Toward Self-Sufficiency: A Community for a Transition Period

By George Hunt

George Hunt spent more than fifty years as a community planner and landscape architect. This included hands-on work in impoverished and low-income areas which helped him understand the dynamics that hold us back from achieving self-sufficiency.

In this book, he outlines a sustainable community project that seeks to solve social problems that most community planners overlook. The pilot project includes numerous ways to make communities self-sufficient, and while it’s geared for those in middle- and lower-income brackets, anyone can use its concepts.

He explains how multiple-purpose buildings can be used to house a diversity of people, ways to launch a business within the community by collaborating and sharing with others, how to obtain a vocational work/study program offered on site, and more.

The book is also a reference manual on transition community design, creating a purpose, the meaning of happiness, sustainable agricultural practices, how to live without stuff, and how to reduce anxiety and depression.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Nov 16, 2018
• ISBN: 9781532059810

George Hunt

George Hunt graduated from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, after serving in the U.S. Navy. His practice included projects within the United States and internationally. This book was written as a guide for self-sufficiency to help people understand the earth’s natural systems of balances and why this approach should be utilized to protect future generations.

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Copyright © 2018 George Hunt.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-5320-5980-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-5981-0 (e)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-6011-3 (sc)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018912133

iUniverse rev. date: 11/15/2018

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CONTENTS

Dedication

Section 1

Preface

Pilot Demonstration Project

Introduction: Designing a Community to Prevent Chaos and Provide Opportunities for the Future

Toward Self-Sufficiency: The Pilot Demonstration Project

Demonstration Pilot Community Development Description:

Housing and Land Use—Option 1

Housing and Land Use—Option 2

Project Information and Direction

Education Potential, Procedures, and Methods

Community and Personal Purposes—Why It Is Important

Reducing Consumerism, Collaboration, Using Local Currencies, and Specific Technologies

Economic Development Options

Governance—Cooperatives, Creative Commons, and the Solidarity Economy

Section 2

Advertising and Marketing - What to Do

Transition Design

Other Writings Providing Community Development Information

Agriculture and Landscaping at the Crossroads

Alliance for Science—Cornell University

Our Failing Society

Summary—Where We Are Now

References and Resources

Why This Book

Afterword

Appendix—Slideshow

Endnotes

DEDICATION

To the three most important women who were in my life. They are always walking with me every day: my mom, Gwen; my wife, Louise; and my daughter, Patricia.

And to my son, Greg.

I Am Alone

image2.jpg

I am alone.

I did not ask for this.

First the air was not fit to breathe.

I cried in vain.

They said, Wait.

Then the soil became just dust.

They said, Maybe tomorrow.

Finally the bees said, Goodbye; the flowers are gone.

They said, We must do something,

But it was too late.

They said, I have money to give you now.

All we had asked was for you to love the earth.

It was not heard.

Now we have nothing.

I am alone,

My cries a distant memory.

George Hunt

SECTION 1

PREFACE

A Beginning Solution to Our Current Dilemma

Many books present excellent solutions for our future by suggesting how we can reach a more fulfilling life while living in a world that has less consumption, less greed, and hopefully fewer wars than we have now. They include rewards of a postcapitalist society or a society where liberal democracies can exist but must change or adapt to reduce further decay. Cooperation and collaboration can be a substitute for greed and the continual striving for money. Perhaps we have gone too far already on a path toward a dismal future by demanding more of the earth’s nonrenewable resources than it has available for our future use. Humankind has to realize and understand that the natural processes of nature continually functioning around us become teachers leading us in the right path for survival. It cannot be taken for granted anymore. The beauty of nature is all around us. A working relationship with earth’s natural processes provides insights and feelings that are genuine and fulfilling. We then do not have to continually reach for the illusive powers of happiness and security; they would already be there with us. What we do now should be in the interests of those who are to be born on this earth and not just for our own short term benefits.

