Untitled Document

Eugene Reinvented - Urban Land Use

note-

italics is Naj talking

bold is Naj thinking

regular font is others speaking

"So what did you think of that?" Aleta queried as we walked the several blocks home. "You didn't mention you lived in the Ozarks"

"That will come later. You can't imagine all the question I have. Time will tell. Did you notice some of the words and concepts Glenn used? Conver, traveler, culture design. It was fairly easy to understand but I detect what could be the beginning of a new language dialect. Its hard to say. Different conditions call for different cultural and linguistic responses. It won't likely develop more here, they will be assimilated but I can imagine there are many other fascinating changes happening to our shared language beyond the borders and now that I think of it, visitors from other parts of Cascadia use some slightly different words, too."

We were in time to help with dinner at the dome. If you didn't cook anything for the potluck, you could always help put something together in the kitchen. We had shared meals every night, most were optional but two nights were "recommended."

"Well who do we have here? Looks like Misty has found a sponsor."

"Elder Naj, you should have been a detective. Yes I did and its wonderful to be over here. This is my first meal with you all. And you can help. Where are you coming from?"

I liked this sassy but gracious and curious character.

"Aleta and I just met the new cluster."

I could see nearby ears turned to hear.

"It was a fairly brief meeting. They said they have been treated well and are making a lot of adjustments. From the short conversation that covered a bit of life in the Ozarks, I am most eager to hear more. Sounds like some vernacular Ozark Bronze Age level of economics and social organization. A fascinating hybrid with Indigenous American added to the mix just to make it even more exotic."

"What makes you say that? Tell me more."

It was Otter, slicing broccoli. He was known for his keen interest in culture and social organization both ancient and up to the present. He was always eager to meet people from outside.

"Well, the brief conversation we had we noticed several unfamiliar uses of words, in fact, an unknown word. One fellow named Glenn, who is Black and looking to be in his younger twenties, used the word conver when describing what would seem to be his tribal group. Its like conver is a tribe. He described a particular kind of person he referred to as a traveler who circulated between the convers as a sort of intermediary- a healer, peace keeper, story teller, and another odd pair of words- culture design. The traveler was also one who did this culture design."

"Hmmm." Otter pondered for a few moments as he sliced a few more heads of broccoli."Here is what I think. Conver is a contraction of maybe convergence- a group of people coming together. Or maybe convert, changing to another way of thinking or maybe both together. Traveller, well, that's easy. Its some local humor, that obviously refers to the Arkansas Traveler, something right out of their local folk history."

"Leave it to our staff anthropologist to figure it all out. OK, so then what does culture design mean if you're so smart?"

Everyone was tuned into the conversation now. There must have been fifteen people listening to this. Basking in the moment to show and share his cleverness, Otter was on the mark.

"Culture design. That's even easier. The Travelers were practitioners of Perma Culture Design!"

There was a roar of laughter. That made complete sense, at least it did to all who were listening. Otter was conferred with an honorary title, again, The Professor. And he loved it. He probably would have been a professor, or a story teller himself. He continued.

"And I think what you heard from the new cluster is a glimpse of the early stages of a new branch of the North American, English language cultural tree. Its a principle as old as humanity. Isolation leads to vernacular peculiarities. What we saw in the United States was a homogenization of culture. The ease of travel and communications, not to mention the economic and marketing that saturated their lives- this very real culture shaping lead to so much in common throughout the general population relating to thought, values, ideals and myths, there was a remarkable shortage of variety in culture. It was a cultural mono crop- like an entire region planted in one variety of corn.

"When an insect pest came along, the entire planting was at risk. Here we are as a product of exactly that dynamic. Even before the Slide and Transition, this area, the northwest, had developed a much greener culture than most of the rest of the country. Along with some natural advantages, this slightly different culture was far more able to make the needed adjustments than the rest of the country. Or more accurately, there was a greater effort to adjust to the changes within the overall population than elsewhere, even if those efforts were not all successful."

