For the last 50 years, we have been building communities for the
wrong reason. "How to Build a VillageTown" proposes to turn real
estate development upside down, so that people may regain control
of their lives, their communities and their future. Instead of
building communities to sell cars, "How to Build a VillageTown"
proposes people build communities that provide for their needs and
aspirations... places to live that are places they love.The idea is
not new. Over 2,000 years ago, Aristotle wrote that when several
villages come together so they may become economically
self-supporting, the purpose for their continuance is to enable
their citizens to enjoy a good life, understood as the social
pursuits of conviviality, citizenship, artistic, intellectual and
spiritual growth. In almost every place and time, except our own,
every aspect of community design, from the central plaza with its
meeting places, cafes, taverns and shops, to their support for the
artistic, educational and holy places followed these timeless
patterns and principles of design. The people who live there help
shape its design which is what gives it its character and
authenticity.Beginning after World-War II, starting in America and
spreading to other parts of the world, we radically redesigned how
people live based on a different intent: to perpetually boom
national economies. We invented suburbs to sell cars. We reshaped
life based on this plan that came to be known as suburban sprawl.
The core principle was that of separation. We separated
destinations, generations and stages of life. The design principle
became that of standardization. If we look at everything that
surrounds us in daily life, we notice the extent to which our
physical environment has become generic and bland. We redefined
citizens as consumers, and in the process lost sight of why we
build communities.This radical experiment in suburban sprawl failed
to deliver on its promise. We now face a host of new and serious
problems our ancestors knew not. For the most part, our response to
these problems is either denial or investing substantial energy
trying to fix broken and broke systems.In "How to Build a
VillageTown," you are invited to take a different approach. Called
a VillageTown - a town made of villages - it proposes people come
together to form villages, about 500 people in each, with about
twenty villages side by side to create the necessary economic and
social critical mass of a town of 10,000 people. The optimal size
proposes a 150 acre urban core surrounded by a 300 acre greenbelt
and a 50 acre industrial park. Within the urban core, all is
walkable - no cars within. This rescales everything, permitting a
secure, stimulating place for all ages and stages of life.
Human-scaled, it more resembles the market-town of yore; only it
takes advantage of modern technology, most notably Telepresence
that permits one to be in two places at once. It proposes creating
its own local economy that enables its citizens to regain control
over their own lives and enjoy a Good Life.The purpose of the
series of VillageTown books is to put forth a proposal to build a
new, timeless form of community to replace suburbs. All profits
from book sales go to raise the funds required to build
VillageTowns.The author takes no royalties, the publisher charges
no fees. To support the idea, to help make it go from a good idea
to real built communities, buy books, give them as gifts, leave
them in cafes or anywhere else folks gather. This is not a drill.
If you like the idea and want to live in a VillageTown, please go
to the web site, VillageForum.com and become involved.
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