Characteristics of any sustainable human system must address planning and architecture, services and amenities, governance and maintenance. The Checklist below is divided into these three categories. While not mutually exclusive these will tend to be developed at different stages and by different people in the overall growth of an Ecovillage. The goal is to bring all aspects together in such a way that the Ecovillage is sustainable for many generations, even though the members of the Ecovillage community will naturally change over time. If this is to be successful the community residents must share basic Values, Goals and Practices that are sustainable and use these to guide community policies and programs.
1. PLANNING, ARCHITECTURE AND ENGINEERING: The goal of planning and architecture is to develop a beautiful, full-service town that has an "Ecological Footprint" that is sustainable for many generations to come. To do this effectively, the planners, architects and engineers will need to keep the following in mind:
A. Understand the unique qualities of the local bioregion or watershed, and in their planning work within the opportunities and limitations of that bioregion or watershed.
B. Limit the population to what can be sustained on the Ecovillage site. If there is a pressure to grow beyond that sustainable level, a new village will be created rather than overusing any site.
C. Produce on site all energy needed in the Ecovillage, using renewable resources (solar, wind, methane, geothermal, hydrogen, etc.)
D. Capture, store (preferably underground) and purify for use all water used by the Ecovillage. Treat all sewage (as well as other toxins or heavy metals) on site using non-toxic methods such as bioremediation, ultraviolet light and hydrogen peroxide.
E. Build everything to last, using natural locally available materials and labor as fully as possible. Where materials are needed from outside the local area they should be from as near to the Ecovillage location as possible. Cabinetry, metalwork, etc. will be done on site, and become part of the "industry" of the Ecovillage.
F. Use the disciplines of Permaculture to guide planning.
G. Design the Ecovillage so that the essentials of food, shelter, water, and energy are equally available for all citizens.
H. Design the Ecovillage to close as many loops or cycles as possible on site and to find off-site closure for those that cannot be closed on site. These include:
1) The hydrologic cycle (the water loop) by catching, conserving, reclaiming and recyling water, and ultimately helping to recharge the aquifer.
2) The nutrient loop. Every waste product becomes food for something else. All sewage becomes fertilizer, etc.
3) The CO2 loop through trees and fast growing biomass
4) Loops of other crucial elements such as sulfur, potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus.
I. Design so that no non-renewable materials are required for construction or maintenance.
J. Create beauty and visual harmony everywhere in the community. Elements of this include:
1) its "view-sheds", both inner and outer directed
2) its three dimensionality
3) its meeting places and other village focal points (fountains, benches, pocket parks)
4) buffering greenbelts and water catchments
5) the village color and building materials
K. Design a compact town where citizens enjoy walking and take delight in the street scene. Access to the community, its services, and the hinterland, is easy from anywhere in town. Approximate maximum distances to:
- a park- 500 ft. - food store- 1,000 ft. - the hinterland - 2,000 ft. - vegetable gardens- 600 ft.
- the town center (community/education center) 2,500 ft. - workplace in the EcoVillage 2,600 ft. (1/2 mile) - entertainment, sports- 2,600 ft.
L. Design the Ecovillage to be accessible to all people
M. Design the Ecovillage to be free of toxicity in soil, water and air
N. Design an internal transportation system that meets transport needs within the community, and parking at the periphery for cars and trucks used outside.
O. Plan for emergencies fire, flood, tornado, public safety
P. Design with the understanding that a town is wealthy to the extent that all citizens have the sense that basic human needs are satisfied, and, in the words of Buckminster Fuller, "it has the ability to forwardly organize life and life processes." In this sense the community achieves "homeostasis" or "the tendency of a system to maintain internal stability, owing to the coordinated response of its parts to any disruptive situation." (Random House Collegiate Dictionary ). Homeostasis is a state of equilibrium or balance produced by the system's response to impacts of various sorts. An Ecological Footprint is the land or water area that is required to support the flows of energy and materials to and from any specific "economy", whether an individual, person (or other organism) a town, a nation, or the entire human race. It includes the area necessary for food production, CO2 sinks, fuel sources, building materials, capability for waste assimilation, and so forth. The ecological footprint sizes:
1) for the average Canadian in 1995 was about 10.43 acres, or 454,331 sq. feet, or a square of productive land 674 ft. square.
