for teaching, employment, enhanced self-esteem, generation of capital, linkages with other communities, urban visual enhancement, etc. Resources Organizations: Habitat for Humanity Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Individuals: Ian McHarg Supporting activities (unsorted): 1. maintain contact with Habitat for Humanity. They are experimenting with straw bale construction this summer (1994) with the construction of a straw bale house in Americus, GA. They are also working with some(?) building departments to have this construction technique certified. 2. establish contact with the University of Arizona which is working to develop construction techniques acceptable to building departments (in the state? across the US?) based on straw bales. 3. convene a conference of community based organizations (CBOs) that focuses on straw bale construction. Use this to identify CBOs that are interested and willing to work for the acceptance of straw bale construction locally and are willing to try the technique in their communities. 4. locate architects who would be willing to work with CBOs in designing straw bale buildings and who would be willing to interface with the building department in city government regarding design and certification. 5. conduct workshops in straw bale construction. These may or may not result in the construction of structures or buildings. 6. develop an information resource focused on community design. It should include contact information for relevant architects, urban planners, etc. 7. convene a conference of CBOs that focuses on community design. It should illustrate how community design can support other community needs such as security, enterprise, aesthetics, etc. 8. interact with the Urban Farming activity to recognize and take advantage of placement of fields, nurseries, ponds, etc. 9. develop petitions that would be used to gain local control over traffic in communities. Control may be achieved by constructing gates or walls or may more simply be achieved by positioning abandoned vehicles across streets. 10. investigate different possibilities for securing local (neighborhood) control over abandoned or vacant property in the neighborhood. Include the establishment of neighborhood or city scale land trusts that would restrict uses and lower the tax burden for included parcels. 11. develop plans for neighborhoods that optimize locations for local assets in support of the establishment of community (relocate housing; establish agricultural zones; create market places; etc.). Information resource development - bulletin boards, gophers, World Wide Web documents, etc. that present information about community experiences, resource contact people, resources (this begins to sound like the products of the Community Information Exchange but goes beyond them, I think), etc. This task is two-way: collect and disseminate. Communities need to think about the kinds of information they need and how they will get them. Communities should be encouraged to make their experiences, both positive and negative, public so that other communities may learn from them. This activity does not address a primary human need but is cross cutting and supports many other community activities. Through it there will be opportunities for optimizing community projects, teaching/learning, enhanced self-esteem, linkages with other communities, etc. Resources: Organizations: Community Information Exchange Community Sustainability Resource Institute Institute for Local Self Reliance Michigan Neighborhood Partnership Center for Neighborhood Technology Land Trust Exchange Supporting activities (unsorted): 1. a community survey to establish where the community is now relative to its information needs: what kinds of information does it need, in what form and who will manage it in order for the community to get where it would like to be. 2. develop a community based group that will be responsible for delivering information to the community. The information may have been provided through the services of a data technologist with Internet and other kinds of information access or by one or more members of the group who have been trained in information retrieval and who have access to information sources. 3. determine the extent to which local branches of Public Libraries want to participate in information services focused on community based organizations. Work with them if they do. Some are planning to be Internet access points for their communities and that would be an added asset. 4. develop information about neighborhoods, communities and community based organizations. 5. package information about neighborhoods, communities and community based organizations in a variety of electronic formats (Gophers and World Wide Web documents) and make it available locally as well as put it on the Internet. 6. set up a local geographic information system (GIS) to capture and display spatial information relevant to the neighborhood. 7. train community representatives in the development and maintenance of electronic format information. 8. train community representatives in information retrieval in libraries and on the Internet. 9. develop information that would support Urban Agriculture, Urban Restructuring and the other elements discussed in this paper. Contact Information American Farmland Trust 1920 N Street, NW #400 Washington, DC 20036 voice: 202-659-5170 fax: 202-659-8339 Bio-Dynamic Farming and Gardening Association P.O. Box 550 Kimberton, PA 19442 Institute for Community Economics 151 Montague City Road Greenfield, MA 01301 413-774-5933 International Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture Newman Center 1701 University Ave., SE Minneapolis, MN 55414 voice: 612-331-1099 fax: 612-379-1527 National Society of Fund Raising Executives Investment Bldg., Suite 831 1511 K. St., NW Washington, DC 20005 202-638-1393 National Sustainable Agriculture Coordinating Council 32 N. Church Street Goshen, NY 10924 914-294-0633 Amy Little Natural Organic Farmers Association c/o Bill Duesing 153 Bowers Hill Rd. Oxford, CT 06483 voice: 203-888-9280 Organic Crop Improvement Association 4914 Fort Kearney Road Grand Island, NE 68801 voice: 308-382-2707 Rodale Institute 222 Main Street Emmaus, PA 18098 voice: 215-967-8405 fax: 215-967-8959 The Land Institute 2440 E. Water Well Rd. Salina, KS 67401 voice: (913) 823-5376 fax: (913) 823-8728 The Nature Conservancy 1800 N. Kent St. Arlington, VA 22209 703-841-5300 The Trust for Public Land Ohio Field Office The Old Arcade, Rm. 342 401 Euclid Ave. Cleveland, OH 44114 216-241-7630 Urban Land Institute 1200 18th Street, NW Washington, DC 20006 202-331-8500 The Wilderness Society 1901 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Washington, DC 20006 202-293-2732, 202-828-6600