There’s a joke that goes something like this: What do you call a leader with no one following? A guy taking a walk. This view of leading applies to new ideas too. If someone has a good idea, what should they do to gain followers? I was asked awhile ago to describe my ideal community, but now that I have my outline, how will I find someone to listen?
Ideally, I would like to live in the country and have a sizable piece of land separating me from neighbors. I prefer being a private person. This lifestyle is not what I decided to model in my “ideal” community. Instead, I took on the task of redesigning the city block to include more of the things I enjoy from the country. The two biggest things this design includes are a large communal backyard and a sizeable garden. To attract “converts” to this idea, I would emphasis the safety of having essentially a park in your backyard. People tend to be over suspicious and worried about having their kids outside. This design allows moms to wash dishes and still be able to see their kids in the backyard. They also wouldn’t have to worry about traffic, as there will be no street on backyard side of the houses. They form a protective ring. The second thing I would emphasizes is the increased natural space. This model gives more opportunity for kids to make their own place outside than a sidewalk of “postage stamp” yard of current blocks. This involvement would help kids get up and out. The finally thing I would play is the community/family building opportunities the combined backyard gives. The garden and gazebo area are both places where the families can come together in work and for fun gatherings to get to know each other. The garden itself would have obvious benefits of healthier food and exercise.
I think the greatest difficulty I will encounter for this project is the loss of individualism. To gain the benefits of more space and better connections, people would have to give up their personal backyards. To make this easier, I would have a preference evaluation to match people of similar ideals to be on the same block. There could be a dog block, a block with similar aged kids, a block for retirees who want it quiet, or a block for young adults. There would need to be some kind of group agreement and periodic meeting to make sure things run smoothly, but I think the original matching process is key.
Overall, I believe only certain types of people would be open to this type of living, but that is perfectly all right. This community is such that it can be a micro community integrated into existing cities. Only those who want to need participate. It also isn’t a great risk, because if the participants all choose to go back to single ownership backyards, they can put up fences. I think that fact alone would persuade some people to try. It also could be done gradually. A few neighbors could decide to combine their space and slowly, as they increase their friendships, tear down fences.
Tearing down fences. Sounds like a good slogan to run by. Hopefully, in leading this movement, I would start walking in the front, but end with a group walking around me, not just behind. After all, bringing people together is what this community idea is all about. Many hands make light work, and some fences are taller and stronger than others.
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