"More particularly, even within the Northwest regional greener tendency, there were some who took the alternative culture much further. They were visible well before the turn of the century with their bike riding, gardens, co-ops and green activism but became far more outspoken leading up to the Slide. We now see those innovators and their younger offspring as the survivors. Variety creates tensions but it also leads to far greater stability and health of a system. A diverse culture is far more able to be creative and adapt."

"Yay Professor!!"

Again, another round of laughter and more appreciative exclamations. We all felt positively euphoric with our new understandings of the world around us, thanks to our new cluster.

"To marrow night is Story Night. Do you think its too early to ask them to join us and describe their adventures?"

"We can ask. Its a bit fast but maybe that can work out. We do expect them to join us, its just a matter if they would like to speak up."

"I cant wait to hear what they have to say." It was Misty. "Given conditions all over the former United States like geographic setting, previous economy, access to transportation, migration patterns, climate; the potential for varieties of Recovery are nearly infinite. What is happening beyond the Border fascinates me."

Several of us looked at each other. This was a 17 year old talking like an advanced degree. We would be seeing and hearing more from her. We also have a new cluster to welcome. Who knows what kinds of stories and experiences, we will find out about. And likely, they will help create some new stories here in their new life. I thought, this looks like a particularly interesting period for Windmill Co-op.

XXXX

It was a Newbie day and we would take our first field trip. We rode the horse trolley from Hilliard to Downtown. I always enjoyed the trolley. Forty years earlier I had painted a mural here at Hilliard Street and River Road and it was a huge painting of my ideal future- permaculture landscape, small businesses, people meeting and greeting. The mural also included a trolley.

River Road had seen many changes since its beginning well over a hundred years ago. Before the White settlers arrived over two hundred years earlier, the area was prime hunting and gathering for the Kalapuya. They would manage the landscape of the valley floor with fire so the area was mostly free of trees. It was a managed landscape to benefit their hunting and gathering.

The pioneers arrived and the Kalapuya culture suffered badly. The new settlers took over and cultivated the valley floor in food crops. That was at a time when Eugene grew from a rough collection log cabins and subsistence living into a town with streets, schools, professions and comfort.

River Road was at one time the primary highway from southern Oregon to Portland. The area's exceptional soil meant that for part of the period of late 1800's into the next century, this area was prime agricultural land. There were orchards, small market gardens, fruit and nuts. The climate was perfect for temperate food production- fruits, berries, vegetables.

As Eugene gained population, the agricultural character of River Road evolved into residential with many small farms and then with increased population, subdividing the farms into suburbia with local stores to service the neighborhood. River Road became a paved and busy street. There were traffic lights to manage the automobiles. At times, the congestion caused long lines of cars to back up waiting for the lights to change. By this time, many of the small neighborhood stores gave way to larger stores with cheaper prices further away. The bigger stores with cheaper prices depended on a larger area to draw customers so the the smaller local stores were driven out of business. At the same time, automobile dependency increased dramatically.

River Road was widened to accommodate the increased traffic. The tall maple trees were cut down drawing more attention to the empty and unattractive buildings they once shaded. Residents of the neighborhood struggled to preserve the character of where they lived but like most places in the country, there was an irresistible visual and cultural conformity of the urban landscape. Quite literally, the buildings, the signs, the streetscape looked the same all over the country. You wouldn't know where you were just by looking at the built environment.

River Road once again evolved with the times in a way that few would have imagined, the curtain came down on the automobile way of life. The cheap energy was long gone. Now, instead of automobile congestion, the horse railway went down the middle of the street. The side lanes were for bikes now except for the occasional machine powered vehicle. Locally made fuel did allow for a small amount of truck traffic. It was restricted to only certain times during daylight hours and still, there were only a dozen trucks anyway. That was a far cry from the tens of thousands of vehicle trips every day before the Transition.

The pace was much slower now. To see the small clusters of shops pass by gave one a sense of the local. The goods and services were nearly all produced within Eugene, often within River Road. Imported items meant from 100 miles away. There was a small amount of specialization within Cascadia. Certain kinds of tools, medical equipment and electric machinery were made in Portland or Seattle.