2) for the average American it was 12.4 acres, 540,144 sq. ft., a square 735 ft. on a side.
3) for the average East Indian it was 0.97 acres, 42,253 sq. ft., a 205 ft. square piece of land.
Permaculture -"Permanent Agriculture," and/or "Permanent Culture," is the conscious design and maintenance of cultivated ecosystems which have the diversity, stability and resilience of natural ecosystems. It is the harmonious integration of landscape and people with appropriate technologies to provide food, shelter, energy, and other needs in a sustainable way. Permaculture is a philosophy and an approach to land use that works with nature's rhythms and patterns, weaving together the elements of microclimate, annual and perennial plants, animals, water and soil management, to meet human needs in intricately connected and productive communities. The community will be designed to "trap" energy. This "energy trapping" comes about by emulating the arrangement of components and connectivities of living ecosystems. Human-made components, such as dwellings, windmills, and water systems, are networked and are connected to, and interact with living components such as shade trees, ducks, individual humans, and life in all its various forms. Learning to understand and harmonize with this connectedness is one of the major themes of the discipline of Permaculture. It is used as a primary tool for building shared values and goals within the Ecovillage community.
2. SERVICES AND AMENITIES:
An Ecovillage is a full-service community for a population of 3000-5000, designed to maximize diversity in as many ways as possible residences and parks, commercial, industrial and "wild" spaces within easy walking distance of home; opportunities to work and meet basic needs within walking distance of home, diversity in population including age, ethnicity and economic situation. Specifically some of the amenities planned are the following:
A. An education system available for all ages, but primarily focused on values, goals and programs beneficial to the Ecovillage and the planet as a whole. Where possible these are linked with local public schools and colleges.
B. A town square and other centers for gathering, both within neighborhoods and for the Ecovillage as a whole.
C. Office, studio and workshop space as well as basic commercial space and spaces for light, clean industries.
D. Recreation spaces, parks, soccer fields, swimming pools, hike/bike trails etc.
E. Local clinic, probably staffed by a nurse practitioner
F. Phone, internet, and usual communication facilities
G. Possibly an internal currency or barter system
H. On-going community planning to take advantage of new technologies and other benefits as they become available.
I. Local production of as much food as possible through greenhouse space, orchards, plus chickens, fish and other protein sources as possible.
J. Opportunities for many small businesses to support the community as it grows and then serve the wider community as the Ecovillage is built out.
K. Community ownership of the Ecovillage infrastructure and Utilities.
L. Strict non-invasive guidelines for signage and outdoor lighting
3. GOVERNANCE AND MAINTENANCE: An Ecovillage is not like a bedroom community. Residents are members of the community and expected and encouraged to participate in its maintenance and governance. To do this, members will have to become educated about the environment, sustainability within this ecosystem and the values, goals, systems and programs of the Ecovillage. Ecovillage residents understand that they live in a community within a larger community within an even larger community and finally within the community of life on planet Earth. In one sense, the entire community is an education & research project, in which all members participate in monitoring and reducing the Ecovillage's ecological footprint. . . Some of the areas that will be governed by community-elected representatives to the Homeowners' Council include:
A. Oversight and maintenance of utilities, roads, parks, etc.
B. "Economic Development" in the sense of encouraging businesses that will further the community goals of sustainability.
C. Work with outside partners to be part of the larger community within which the EcoVillage is located (eg local water board, power company, school system, etc.)
D. Oversee a "self-help" program for home and business ownership.
4. WHO MIGHT BE ATTRACTED TO PARTICIPATE?
We expect the town to be full of "fanatics" in the fields of soil-building, water harvesting, food production, renewable energy, community building and creativity, people who enjoy working and playing - with a diverse group of people for greater understanding and practice of sustainability. Inspirations for the ideas behind EcoVillage design include:
The Mondragon Cooperatives of Basque, Spain Scott Bader Co. Ltd. of Great Britain Work of Ebeneezer Howard Concepts of economists Henry George and Jane Jacobs Ecological history work by William Kotke Money systems research by Thomas Greco Permaculture Design Manual, by Bill Mollison Plus work on the Biosphere 2 project in all its aspects.