Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Re: Refining concerns / needs

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

On 7/20/03 1:31 AM, "Becky Schaller" <bschaller [at] theriver.com> wrote:

> It seems to me that  in order to find proposals or solutions that address
> everyone's needs/concerns,  it would be best to first distill the universal
> needs and concerns from those mentioned.  That's what I am having trouble
> doing.

Many people don¹t know their basic needs/concerns until they get into a
process. It's the back and forth that brings them out and helps us define
how we feel. Unless someone has already dealt with a particular situation
before, they won't have worked this out yet. And as the situation changes,
their needs/concerns/feelings will change.

Needs/concerns/feelings are fluid. They don't distill.

In the parking lot situation you mentioned, not all members will see safety
as a primary need or have thought about lights providing safety. Or
interpret safety in the same way. Lower utility bills may address safety
needs just as well.

Perhaps the best way to get at underlying needs/concerns is to ask "Why?"

Why do you want lights? What problem do lights address? Then you start
getting to the basic reasons that people believe certain things are
necessary or not necessary.

I once had a design teacher who asked "Why?" a million times in every class.
Why, why, why, why. It was infuriating but she is the one I learned the most
from.

Sharon
-- 
Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org



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