Shops sold pharmaceuticals- mostly plant based and local. Hardware- mostly salvaged but some locally manufactured simple tools thanks to the community smelter and local machine shops. There were several dentists, doctors in the neighborhood, there was always someone at the clinic. They were more community supported and tended towards more natural approaches including nutrition and counseling. In exchange for care, they received other goods and services. There was a lending library. Also a pottery and a printer, coffee shop although there was no coffee. There was a bike repair place for work more complicated than we could manage at the co-op.

Interestingly, there were no lawyers, accountants, nothing to do with automobiles, no banks or real estate offices. We all loved the cafe. It was a popular place in the evenings, particularly with teenagers. All the places had edible landscaping and flowers everywhere. Just like the mural. Many of the houses and buildings along River Road were kaput. Some had been taken down, others were overgrown. There was no real way to take the debris any where any way. It was a bit like performance art. It was just taking a number of years for the act to complete. This was contraction. We were not so spread out and there were not as many people. Now there was actually some open and space becoming wild between the center of River Road and downtown Eugene.

The sound of the horse clip clopping was gentle as the trolley rolled along at a pace faster than some people ride a bike. There were several stops along the way. We passed through Whiteaker, it was looking very nice, having had a post Transition look even before the Transition. The neighborhood had embraced Block Planning early in the Slide and it showed. Much of the neighborhood looked as it always had, minus the automobiles and concrete. There was public art work all over for everyone to see. Murals, all kinds of sculpture, color, it was wonderful.

We turned down 5th St. Most places were occupied and looked very nice, many people moved into town from south Eugene or out of town. The Interstate Highway bridge was still standing. It was still an important link to the other side of the River but the automobile traffic was close to nothing. Finally down 5th St to the train station. From there we could either walk of take a different trolley to the Town Hall if the timing was right.

We decided to walk the several blocks. The Hulk, Eugene's huge performing arts center was not used anymore. It could not be maintained although it still looked usable. There were a good number of people downtown, since the Transition, many more people were living downtown even though Eugene's overall population was only a fourth of what it had been. The taller buildings were often occupied as residential. One could see the gardens on the south and west sides, on the balconies and roofs. It was remarkable. The taller buildings had wind generators although they did not provide a great deal of electricity. Eugene's wind profile is not so good.

All was looking very peaceful. There were flags fluttering on the buildings so combined with the geenery and wind machines, it was a very attractive sight. I had heard that the taller buildings in San Francisco were occupied in a similar way except it was a very different set up. Like the medieval Italian town of San Gimignano, the towers in San Francisco were fortified for safety. They had become self contained vertical towns. Even still, the streets below were not safe, although the violence was said to be in decline.

There might be a hundred people or more living in a single San Francisco tower, the bottom floors heavily defended. The best high rises were occupied by those who saw the future and moved into them at an early point as the previous uses no longer applied. First choices were towers that did not have other tall buildings nearby. Relations were not always the best so a taller tower next door was a disadvantage as bricks and rocks could be hurled down. The best towers had indoor pools where rain water could be stored. Some had the remains of shops and clubs, even a tanning salon. Word was there were several cinemas that still worked. Swanky hotels were the first to be occupied. One tower had a penthouse where the leader of religious cult oversaw his high rise domain.

The best towers also boasted upper story solariums, terraces, balconies and lots of glass on the south and west sides where hydroponics and raised garden beds were set up. Un like Eugene, there was a dependable breeze for wind power so water could be pumped from the pools to where needed and there were lights. On occasion, armed groups would go down to the streets and hike up to Twin Peaks and beyond to Golden Gate Park for hunting animals. Some even ventured down to the beach and up towards Cliff House to forage for sea food. Even wilder was the stretch towards the Golden Gate. A few people were still surfing.