As explained by the author, Molly Larkin, the seventh-generation principle taught by Native Americans states that in every decision, be it personal, governmental or corporate, we must consider how it will affect our descendants seven generations into the future. So that the pristine sky, field and mountains will still be here for them to enjoy. Western society generally considers a generation to be 25 years; the Lakota Nation considers one generation to be 100 years. This seventh-generation principle was so important to Native American cultures that it was codified in the Iroquois Great Law of Peace." Molly Larkin (https://www.mollylarkin.com/the-history-u-s-constitution-we-werent-taught-school/). The laws of the Iroquois were also used as a guideline for the writing of the Constitution. Most Native American and indigenous tribes throughout the world embrace this teaching. We seem to have forgotten quite a few things in the last 240 years, and we need an awakening. One of the purposes of this book is to suggest ways we can create a sustainable system for the next hundred years. It becomes a new type of pathway for living.

The suggestions offered in this book provide a means of going in nature’s direction by using a design for a small community development that is a pilot demonstration project. The proposed community stresses education and teaching, as well as being an experiment in community relationships for living in a less stuff and sustainable environment. To date, its innovative approach has not been replicated anywhere in the world that I know of, and because of this, it can set new standards for community development. The community becomes its own advertising agency for sustainability and self-sufficiency. This is just a beginning solution that can be started now and is adaptable to expand to show values of compassion and a truer understanding of one’s self in a world that needs help. History has shown us what can happen when we overshoot our boundaries of sustainability. This book represents the commencement of going on nature’s path instead of our own. Let’s hope we can get the process started before it is too late.

This project spans a lifetime of collecting ideas. It includes my working for more than fifty years as a landscape architect and a community planner. I graduated from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, in 1956 after serving in the US Navy. The most interesting projects were those in other countries. With a partner, I designed recreation areas for the Sandals and Beaches resorts in various areas of the Caribbean, and working with a small firm in Jamaica, I completed a master plan for the city of Montego Bay, Jamaica. This was one of my first experiences working in the impoverished areas in another country. It was unique at that time because we established planning districts throughout the city of Montego Bay, held community meetings, and let people of all economic groups determine what they wanted to have provided in each planning district. The planning included housing, transportation, public services, business collaborations, park planning, and more. These town meetings in many cases were the first time Jamaicans living in the poverty areas had a voice and a way to express what they needed and, in turn, what they could contribute. Jamaica is a country of small businesses and entrepreneurs, so the planning had to incorporate ways for these types of businesses to grow and be recognized. The plan received a Good-Practice Award from the United Nations for citizen participation and community participation. I also prepared market studies for a resort in the Dominican Republic and in several other countries in which I incorporated some of these concepts. In 1989, I went on an agricultural consulting trip to Hainan, China; Hanoi, Vietnam; and Bangkok, Thailand, to introduce an organic product for soils. To add additional insights to increase my international experience, I attended three conferences about sustainable development at the World Bank and took trips to Greece, Cypress, and Lebanon. I went there to visit my wife who was teaching at a university in Lebanon. I was also a member of ASLA (American Society of Landscape Architects) and this allowed me to expand my knowledge by meeting with other professionals.

In the United States, I owned a small landscape firm in Garland, Texas and we designed projects in more than eleven states, with most of our work being in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Two years were spent employed with HUD during the urban renewal era, and there I was introduced to poverty in the southwestern part of the United States. I also prepared market and feasibility studies for some of the projects and was later employed by a city agency to help people living in impoverished areas in San Antonio, Texas. It showed me that anyone can be a contributor in one way or another and that listening is one of the most important planning tools. This hands-on work in impoverished and low-income areas allowed me to understand the dynamics occurring there and this led to the design of the pilot demonstration project.

The format for the book is as unique as the project itself. The book is basically in two parts. The first part describes the pilot demonstration project (PDP) community and its many functions and opportunities. It will attempt to solve the social problems that are not recognized by most community projects and will include many ways to make communities more self-sufficient. The project is also aimed to serve people in the middle- and lower-income brackets, but the concepts could be used for anyone. Its purpose is to open people’s minds so they can create their own innovative ideas for living. First though, read the section Why This Book at the end of this book. It will help you understand what I am attempting to portray. The main purpose is to recognize what dangers are being devised by political factions to undermine our democracy.

