Green Building: Going…Going…Green!

March 2002
Keynote Speech - First National Green Building Conference

Today I want you to experience some of the philosophical journey we've taken to arrive at HomeTown. Then, I want to explain what we mean by cultural sustainability and why it's so important. Then I'll describe our recipe for a modern Authentic Neighborhood. Then we'll take a tour of HomeTown and describe it's major components. Some where along the way we'll talk about profitability and marketing.

I. WHAT IS CULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY and Why is it so important? Amory Lovins, the brilliant physicist and founder of RMI once asked me: What kind of a house would the master carpenter, Jesus, build?

An equally good question is: What kind of a city would God develop? Listen to the answer given in the Old Testament of the Bible in Zech. 8:4. Zech, the prophet, wrote down God's plan for the ultimate culturally sustainable city where people live in peace and comfort:

This is a city or town that works for children and old folks. Because the old folks and the children are using the streets together, the children are learning from the old folks the principles and values that will allow them to grow old and then teach the same principles and values to the next generation of children, and so forth.

When we talk of sustainability in nature we mean that the ecology of a place works in such a way that the plants and creatures of the place reproduce so that the ecological balance and health of the place is maintained and sustained.

A community that sustains and maintains itself in health and comfort can only happen when a community is designed for children, and the children are enculturated by the adults and old folks that they are safely interacting with all the time. The old folks respect and watch the children, and the children venerate and learn the communities' traditions and values from the adults.

Jump To: << 1 2 3 4 5 Next >>