Several towers next to each other featured zip lines so one could transit from one tower to the other and back again without descending to the chaotic streets. Word was, there were clusters of towers connected with zip lines. It was something like Tarzan's jungle transit, moving above ground level from building to building instead of tree to tree. Some tower villages had been functioning for over fifteen years and it was said there are people ten years old who have never left the building.

We arrived downtown at City Hall.

How I remember City Hall. This building was built about 2010 and was designed to be as green and environmentally responsible as possible. I was invited along with dozens of others, as interested citizens, to offer my thoughts on the design. So here it is, 25 years later and conditions are far different than its creators could have imagined, even with their Before Transition green thinking. They should not have been so surprised.

Our Newbie group was gathered.

"Here we are. A week later. Nice day! Good to see you all again."

"As we learned last week, some of you are members of co-ops while others of you have co-op affiliation but work in the Public Sector. You are all engaged in apprentice programs and work within your co-ops' various projects."

Gracie spoke. "Just to refresh what are the Public Sectors. These are community entities that oversee the diversity of services and functions that have broad civic value across the entire community such as education, land use planning, public health, transportation, reuse, energy and food production. These sectors are managed for the good of the entire community "

"Thanks Gracie. This Newbie curriculum is intended to acquaint you with a variety of co-ops and Sectors that help make up the larger community but also for you youngsters to meet your peers. You will be creating friendships and relationships that will stay with you for your entire lives and you will be collaborating with each other for the good of our community no matter where your service takes you."

"We start off in this Public Sector realm of Land Use. Most of us are not as familiar with the importance of land use today nor its history. How we arrange the surface of the earth has a profound influence on our way of living. How we arrange that surface tells us much about the values of a culture both present and in the past. Land use is a revealing indicator of the health of a society. Or in reference to the past, the not being healthy of a society. You will understand why land use, as it was practiced fifty years ago BT, was both a symptom of a culture severely mistaken in its physical design while at the same time it was a primary reason for that civilization's downfall."

"Today is our first site visit and here we are at Town Hall. Gracie is an apprentice in land use planning. We will have a look at her place of work and also learn some interesting land use history. This will give us all a greater sense of appreciation for where we are as a community, where we have been and where we would like to be going. "

"First, lets take a bit of time for a brief review of the past 100 years of or so of land use/transportation history of the former United States. The review will touch on early transportation, the rise of the automobile and suburbia, the Slide, the Crash, the Transition up to the present. We will touch on how the economy influenced land use and transportation. Understanding the past will help us understand the present. There is a reason for how we live in Cascdia. We are a product of what went before."

"Before Gracie shows us around, lets spend a few minutes in the meeting room."

"Everyone comfortable? Let's start. The relationship between oil, urban land use, the now deceased economic system known as global capitalism is compelling. It set the course for where we are today. It is one of the most dramatic chapters in human history. Besides, its one of my favorite topics. Let's start pre automobile and move into the new century, after that the assent of the auto, then suburbia, post WW II and into the 21st century."

"We will have a look at the relationships between that urban land use, oil, US foreign policy and global capitalism in the latter part of the previous century. "

"We start off in the early part of the 19th Century. A dominant characteristic of land use is how it follows from transportation. Before the automobile, people lived much closer to where they worked , went shopping and took care of life's needs. After all, the purpose of a town or city is to locate the needs of life more closely and conveniently. During the 19th century, a succession of transportation innovations allowed greater mobility. People began to live further from work, shopping, recreation- where they had to go."

"But Elder Naj." It was Ed. "If the towns and cities were already walk able and convenient, how come there were new transportation innovations?"

"Good question and here is what I would say. Humans like to invent stuff. It seems that a great deal of our character is to be creative. Certainly, that can work in many directions. History is full of exploration and discovery of near infinite kinds- in the visible world, in the microscopic world, in our imaginations, in outer space, in art. Humans just like to create and see what happens. Transportation is no different. People have been figuring out how to move from one place to another for eons. One innovation builds on another - foot, shoe, animal, bridge, boat, wheel, social class, energy, economics, air."