PILOT DEMONSTRATION PROJECT

A Suggested Option for Living in the Transition Economy

Introduction: Designing a Community to Prevent Chaos and Provide Opportunities for the Future

Another purpose for writing this book is to offer a feasible program that the United States or other countries can implement to move toward a postcapitalist society. This would be a transition period. It would be a society where people feel wanted and have a purpose in life. It would be not glamorous but far more viable than what we are seeing now. The first thing that has to be done is to show people that our present living situation has to change because we are running out of renewable materials that the earth is providing at rates where they cannot be replenished. I have included a list of books and articles in the references and resources section at the end of the book. Multiple authors can show what is happening to our society and analyze what needs to be changed much better than what can be accomplished in one book. The recommend readings will also provide a good reference for anyone interested in how to fix and understand our present environmental, political, and social problems.

The main intent of the suggestions shown is to create a way to live in an actual built community. This community is called the Pilot Demonstration Project (PDP) (once started, it will have a better name). It can provide services and data that will be a start to show what can be accomplished by following a way of development thinking using the processes of nature as guidelines. Innovation is key, and the plan will be made available to make it happen. It is perhaps a utopian dream, but look where most people are now. If we don’t understand what we are doing by putting our capitalistic goals ahead of the ability of our future children to have decent lives, then we have no one to blame but ourselves. The project will be an active, continually changing community. We have to help people be aware of what is happening now because of our consumerism binge and our government policies.

Each book I listed as a reference has a letter/number designation, and I will refer to information I am writing about by using that designation and the name of the book. I have put that information adjacent to the material being read so people can expand their knowledge on the subject and get additional information. Copyright laws limit the amount of words and sentences that you can use for quotes from another author. These insertions that I use are just blips and many times out of context with what that author feels is important in their book. Times have changed because of Amazon books. Now you can look up the book on the internet and look inside the book you are interested in to get additional information (from what you have already read in my book). Then that author of that book may suggest another book that is interesting and worth looking at to obtain other viewpoints. This then, in a way, lengthens what I am writing. The whole purpose is to get people to read more so that they get a broader picture of what is being discussed. This is why I put such a long list of books in the reference section and why I wanted a means that will enable people to understand what expanded information is available within certain categories of subjects. Some of the books are more pertinent than others for explaining our present situation and our possible future, but all of them should be recognized and used for reference. This is against convention, and I hope this explains why it is formatted this way. The same information is available as in a footnote or biographical notes in most books. I think this is an easier way for people to get additional information and you can choose books by topic.

Most of the recommended books on my list, however, were written before the Trump presidency. Trump’s present dysfunctional type of government was described in several books as an example of a society in decline or chaos. It is up to the reader to determine whether this is the case. The election in 2016 was basically a negative vote by voters against both parties. The economy had been flat since the 2008 recession, and people wanted change because they felt left out of the system. They definitely got it. Now, to make society start to right itself, there has to be exponential change toward a postcapitalist government or a government that will improve our chaotic form of democracy as it is practiced today. The book Edge of Chaos ¹ by Dambisa Moyo provides insight on methods that could fix some of our present societal and political problems. It is discussed later in this book and is one of the most comprehensive books explaining why our democracy is failing to deliver manageable economic growth. It recognizes what is happening to our environment, our class structure (including inequality), and our political system. What is happening now is an example of how the elite keep control by offering false promises. President Trump is a master of distraction and is keeping the media talking about him rather than them noting what he is doing to the environment and society. Constructive change has to occur in America in so that it can become the democracy as envisioned by our founding fathers. Also, media has to change by offering some long term ideas and environmental solutions rather than what they are doing now with their constant emphasis on daily news and political agendas. Some of the media is owned by corporations that do not want to rock the boat with their advertisers or change their political philosophy or formats and these policies do not help our progress toward cooperation. The main absurdity is that many Republicans accept Trump’s lies, female discretions, and tweets with little questioning. Both parties have been affected by restarting the lemming gene in its members, where everyone behaves the same. This is when they consider the party more important than what is good for the American People. The recently passed tax bill is a good example of this. The bill was not explained in detail to show how each quintile of the population would be affected and would receive benefits. In some corporations, there will be increases in wages for their bottom-tier personnel, but this is long overdue anyway because of the long period of a flat economy.

