The Adventures of Polar Sam- A new weapon added to the arsenal By Brian Skeele, on April 7th, 2011 A polar bear, sent by his people to save their way of life, finds himself driving an ice cream truck around suburbia, on a mission to reverse global warming, one ice cream at a time EPISODE #2 A New Weapon Added to …

By Brian Skeele, on April 26th, 2011 Imagine a room full of people, all gathered in a circle and sharing  their ideas on what makes a sustainable neighborhood. “I would like a swimming hole, like at my grandpa’s farm”, a 12 year boy shares. “It has a rope swing and turtles and the fishing is pretty good”.  “I love prisoner …

Curriculum – Because life is for learning! By Brian Skeele, on March 21st, 2011 I should have been a woodshop teacher, (BA in Industrial Arts) but went into construction instead. Much to my amazement, I keep being drawn to learning, my own ongoing growth and the Santa Fe School District’s trials and tribulations. Quite a few years ago, I came …

By Brian Skeele, on July 8th, 2011 We can lower our consumption, create a more efficient, affordable lifestyle, and enhance our Quality of Life with a pedestrian centered lifestyle and a whole systems approach to neighborhood planning and redevelopment. Beddington Zero Energy Development-Bed ZED! In sharp contrast to sprawl, a whole systems approach “stacks” uses in close proximity to each …

By Brian Skeele, on July 8th, 2011 We can lower our consumption, create a more efficient, affordable lifestyle, and enhance our Quality of Life with a pedestrian centered lifestyle and a whole systems approach to neighborhood planning and redevelopment. Beddington Zero Energy Development-Bed ZED! In sharp contrast to sprawl, a whole systems approach “stacks” uses in close proximity to each …

By Brian Skeele, on April 19th, 2011 What’s a sustainable lifestyle without affordable healthcare??? Just as we’re called upon to re-innovate our neighborhoods sustainable, so are we challenged to bring creativity to healthcare. 1st we create a healthy lifestyle! With a mixed use, mixed income community, we get a pedestrian centered way of life, where we walk to many of our daily tasks. The …

By Brian Skeele, on April 27th, 2011 Together, we can transform our way of life sustainable! By sharing our visions and ideas of our desired future, we can “build it on paper”.  That’s how real estate development works.  The proposal gets created, the numbers are crunched, the financing lines up, and building permits are issued.  It all starts with the …

By Brian Skeele, on May 17th, 2011 Foundation Investing and Your Vision of Sustainable Neighborhoods Foundations grant 5% of their assets and invest 95%.  As I understand it, the branch of the foundation that invests has very little connection to the branch that makes grants.  In fact, sometimes their actions are running against each other. The beauty of socially, economically, …

By Brian Skeele, on March 12th, 2011 I happen to talk to one of my partners about my latest blog on the Killer Modeling Tool, and he directed me to “Write this down. EVONY”. So I did, and later last night I went to the web site, remembering the advice he’d given me,   “Don’t let the way they built …

By Brian Skeele, on August 5th, 2011 In the 60’s “CLAPTON IS GOD” graffiti started showing up around London.  I’m sure if you’re wandering around Chicago, you will find graffiti paying homage “DAVIS IS GOD”.  But you asked yourself, “What the heck does that mean?” and dismissed it “Kids on drugs”.  Well, here’s the story. See this kind, grandmotherly lady …