"Some inventions and innovations are out of the blue with no real connection to a practical need. Others are very specific and intentional. Some seemed useless when discovered but became vital parts of civilization later like the telephone. Certainly, as urban areas grew, there was need to move around within them. I have been to the ancient city of Pompeii and it was small enough to walk everywhere, but even in ancient times, cities were becoming expansive. Even five hundred years ago, some cities were becoming too large for walking."

"Certainly a powerful motivator for innovation is economic. Creating something that can make money has lead to untold innovation. Most early transportation innovations eventually were turned into tools of commerce. That goes back thousands of years to Egypt, Phonecia, Persia. In the 19th Century, in the US, some of the early electric trolleys were used as a tool for land speculation and development. Buy cheap land away from town, build houses and track to it so people could commute. Ironically, in their early years, our beloved trolleys were often used to make the cities more spread out.

"Later, as we will see, there was manipulation of commerce with the full intent to push people into buying cars. We will see about that in a few minutes. So the short answer- Innovation is a natural human tendency. When that innovation becomes money oriented it can be promoted in ways to make it attractive and profitable, even if in the long run, its not such a good idea. That is called advertising and PT, it was a gigantic industry- to persuade people to buy things that were not only not needed but actually created damage to health and well being. We will follow up on these topics in economics.

"OK. returning to the pictures. Each innovation as you see here, the omnibus- which was essentially an urban stage coach, the horse trolley, the electric trolley and finally the automobile provided greater and greater mobility. They all allowed people to live further from where they needed to go. But keep in mind that the walk able cities of the early and mid 19th Century were not always pleasant places to live. They were often crowded, noisy, dangerous and dirty . Its no surprise that people who could afford to live in a nicer place did just that when they had a chance. Those innovations increased peoples' mobility and they also had enormous impacts on urban design and the entire way of life. As it turned out, mobility was not cheap."

"The cities became far more spread out. Suburbia shifted into high gear in the mid 20th Century. It was a marriage between living away from the congested city and the automobile. It was the icon of the 20th century American city. Government housing policy in the mid 20th Century favored suburban development at the expense of the more compact city by building new roads, making changes in home financing and supporting the construction industry with still other policies. People who could afford to move out of the city often did and thanks to government housing policy at the time, most of those people were white. The decay of many inner cities was a companion to suburbia and the residents of the inner cities were mostly Black.

"How did cars gain such an advantage?"

"The steep rise in popularity of the automobile in the earlier part of the 20th century was largely the result of government transportation policy that heavily favored public financing of streets, bridges and highways and not rail. Trains and trolleys, for the most part, were marginalized as private investments. Businesses that had a financial stake in selling automobiles, roads and suburban houses were influential in creating public policies favorable to themselves. Also, people love gadgets and the automobile definitely resonated. Those suburban homes and the automobiles that went with them became the centerpieces of what came to be known as the American Dream."

"Who came up with the Dream?"

"Good question again. One might call it one of the most effective and far reaching marketing campaigns in history. Suburbia became equated to the good life. Open green spaces, a spacious home. Distant from the noisy and dirty city. A lot of advertising went into selling this way of life. It was great for business. All the roads, appliances, cars, gasoline and the related products and services created millions of jobs and added billions to the economy."

"That's not to say there was a coordinated promotion of suburbia, but the elements of suburbia- the cars, the homes, the way of life- and many more ingredients filled the media with advertising. Suburbia became the settings for many popular TV and movies, more ads, promotion and articles in newspapers and magazines. It all added up to a clear message. Suburbia is desirable. Fortunes were made in the development process, millions of people moved up to the middle class, their employment depending on the goods and products that went with suburbia."

"The largest public works project in the history of the United States pumped up suburbia and the car culture even more. The Interstate Highway System, a national network of super highways started construction in the mid 1950's, with the blessings of the oil and automobile industry [a high level executive from the largest automobile company was the chair person of the commission that recommended the mammoth highway system]. The network would eventually include forty seven thousand miles of mostly new highways, bridges and tunnels within cities and between cities. Its cost ballooned from 25 billion dollars to 112 billion taking thirty seven years to complete instead of the twelve when it was begun.