Some economists argue this point (of the economy being flat), and it is partly determined by what indicator is used: GDP—gross domestic product; GPI—genuine progress indicator; CPI—consumer price inflation; or PCE—personal consumption indicator. However, many economists have poor batting records (e.g., 2008 recession). The indicator GDP is the measurement most countries use. The GDP is the usual way to measure a country’s economy. GDP is the total value of everything produced by all the people and companies in the country. It doesn’t matter if they are citizens or foreign-owned companies. If they are located within the country’s boundaries, the government counts their production in the GDP. Wikipedia notes the alternative method, GPI, is designed to take fuller account of the well-being of a nation, only a part of which pertains to the size of the nation’s economy, by incorporating environmental and social factors that are not measured by GDP. For instance, some models of GPI decrease in value when the poverty rate increases. The GPI separates the concept of societal progress from economic growth, while it is also used in ecological economics, green economics, sustainability, and more inclusive types of economics. It factors in environmental and carbon footprints that businesses produce or eliminate, including the forms of resource depletion, pollution, and long-term environmental damage. This is why the GDP is not a true indicator of the economy. For example, the money spent for a person’s medical expenses is part of the GDP estimate, but it is a negative indicator by being an expense to society.

A more serious situation with the Trump administration is the fox in the henhouse or an open-door approach for corporate lobbying and decision-making. The EPA, FDA, Department of the Interior, and the Department of Agriculture are the biggest followers of this policy. The government doesn’t believe in using truly independent laboratories to help product evaluations but mainly uses information submitted by corporations. Carey Gillam exposes Monsanto and other corporations in her book Whitewash (AL1)². The destruction of the environment is carried out by classifying the new (or decreased) standards as reducing regulations with little regard for public safety. This is seduction of the public at its highest level and occurs on a continual basis. Do we really need mining or the invasion of Native American cultural sites at the Bear’s Ears Monument? Trump’s doing this is called reducing unnecessary regulations in order to make the rich richer and the Koch brothers happier. Another Trump policy is providing subsidies to people and corporations that misuse them. This is usually at the expense of small farmers and businesses. Subsidies also reduce economic growth.

One thing that could be done is to keep a system that can act as a gatekeeper for democracy and prevent the election of extremists that would destroy it. This is so Congress can make decisions and not be bound by party politics and affiliations that would allow this to happen. It would also help if there were limits placed on political spending. Also, a much shorter primary period would be welcomed by everyone. This would include election reform and information concerning who is giving candidates money. It was so much easier when the League of Woman Voters was present to evaluate candidates. To have a functional working democracy voters should be more aware of what is actually happening within their government. There is no need for the election process to take as long as it does other than wearing out the public and enhancing news broadcasts and comedians’ salaries. Finally, gerrymandering in all the states should not be designed for one party’s advantage (or conservative, liberal, moderate, or progressive viewpoints). This is why there is little change in some districts and elections are determined by certain areas across the country. This is why so many of the people keep getting elected. If the people became more involved, it would help ensure more fairness. Also, the news should discuss how government programs and political decisions affect the inequality within the nation and throughout the world. If decisions were analyzed in these terms, people would understand who Trump is trying to help. It is not the common man. It is a shame that Molly Ivins isn’t with us now. If President Trump thinks Steven Colbert is bad, Molly would have kept him up nights wondering why he took this job. This subject will not be discussed again in any detail, because it would take up a whole book (e.g., Fire and Fury). The reason it was mentioned here is that most of my book is about how these factors affect communities.

