Designing for Solutions
Design Activism for a more peaceful lifestyle - Embracing Earth Manners
Acres of Peace offers a foundation to inspire, support and legitimize eco-friendly lifestyle
choices. We support the creation and maintenance of earth friendly neighborhoods we like to
call Peace Hamlets. Our vision is to have over a hundred Peace Hamlets in every county,
providing economic security, environmental regeneration and much more. We support the DIY
Low Cost-Quick Action approach presented by Mark Lakeman.
Mark Lakeman is an ecological architect who encourages communities to be more sustainable
and collaborative by design. He calls it Design Activism. It’s more than just drawing pretty
pictures, it’s a different approach to developing our neighborhoods. This article is inspired from a
talk by Mark Lakeman. He has a proven track record and is sharing some of the success
stories.
Contact Mark at https://www.communitecture.net/
Find the talk on podcast: https://wfhb.org/news-public-affairs/unhoused-ecovillages-and-urban-permaculture-with-mark-lakeman-of-communitecture-eco-report-xtra/
Overview
Acres of Peace promotes earth friendly living arrangements in eco-friendly neighborhoods
focused on regenerative practices, co-operation and compassion. By employing peaceful
communication, regenerative lifestyle practices, and natural building we can significantly reduce
the cost of living for people and the planet. Mark Lakeman’s experience in designing and
constructing communities illuminates the feasibility and rewards of designing for peaceful
coexistence. We can do it ourselves. We become the developer, contractor, investor,
shareholder, manager and keep the money local. He calls it a DIY- Do It Yourself village. This
article explores many aspects involved in the planning for growing a DIY Peace Hamlet in any place
(village/rural/town/city) near us. We are designing for Placemaking.
"Placemaking inspires people to collectively reimagine and reinvent public spaces
as the heart of every community. Strengthening the connection between people
and the places they share, placemaking refers to a collaborative process by which
we can shape our public realm in order to maximize shared value."
https://www.pps.org/category/placemaking
Looking at common living space
- We want to collectively cultivate ecologically friendly lifestyle choices
- We need our neighborhoods to offer more satisfying, co-creative opportunities for the
people who live there
- It’s better to live and work in the same place
- Let’s have a village square-central place to meet
- How about common spaces - community parks, gardens and trails
- Then there’s amenities - stores, coffee shop, barber, spa/sauna/bathhouse, herbal
remedies, infirmary, restaurant, bakery, pizza parlor, brewery, library, gym, office and
more, all within walking distance
Most present day neighborhoods have been designed with little if any common space and no
amenities. This requires people to travel somewhere else in order to work, shop or go to
appointments. Design activism gives people a voice and a choice for real solutions. It offers to
take the design process from the drawing board to the streets in both big and small ways. This
is dedicated support from design professionals with skills and talents to take what people
envision and make it a reality. Design Architecture can take things to a more technical level. For
example, pass an ordinance to open up public spaces for communities to directly create a more
desirable situation.
Existing DIY villages are best described as ‘Cool’. They are creative expressions of people
working to meet their needs. People acting on their own behalf using whatever skills and
materials they have to collectively produce a place to call home. People will create what they
need to have: shelter, a place to cook, toilets, showers and more. Dignity Village in Portland
Oregon is a time tested example of a DIY village that has been successfully copied and cloned
in many other places. It is a beautifully self-regulated, organized, lovingly tended shared space.
It was built with love and cooperation, out of lots of recycled and repurposed materials.
There are many benefits of creating a DIY village that go beyond building the physical
structures. It builds goodwill, cooperation, compassion and a sense of belonging. Bonds formed
by working together prove we can get along and count on one another. Cooking up the social
architecture, codes of conduct, ways to make decisions, which help enforce security and keep
the peace are necessary for community cohesion. These social structures are as important as
the physical structures. Acres of Peace offers tools and templates to assist in building and
practicing social stability.
Dignity Village has the lowest crime rate of anywhere in the area, regardless of status, class or
wealth. Let’s say it again, LOWEST CRIME RATE! These residents are the people who have
the greatest experience with crime and violence, juggling the choices of desperation afforded by
poverty. Despite their checkered past, the residents of Dignity Village enjoy not only the lowest
crime rate, but also the highest culture of participation. That means they are communicating
effectively and getting along.
