By Tom & Carol Braford
It almost goes without saying that for a community to be fully inclusive it needs to also be comprehensive. I have found that when you say that, however, most people immediately assume that what you are talking about needs to be massive, something on the scale of an EcoDistrict, a technology park, an employment district or an affordable housing complex.
But these are all exclusive uses. What I am talking about includes all of these and yet is best accomplished on the scale of a quarter to a third of a city block, maybe a little larger if you include greenways, which is important because one key element is close at hand access to nature for all. Our idea funds this through revolving loan funds that can reach every neighborhood throughout the city over time with affordable comprehensive community and efficient renewably powered transit and freight. We are out to cause a contagion of comprehensive community that expands to bridge all the divides, including the Mississippi River resulting in a united prosperous green metropolis by 2050 that includes everyone with no one left out or left behind.
We have included this idea of a “One For All and All For One” way of spending the Ram’s settlement money on stlouis.citizenlab.co in the Ideas Portal under the title “Post Carbon Communities of Practice.” Please go to that site now and give our Idea a thumbs up, and then add a comment on why you like our idea. In November, the Board of Aldermen will select the Priority Challenges and ask for your feedback on Ideas that address those Priority Challenges. Then in December and January, you will have an opportunity to vote on which ideas should get funded.
Our Idea already prioritizes people and challenges that are most often overlooked or underserved in the larger community, and it addresses larger challenges that are driving this lack of responsiveness, like global warming, lack of affordable housing and lack of job training for creating family-wage, permanent jobs. Please attach a comment on our idea now. Let your voice be heard! Let freedom ring!
Contact: braford@sbcglobal.net
www.ArizmendiEcovillage.com