Re: Community & environmentalism | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: ALBERT HARDY 286-6331 (HARDY002mc.duke.edu) | |
Date: Tue, 23 May 95 12:56 CDT |
On Wed, 17 May 1995 16:42, g.meltzer [at] QUT.EDU.AU(Graham Meltzer) wrote: > > I have a beleif that living in community leads to a greater environmental > conciousness. And I suppose that one reason for my being attracted to > cohousing is that I see it as a means to raising that conciousness and > ultimately, as a force for improved neighbourhoods and cities in terms of > environmental quality. I am doing post-grad research which is attempting to > establish this link. .. > I beleive there is a link ... almost BY DEFINITION. I don't want to get > into semantics, but if you beleive that people live in intentional community > for the interconnectedness and interdependence with others that it provides, > then IMHO it's likely they will develop an awareness of the effect of their > thoughts and actions upon those people. That awareness, if their attitudes > are caring, translates into a conciousness of the quality of the shared > environment ... a desire to keep things 'in order' for oneself AND ONES > FELLOWS. The nature of that 'order' will vary of course, and whether those > attitudes develope into a wider global conciousness is another matter. I think there may be a weak link of the type you are discussing. People who care about other people may also be more likely to care about animals and nature in general. And some people may be motivated by religious belief to care for everything created by the Creator. However, there are lots of counter examples in both case. There are many people who enjoy community or the company of others who don't care a hoot about the environment. I believe the relationship is stronger in the other direction, i.e. many folks who believe in caring for the environment are investigating cohousing because of its great potential for conserving natural areas and reducing consumption of energy and other resources (through sharing). This has been a characteristic of many of those involved in cohousing that I have met. To weave in another current thread here, let me underscore the fact that cohousing retrofitted into existing neighborhoods is significantly more conserving of the environment than new development. A recent article in the latest issue of Carolina Planning, published by the Department of City and Regional Planning at UNC Chapel Hill, touches on some of these issues: "Cohousing: A Model for Sustainable Communities", by Allan Rosen. I would be greatly interested in further discussion on this subject. Albert Hardy hardy002 [at] mc.duke.edu
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Community & environmentalism Graham Meltzer, May 17 1995
- RE: Community & environmentalism Rob Sandelin, May 17 1995
- Re: Community & environmentalism Peter Starr, May 18 1995
- Re: Community & environmentalism David Hungerford, May 23 1995
- Re: Community & environmentalism ALBERT HARDY 286-6331, May 23 1995
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