First Comes the Artists, then Gentrification…”What’s a Mother to do??!!”By Brian Skeele, on May 31st, 2011 The artists move into the industrial, run down part of town. Rents are cheap, spaces are big. Cafes and bars start to open. The area becomes hip, creativity is flowing…and the lawyers move in. Nice restaurants and high end clothing stores open up. Get ’em while they’re hot! The prices skyrocket. The artists are forced to move out, the Soul fades…ah, but it’s a good investment! The Condos pop up, get ‘em while they’re hot! There are so many parts to this scenario that irk me, I don’t know where to begin! First off, who created the value of this highly desirable place? I’d say the artists. I’d also say the suburbs are so boring, people are starved for soul, a “realness” with vibrant, alive streets. So we as a society get some of the credit, in a reverse kind of way. The next think that irks me is how, in our mad rush for a great place to live, we end up doing great damage to the very thing we love; … READ MORE >> 4th of 29 Ways to Make Money on Your Well-Designed Home-Sell Part of Your HomeBy Brian Skeele, on May 5th, 2011 I’ve started a list of good ideas that come about if we rethink the functions and interplay of our home and its neighborhood. So far I’ve got 29 killer (If I do say so myself) ideas. The first 7 are home oriented, the last 22 are more neighborhood oriented. Add your ideas to the list via the comment area! Home Design4. Sell Part of Your Home
With all the household profiles that don’t fit into the Ward and June Clever, Wally and the Beaver, traditional suburban demographics (2.5 children, dog, and two parents under one roof), there is demand for something else. The latest numbers I’ve heard is only 24% of US households fit the stereotypical household profile. That means there are a bunch of people looking for a living arrangement that better suits their needs. I’m suggesting you can sell off part of your house! You could sell 1/3 or 1/4….what a concept! How could this be useful to you? Share your ideas below!! … READ MORE >> Renovating Your Neighborhood Sustainable!By Brian Skeele, on April 25th, 2011 Cooperation, Collaboration, a community based on common values…..Sounds so technical! What if your neighborhood made choices like incorporating a swimming pool or a movie theater into the community?? The ownership structure could be by membership, a coop, or a private business. The list of possible shared amenities and services is endless.
Transforming the American Dream Maybe you’d like to down size in your neighborhood into a compound of casitas, small homes for seniors. Maybe your daughter would like more independence and yet would like to live nearby in one of the casitas. Maybe she has autism or maybe she’s changing careers. The American Dream is morphing into community. We’re learning to work together to create a more abundant lifestyle, where we share more, own less, and have a higher quality of life, while living lighter on the planet. What services and amenities would you like in your neighborhood? What would you like to give? Share your ideas!! together we can make sustainable real! As for the neighborhood theater?? I make the best popcorn in the world. Image courtesy of Architectural Record READ MORE >> Entrepreneurship-Innovation from here on outBy Brian Skeele, on March 20th, 2011
Collaboration! Our times call for rapid prototyping social, economical, and ecological strategies so the emerging sustainable economy can….emerge! Many of the jobs being created from evolving technologies, don’t even exist yet. We are inventing the future as we travel forward. Half of the hottest futurist jobs don’t even exist yet, according to Daniel Burrus, author of Technotrends and CEO of Burrus Research Associates. “We’re in the early stages of shifting gears into the e-society,” he says. “Virtually every part of an enterprise will be e-enabled, which includes connectivity, content, commerce, communication, collaboration, and community.”… READ MORE >> WANTED: Killer Modeling Tool to Sell Sustainable Urban Villages! Part 3By Brian Skeele, on March 16th, 2011 WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — New construction of U.S. housing units plunged in February, erasing a sharp gain in January and coming close to an all-time-low level. March 16,2011 Bed ZED is different. We’re not in Suburbia anymore, Todo! If we want to revitalize the US Economy, we have to do things differently.… If we work with the 1/3 of the Boomers, and 88% of the Millennials that want to move into vibrant, alive, pedestrian friendly walkable neighborhoods, we can resurrect the construction industry and send us on a path to a prosperous, positive future! What is required is using a whole systems approach and designing for an exponentially more efficient way of life… READ MORE >> Resurrecting the Economy…Sustainable!By Brian Skeele, on March 1st, 2011 In my last blog “What to do about the Economy?” I was saying “we need ‘sustainable mixed use, mixed income neighborhoods, with lifelong learning and open space…..everywhere’ “. Let me explain that a bit. In 2006, Arthur C Nelson has been warning that the over supply of large lot suburban homes will be 22 million by 2025. Currently, $1.2 trillion dollars of commercial is underwater, with leases due to renew between now and 2013. Much of this commercial, as I understand it, serves the outer reaches of suburbia, the very same neighborhoods where the majority of residential foreclosures have occurred. So with all this oversupply, you might ask, how can I claim “We need sustainable mixed use, mixed income neighborhoods, with lifelong learning and open space….everywhere?” Well, simply put…”It’s the Boomers, and their children, the Millennials!” Turns out in surveys, 1/3 of the Boomers (24 million or so) want a simpler, walkable lifestyle. And 88% of the Millennials (27 million???) want a more vibrant alive urban kind of lifestyle. If all these demographic surveys are accurate, all we have to do to Resurrect the Economy is build higher density, vibrant alive, mixed use, mixed income neighborhoods!… READ MORE >> What to do about the economy? Go Sustainable!By Brian Skeele, on February 28th, 2011 The thing to do these days is get a more affordable lifestyle. Lower your gasoline bill, lower the monthly heating bill, lower the housing payment, lower healthcare costs….you name it…make it lower. The problem is gas prices are going up! and that makes everything more expensive. It’s time to get creative. It’s time to go sustainable. This is where we are as a planet, in the middle of reinventing ourselves… We need an affordable lifestyle…..one that is economically sustainable. Coincidently, there is a good chance our more affordable lifestyle is going to live lighter on the planet too. So this reinvention, this retrofit, this more sustainable living is going to be good for the polar bears as well. President Obama brought it to our attention in the State of the Union address… Americans have always invented themselves, and the time is here again…. READ MORE >> |
