[Kzyxtalk] MedoVito on KMEC Radio

[sako4 at comcast.net]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 


"All About Money" returns to KMEC Radio on Monday, February 9, at 1 PM, Pacific Time, with host John Sakowicz, and guests Claude Lewenz and Andrew Blake, both of The Village Stewards. 

The Village Stewards seek to build a new community in Mendocino County based on the "village model", instead of the usual "suburban model". That community will be called MendoVito. 

KMEC Radio is heard in Ukiah at 105.1 FM. We also stream live from the web at qwww.kmecradio.org 

The following is from The Village Stewards website. 


I. Introduction 


We live in the most abundant era in the history of humanity. We have more potential than ever before. To realize this potential we need to change how we design our homes, buildings and communities so we have the resources and connections at hand. We call this design a VillageTown; it is a completely different approach to real estate design... There is no developer. It is entirely pre-sold so the net profits remain in the community. Its urban core is car-free meaning it is friendly for all ages, stages and walks of life. It focuses on creating a local economy that becomes an economic engine for the host region, and it does this so people may enjoy a good life understood as the social pursuits of conviviality, citizenship and artistic, intellectual and spiritual growth. Intended to become a complete community, it is about creating a great place to live. 






II. An Alternative to Suburban Sprawl 







Not everyone wants to live in a city, can't find work in the country, but wants an alternative to living in the suburbs. The Village Town offers a timeless, proven form of living that enables people to meet their needs, pursue their aspirations and enjoy the finer things in life. 




While the word sustainability has become over-used and under-delivered, the Village Town is intended to be a sustainable design that will pass the test of time. The VillageTown does this not through brave new designs, but rather by using timeless patterns, proven to work, woven in ways through advances in technology. In this way, it conserves what works and adapts it to the 21st century. 







III. Pragmatic not Utopian 







A Village Town avoids idealistic, utopian ideas. It understands the first test of sustainability (will it last) is economic. It must have a durable, flexible, diversified economic base. It does so using traditional capitalism; private markets work, provided they are not rigged to serve private agendas. Accordingly, the founding legal and financial structure of the Village Town is built on checks-and-balances. 




One of the notable hallmarks of the 20th century was to witness first-world countries priority to build a strong middle-class. However, in the 21st century, as the world economy shifted toward globalization, new frameworks are needed to enable ordinary people to get ahead, to establish a secure economic base so they then can enjoy the better things in life for themselves, their families and their friends. The local economy of the Village Town is intended to provide that framework. 







IV. Retain Capital 







It starts by capturing the flow of money. The largest purchase most people will make is their home. Subdivisions build homes and there is a lot of profit made when land is subdivided into building lots. The Village Town is structured so that money is retained within to benefit the people & communities of the Village Town and of its local host region. Those net profits are set aside to first invest in local businesses to enable them to thrive, and when the economy is doing well, to use some of those profits for social & cultural wellbeing. 

Trend Setting: In a Village Town, middle class does not mean mediocre. It is a trend-setting concept, and the first projects will make a concerted effort to attract trend-setters in the true meaning of the word. Trend setters are those people who do not accept what is on offer, but instead seek out and manifest what is possible. At present the planet is undergoing a transformation unlike anything ever seen, almost as if planet Earth is developing a new neural network of wired and wireless systems in which people everywhere are able to connect with others instantly and at almost no cost. Now computer translators are breaking down language barriers and global shipping is breaking down the tyranny of distance (with 3D printing being the next technology shift). But the global village is not a village. The more we connect globally, the more people find they need real face-to-face relationships. When mobility becomes rootlessness, people begin to yearn for real community. The trendsetters of today are seeking to find the medium between radical global and essential local, and the Village Town seeks to attract them. 







V. Framework 







The Village Town provides the framework for community. It does not dictate the values or qualities of community. To do this, the following are essential: 




1. That has multiple communities - these are called Villages, and a 10,000 population Village Town has about 20 of them. 

2. That those villages are founded by the people who will live in them 
3. That those people articulate their values, their needs and aspirations with the support of design professionals 
4. That the net profits remain in the Village Town so the infrastructure and public buildings required for that framework are funded 
5. That this is done with a plan that includes the foreseeable needs of future generations 
6. That the plan is comprehensive, addressing not only the base necessities, but the good things in life that come with prosperity 
7. That it happens now. There is not a lot of time left to begin making necessary changes to how we live 





VI. Getting Started 







To begin, a project needs to find a host local government prepared to give the permissions necessary. It needs to be the right location with the right combination of location, land, climate and regulatory environment. The local people need to understand it and support it. It needs to articulate itself in its local context. While the ideal discussed on this web site calls for a 5-600-acre flat site to support a 200-acre urban core, 50-acre walk-to Industrial Park and the balance of land in a surrounding greenbelt, the land selected and the regulatory environment may dictate a different form. 







VII. Attract Jobs 







The project then needs to get "air"; the viral marketing that attracts the buyers it needs to become more than a good idea. Rather than focus on selling homes, the project focuses on attracting cornerstone or anchor businesses. If it attracts a head-of-household job, that automatically sells a home, but more importantly, it ensures that is not a commuter job. One important feature of the VillageTown is that it becomes a 24/7 community, not a bedroom community like a suburb. Zero-outbound commuters is important for the host community, so the new development does not create traffic congestion. It also is essential for community cohesiveness, as children study in classrooms on each village plaza where they will have adult role models working within the Village Town. Local-to-local businesses, such as the village cafe or stationary shop thrive when everyone works locally, including the local-to-global businesses. 

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