Friday-The Conference
From: George Marx (gmarxjps.net)
Date: Sun, 22 Jul 2001 21:04:02 -0600 (MDT)
Friday  I went on the bus tour to nine cohousing communities between Oakland and Sacramento.   Joani Blank, our host, had things well organized.   We saw an immediate contrast after 75 minutes drive in Davis's two communities:  Muir Commons and N Street.   Muir looks like a suburban subdivision development.  It's good at what it is, but isn't my ideal.   N Street with fences down between 50's homes in the center of town is funky, chaotic appearing and relaxed.   The gardens and environs were most enjoyable.

Southside Park in Sacramento is a most wonderful appearing community!   It fits in well with its urban neighborhood has some privacy in its midst, while being connected to the community it is a part of.  It was my favorite - as I expected it would be (I've seen it before!).

Pleasant Hill Cohousing is under construction and due to concrete pouring that day, we had to view it from across the construction fence.    It will no doubt start looking much prettier as its finished this fall.   Swan's Market in downtown Oakland is a wonderful part of a mixed use project.    Temescal  Cohousing looked sterile and is very small.  It's the only project I know of started solely with members of one church.     Temescal Creek is a creative use of existing adjacent properties.    Doyle Street in Emeryville is amazingly well planned for "old" cohousing in a former industrial building.   Berkeley Cohousing is a warm, crowded, creative use of a narrow lot that felt very nice.

Joanie did a wonderful job - as she commonly does and it was a great start for my weekend!

I was not typical, I'd guess, in not finding Eric Utne's speech great.   He can be mesmerizing in a new age way and obviously is highly intelligent.    I heard a message which superficially spoke of us needing to be progressive in varying ways.   At the same time his words and linking of the Utne Reader's salons with cohousing seemed to speak to me of a world of us as aging middle-aged White, upper-middle class folks who need to "find ourselves".      I heard nothing of the homeless (I passed nearby), people who have pressing other problems and don't have the luxury of "finding themselves" - etc.   It wasn't a bad speech - but for me it was incomplete.

Friday - on the whole was a great day!   A nice start!

George Marx - Alameda, California - public/private responses are most welcome including opinions which differ from mine!
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