To get back to a more pleasant subject concerning the main intent of my book, the following is a description of an approach for using self-sufficiency techniques in the pilot demonstration project. From now on, we will be going through a transition period caused by environmental inactions. This hopefully will keep us from going past the point of destroying ourselves by not recognizing the detrimental effects of climate change, soil deterioration/erosion, and overuse of our natural resources.

Toward Self-Sufficiency: The Pilot Demonstration Project

The proposed community concept for the pilot demonstration project should be considered for construction now so it can be used as an example of how this type of community would contribute to our life in the future. The purpose of the project is to offer innovative ideas that will demonstrate solutions that could be utilized and adapted for times of recession or abundance. Regardless, we will always need affordable housing. In the latter part of this book, various views of what our society could become are dependent upon many factors dealing with our social systems, use of natural resources, revision of food chains, and various forms of pollution. What we do now determines the living conditions in the future. Present practices of greed, political cronyism, questionable technologies, unstable social systems, overuse of natural resources, expensive or dwindling energy sources, overconsumption, increasing inequality, government debt, environmental degradation, and so on have to be curtailed or reduced. If we don’t start considering and acting on these issues now (we are already too late on some), there will be chaos, depressions, and conflicts about food, water, and other resources. How will we act when we have limited energy sources and limited conveniences that we now enjoy? This book will attempt to offer some solutions by the presentation of a community that is a possible viable answer for our future. I hope to provide ideas that will stimulate other ideas to make even stronger communities. Users can be as important as professionals in this regard, since they have valuable considerations that are often overlooked by the designated experts. No project is static, so laws and ordinances that make it so are not acceptable. That is why this type of community will require many exemptions from standard zoning ordinances.

The most important aspect for any community is its social cohesion and the instilling of sharing and collaboration among its members. This is the first step in making it a community that is healthy and viable. Physical structures alone cannot do this. Like nature, the key to success is diversity among its members, and this includes all races, various cultures, young students, the elderly, the handicapped and homeless, occupations, political thought, and so on. Rather than focusing on one’s self, the goal is to help others. This proposed community design will make that easier to do. The goal is to give people a chance to define their own purpose in life. Depression is one of our biggest problems, and reaching for drugs to solve it is not the answer. This demonstration project is also economical because it reduces the amount of stuff that you think you need. Swapping of stuff can be enjoyable and add variety to life. The project could also reduce dependency on some of the false gods that many people depend on when using social media as their only outlet.

The pilot demonstration project has been designed using several unique concepts that I would like to introduce so they could be included for community development practices. They can be used for affordable housing solutions now and during a recession. Unfortunately, affordable housing solutions are limited due to many different factors. One of these is the lack of funding by HUD and continually higher building and land costs. Most residential designs now are commissioned by builders or individuals for people in the upper-income or middle-income brackets. The designs used and constructed by builders in the United States show few new innovations regarding the homes that they are building. An exception would be using some of the smart housing concepts. Many features being used now are what is trendy each year and mainly regard interior features. The sense of community is primarily found in master-planned communities featuring swimming pools, some sports activities, and shopping and greenbelts, and these features are not available for many people living in affordable housing communities because of costs.

Social diversity is limited to economic considerations and may include a scattering of affordable housing for persons in the middle-income groups. When people want a larger house, they may add an addition or move to a larger house. Now, due to increasing land costs, we have many McMansions being constructed on small lots. Builders, in order to save money, are not known for preparing the landscape space with decent topsoil, and many times they use subsoil. Because of this, landscape costs for homeowners are more expensive than they need to be. Expansive lawns are the order of the day, and most of them are fertilized with chemicals, over sprayed with pesticides and herbicides, with little regard for water conservation. These factors are some of the reasons for creating the pilot demonstration project.

The summary for the pilot demonstration project (PDP) is shown below, with specific details noted after it.