It made land even more distant from the cities accessible for suburban residents to commute by car. In later years, people commuted to other distance suburban centers, by passing the older parts of cities completely. The interstate highways became the primary location for freight travel as well. It lead to more miles driven than ever before. Cars became larger. The 1990s may have been the high water mark of automobiles and suburbia in the US. Moving into the new century, some problems began to show up."

"Congestion increased, from the 60's and into the new century, an increasing number of drivers spent literally hours in traffic every day. The public health phenomena of obesity and diabetes, products of the auto dependent fast food industry cost the nation billions for unnecessary health care. Forty thousand people were killed in automobile accidents every year and millions suffered from air pollution, water pollution and less easily to gauge, the effects of a mostly ugly urban environment designed for automobiles."

"Foreign policy was another critical issue. Even from the mid part of the 20th Century, oil was taking its place as perhaps the world's most needed strategic commodity. US foreign policy was dominated by the needs of a growing economy. Foreign policy's focus on oil beginning in the 1940's, was a clear indication of its importance. Several presidents made a number of statements referred to as foreign policy doctrines declaring to the world community just how important oil was to the US. They elevated oil to the highest level of concern for he US. One doctrine declared the US would act with whatever means necessary to preserve its strategic interests in the oil rich Middle East. Another allied the US with countries that were known for being anti democratic but had oil. It was clear that economic interests were more important than any ideals of democracy and human rights. "

"Through the early and middle part of the 20th Century, the United States was the world's leading producer and exporter of oil. That changed dramatically. By 1970, the US peaked in its production and became more and more dependent on imports. As geography would have it, the largest oil deposits were concentrated in only a few locations and most of them were not convenient to the US in terms of politics and geography."

"Several politically motivated international incidents gave dramatic early warning in 1973 and again in 1980 when, oil supplies were cut off. These incidents showed how important oil was to the US and the wealthy western countries and how dependent those who didn't have it were on those who did. Those supply disruptions lead to severe shocks in much of the global economy. The affluent countries should have learned a lesson and pursued other energy strategies but they did not. It was a costly mistake."

"Still, the cities became increasingly spread out, it was good for business. Suburbia expanded, people drove further than ever. New freeways were built, lanes were added to older ones. Meanwhile, there was a lengthening roster of countries passing their peak of oil production during the closing decades of the 20th Century. A concept called "peak oil", articulated by a growing number of oil geologists, researchers and oil industry financiers gained attention during this time."

"There were worrisome trends -during those final decades, oil use was increasing dramatically while discoveries of new deposits were lagging further behind new discoveries. More oil was being used each year than what was being found, by an increasing margin. The easiest and least expensive deposits to exploit were giving way to challenging locations which were far more costly to develop. By the turn of the century, peak oil came to occupy a much greater place within national and international discussions on energy and policy.

At the same time, more people were lamenting what were now seen as warnings missed, such as the US peak in oil production in 1970, the Oil Embargo in 1973 and the Iran-Iraq War in 1980.

"One could ask, with these accelerating trends, why was the global economy becoming even more dependent on oil. More cars, more travel, more plastic, more suburbia, more highways. The fundamental driving force during the previous century was the economic system known as global capitalism. Its needs were to expand business activity - to produce ever more products and services, to use ever more resources and draw more of the world's human and natural assets within its realm. It was compelled to make a profit practicaly no matter what and to minimize its own costs."

"It knew how to go in the same direction and that was more use of oil. Enormous fortunes were made doing the same thing, even when doing the same thing was looking like a bad idea. Capitalism was not designed to be flexible. A good question to ask of that period - who was in control, a set of economic dictates or human beings?"

"The economy's need to produce and consume goods and services at increasing rates maneuvered hundreds of millions of people into stressful and hurried lifestyles. The stressful and hurried lifestyles created many jobs and products just to manage and cope with the hurried and stressful lifestyles. As many living during those years observed, the future was supposed to deliver more time for leisure and relaxation with family, friends and more time for creativity. It never happened."

