Head on over to ASU’s main campus to find some great arts and crafts created by ASU’s faculty, staff, students, alumni, and student groups. I made it to the last sale and was surprised by all the great creations to be found. This is a great opportunity to support all the talent that is to be found on campus. Click the banner to learn more and to get a preview of what you’ll find.

When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, March 27, 2008

Where: Hayden Lawn, ASU’s Tempe campus

I’m reading the book ‘Native to Nowhere’ for a class of mine and it’s talking about how many suburbs have hurt people’s sense of community and place. I’m just starting the book, but it got me thinking about Arizona and how many people here don’t seem to feel like they are part of a community. I have to admit I hardly know my neighbors. I was wondering if there were any developments that specifically are designed to create a community, a sense of belonging. Surprising I found a few here in Arizona. So far with a little Google searching I found three cohousing communities. Cohousing doesn’t mean they all share a house, but they are closer then your average suburb. Here’s Wikipedia’s definition.

A cohousing community is a kind of intentional community composed of private homes with full kitchens, supplemented by extensive common facilities. A cohousing community is planned, owned and managed by the residents, groups of people who want more interaction with their neighbours. Common facilities vary but usually include a large kitchen and dining room where residents can take turns cooking for the community. Other facilities may include a laundry, pool, child care facilities, offices, internet access, game room, TV room, tool room or a gym. Through spatial design and shared social and management activities, cohousing facilitates intergenerational interaction among neighbours, for the social and practical benefits. There are also economic and environmental benefits to sharing resources, space and items.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cohousing

On top of these developments catering to a sense of community it seems most of them also incorporate a lot of sustainable living practices. Most of the houses are built to be very energy efficient, have greywater systems installed, and have water harvesting equipment installed. They use non- or low-toxicity building materials to protect their health as well. Community gardens, pools, and parks also serve to make the community more tight.

Tucson’s Desert Living recently did a profile on of these communities called Stone Curves. Click here to watch it online.

Here’s a list of cohousing communities I found in Arizona:

• Milagro - Tucson
• Sonora - Tucson
• Stone Curves - Tucson
• Manzanita Village - Prescott

This is a entertaining look at two typical New Yorkers taken out of their element and off the grid for 30 days to see what happens. It’s a couple years old, but it’s a entertaining, educational, and funny look at how we’re affecting the planet and what some people are trying to do to fix it. Solar power, biodiesel, composting toilets, eco-footprints, veganism can the New Yorkers take it? Perhaps a happy medium will be found?

Watch it Online

I posted about All Saints’ Green Festival on April 6th a couple days ago and today this article was posted on azcentral.com.

Church leaders and their congregations are increasingly becoming God’s green soldiers.

And the Easter season is an appropriate time for churches to marry spirituality and ecology.

“There is something inside us that responds to the Earth coming alive this time of year,” said Doug Bland, chairman of the Earth Care Commission with the Arizona Ecumenical Council. “It’s also a time when we face our own failings and sins. And as we look around us, we can see our role in the destruction of the planet.”
Parishioners are being asked to embrace environmentalism in a variety of ways. Members of Community Christian Church in Tempe are encouraged to go outside and reflect on Scripture surrounded by nature. Churches in Arizona’s Episcopal Diocese have formed green teams that conduct energy audits of individual churches. At First United Methodist Church in Tempe, the most recent adult Bible-study topic was “Taking Care of God’s Earth.”

Full story at azcentral.com

Partners in Sustainability Roundtable Discussion
What can “Deep Economy” Mean for Phoenix and Other Arizona Communities?
Special Guest: Bill McKibben
March 25, 2008
Time: 1:00-3:30 PM
Location: Burton Barr Central Library, 1221 N. Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ
As Arizona approaches is 100th Birthday in 2012, citizens are invited to take an opportunity to reflect on where we have been and where we are going in terms of a community vision and plan for a vibrant and sustainable future. A roundtable discussion will feature Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities & the Durable Future. This community forum is free and open to the public and will be moderated by John D’Anna of The Arizona Republic. This exciting discussion is presented in partnership by The Solet Initiative, Local First Arizona!, Changing Hands Bookstore, Phoenix Public Library, The Phoenix Zoo and Global Institute of Sustainability. For more information contact Cynthia Phillips or (602) 501-1851.

http://sustainable.asu.edu/giosmain/events/index.htm