1. Demonstration: Since the proposed community is a demonstration project, it will have different requirements than a typical housing project. The purpose for the project, from a housing perspective, is to obtain enough construction and maintenance data that can be used in other later projects. Will solar panels pay for themselves and over what time frame? Is it better to use wood studs or metal ones? What will the best housing construction products in the future be, considering that some of what we have now will not be available later? For example, will metal materials or wood framing be too expensive or even available? What new technologies are available for power storage or sanitary sewers instead of septic systems and high-pressure lines? What exterior siding or other material is cost-effective now and still has low maintenance costs? What type of landscaping will be applicable for the future? The answer should be organic maintenance, reduced lawn areas, and native plants versus chemical treatments. Organic products and methods will be more sustainable and cost-effective because the soils use natural processes. What sustainable materials and practices are better to use now even if they cost more? These are just some of the questions to be answered. Proper planning now is necessary because of the importance of preparing for the future. The same type of questions will also be considered during the planning of the project for social and environmental potential problems.

2. Multi-use of Buildings and Products: To date, this has been a limited consideration in community development, but it will be a major component of the PDP. Due to our uncertain future, this is necessary to keep communities stable. What has happened in Detroit, Michigan, is a good example. Hundreds of houses are vacant due to an economic downturn. It is starting to turn around, and the process is slow and painful, especially for low-income families. One example for housing is in the design of the triplex housing plans. Some of the plans are shown on page 6 in the appendix. In plan 1, the triplex consists of three individual units (A-B-C) ranging between 480 and 500 square feet. Unit A is separated from B and C. Both units A and C can be enlarged to whatever size is desired. Unit 2 shows how a triplex can be converted to a duplex by just taking down a small section of wall and taking out a movable kitchen to be used somewhere else. This then could be for a single family, with unit A being used by the family and a rental unit or a place for a young or elderly member of the family. As for the multi-use of products, an example would be for several members of the community to use community landscape equipment rather than buying it separately for each residence. Many other examples will be shown later in the book.

3. Amenities: The project will have several amenities, and they are described later. Some of these include a community building, small sports park, restaurant, community bank using local currency, library, day care center, and community car rental. These locations are shown on the site plan.

4. Sharing, Collaboration, Social Programs: The project is designed around these types of social activities. There are facilities for the elderly, homeless, handicapped, veterans, and people suffering from anxiety and depression. Student housing facilities and medical facilities are also available. The community has car rental and car-sharing opportunities. Special purchasing arrangements can be made with local businesses in regard to discounts and delivery options. The community will have its own businesses, such as landscape and building maintenance, that hire people from the project. Flea market and farmer market facilities are also available. Various types of rental, lease, or home ownership can occur on one lot, and this opens up many more opportunities for the poor to afford housing and start their own businesses. The community will also have its own community money to be used within the project and surrounding area. A government center will be on-site to help people so they do not have to find transportation to go to a government office outside of the project.

5. Education, Training, and Workshops: The central area of every community will have training and educational facilities with emphasis on business management, construction trades, agriculture, and landscaping, with other trades available at a later date. The program will be based on a work/study format with very low tuition fees. Student housing will be available on-site for people coming there from other cities or towns. Progress will be evaluated on a person’s abilities and not on the number of courses that are completed. Apprentice work will also be available with nearby farmers and general contractors, and the agricultural programs will be based on understanding organic applications, permaculture, and agroecology. Information on these programs is included later in this book.

6. Support Mechanisms, Governance: People will not be alone in the community if they need help at any time, because of the social management structure. One of the requirements that will be enforced is that people cannot use drugs (cocaine, heroin, etc.), and if they are caught using them, they will have to leave the community. There may be exceptions for marijuana usage. The project will also have its own type of governance once a certain percentage of the units are occupied, and there will be a nonprofit available for people living in the community to obtain community or other grants. There are many options that could be used, and each individual project would determine its own needs.

This type of community can be anything that you want it to be. People have choices and in turn are recognized as who they are and want to be. People who want privacy can still have it and yet contribute to the community on their own terms. Sharing and collaboration will still be part of the program. The grid plan shown makes the project more affordable, but it has several problems for creating a pleasing aesthetic experience that curved features present. This is why