"It took a lot the time to make the money to buy - the cars, entertainment systems, recreational gear, homes and all the rest. It took more time to use it and still more time to manage it all. With all that time and effort added up, many people became distracted or too physically and mentally depleted to realize the entire set up was degrading not only the natural environment but was also preventing them from developing their own positive human potential."

"Elder Naj. What do you mean positive human potential?"

Hmmm. These young people were wonderful. Talking with them was such a pleasure. Their curiosities were limitless. I could not have imagined such a conversation before the Transition, much less with sixteen year olds.

"Positive human potential. I approach my thoughts on positive human potential in both an intuitive way and also by what I see. Given the wonderful examples of what people have accomplished all through history and up to the present, I have to believe people have the potential for a near infinite number of positive and creative expressions. That could be in art, personal development, community service or many other possibilities."

"During my years as an advocate for eco logical culture change, the reasons have been just as much about human potential as they have been about resource depletion, climate change and a self destructive economy. Our culture, our visual and vibrational surroundings- all have a direct effect on who we are, the choices we make and what we do with our lives. A positive, nurturing, supportive culture will help bring out the best in us. Bringing out the best in us should be the primary goal of people living together in our clusters and our community and the very foundation of the human social experience."

"So a happy, secure, healthy, supportive way of life makes people that way, too?"

"It helps. Which comes first? It takes a conscious effort, it is not automatic. That's why we put so much time into where we live - our clusters, co-op, community, restoring the environment - we work hard to make these places beautiful. And also how we interact with others. You know we have a community office of Well Being. This is where we work at the community level to promote a positive ambience and tone here in Eugene. As you know, each co-op has a person who is a liaison to the well being office. Its all to bring out the best in our unique potentials."

"One more question Elder Naj. How did you advocate on behalf of human potential. How did you suggest a way people could connect with their potential instead of being drawn into someone or something else's dead end story- the demands of an economy that obviously was at odds to the best interests of people or planet in mind? That must have been difficult for you living in a place like that. "

"Misty, OK. Yes, it was a mixed experience living at that time."

Wow. She is on it. What a set up of a question. Maybe I should just let Misty answer that.

"A growing number of people were making use of a simple concept called voluntary simplicity. People had written books about voluntary simplicity. Actually, the idea is ancient. Many Philosophies and great religions recognized that the material world, after a point, interfered with the positive development of individuals and society. If one had a spiritual perspective about the human experience and believed the reason for being here is to explore and manifest our own unique positive potentials- one would make lifestyle choices to make space for those opportunities."

"Given the rampant materialistic culture at the time, the smart choice would be to say not thanks, there are other choices to make. The positive direction was making time for a life that was more simple in material terms, but was fertile ground to develop those elevated possibilities.

"Needing less stuff meant less time needed to make money to buy the stuff, less time needed to use it and to take care of it. This freed up time for all sorts of other positive opportunities. It was a matter of making priorities. Those choices became part of a positive current. An uplifted person is almost always supportive and encouraging of others to uplift themselves as well. An uplifted person is also very likely to be community minded. The more parts to the positive current, the stronger it became."

"The many choices to simplify did not prevent the Slide and the Transition, but those choices were invaluable for learning skills and being adaptable for what was to come."

"So, the short answer- choosing to develop ones self in a positive way rather than devoting time to buying and accumulating is at the heart of simple living. Simple living presents itself as a practical, rational strategy with immense spiritual, social and humanistic benefits."

"Many of us before the Slide saw the coming deep changes as an unprecedented opportunity for eco logical culture change, not just a change to less damaging technologies. Making time for developing positive human potential was not only for pleasant feelings about ourselves, Nature and those around us. It was a basic tool for survival. We had to leave the old system behind."

"Great questions and comments! Lets take a break. When we come back, we'll want to more connect land use and the economy."

Hmm. Its great to connect. And Story night, tonight. I sure want to hear what Glenn has to say about the Ozarks.