The benefits of living in a sharing, caring community/village can be life transforming.
- Make best friends for life
- Attain leadership roles
- Mentally and physically healthier
- Become better listeners and communicators
- Reengaging people who have previously been disengaged from society
The DIY Low Cost, Quick Action approach to housing offers feasible, creative, timely,
comfortable and affordable design solutions. Design approaches seek to turn problems into
solutions. Every problem contains and suggests its own solution.
- WE DO believe people can be involved in solving our own problems
- WE DO have faith people can engage their own problems and solve them directly
- WE NEED municipal influencers to sanction eco-friendly, restorative ordinances and
zoning efforts to support this regenerative style of Planned Unit Development (PUD) for
Acres of Peace (AoP)
- An AoP PUD requires innovative styles of zoning, combining restorative agriculture, with
multifamily dwellings, possible commercial activity or even industrial. In some ways it is
like an alternate style of Home Ownership Association HOA
- WE NEED to stop saying “They won’t let us”, build natural homes and promote DIY, (do
it ourselves) eco-friendly hamlets
Dignity Village in Portland Oregon, is one of the early examples of a DIY-Quick Action village
specifically designed and constructed by and for people with economic or other limitations that
prevent them from acquiring housing. Its long running success has set a precedent for
constructing similar DIY villages. Let’s look at a more recent construction of a DIY village simply
called Veterans VIllage.
People decided to help veterans get homes. After the plans were prepared, presented and
accepted by the helpers in the community, things could get started. Lots of people showed up to
build, many of them veterans with tools. So much community goodwill was forged in those days
of building. It was amazing to watch seasoned veterans showing kids how to use tools. It takes
a bigger village to plan, build, maintain and basically make this all happen. We magically change
DIY (do it yourself) into DIO (do it ourselves). With this method, we just “Get ‘er Done”, often in a
matter of months. Making many lovely pictures and heartwarming memories.
There was plenty of money to get started. People were eager to donate both time and money.
Considerably less money was needed up front, only a small fraction of the cost of traditional,
unsustainable, unhealthy, bad for the planet, expensive building. For less money than one single
family home, they were able to construct 36 residential units, a giant kitchen and dining hall,
infirmary, laundry, office, lounge/TV room, showers, toilets, parking lot. An unexpected outcome
of this community driven project is that many people forged new friendships and some
reconnected with old friends. One person was delighted to find that someone volunteering to
build his home was a long lost friend from 3rd grade.
We can design and build for more fulfilling cultural lifestyle choices. Homes and hamlets built by
hand, with love and creativity, offer more than physical and financial security. The process of
building and maintaining a DIY village builds emotional security and mental peace of mind.
There is value in the security that comes from the kinds of close knit relationships that are
naturally formed when people are more closely associated with their neighbors. We want to turn
self-sufficiency into local-sufficiency, even neighborhood-sufficiency. There are advantages for
both the people who plan to live there and for the people who don’t.
Acres of Peace suggests practicing the Language of Peace, which involves using tools, agents
and methods to help us get along. We aspire to practice finding peace in every aspect of our
life. In addition to the expected activities of any DIY village, such as: growing food, cooking,
preparing food, preserving food, natural building and caring for one another, AoP proposes
initiating additional micro-economic opportunities tailored to the theme of the Peace Haven and
talents of the members. We suggest forming teams for shared activities that generate income.
See Appendix 1 “Opportunities for Economic Achievement” for ideas.
DIY Low Cost-Quick Action eco-friendly communities offer a variety of design solutions. They
are not one size fits all. Each Peace Hamlet will have its own way of doing things and offer a
variety of goods and services. For example, offering daycare and elder housing is a great way to
add funding to a Hamlet. Offering compassionate care to people with cancer, modeling healthy
lifestyle choices, especially food as medicine and nature therapy can be lucrative. Many
Hamlets from small to large will enjoy being an event center, teaching place, perhaps even
tourist attraction. Many will be family friendly, some won’t. Each community can choose how
public or private they want to be. When local community members give permission, get involved
and offer support, many eco-friendly hamlets can be consumer launched and grown, much like
starting a business. More creative opportunities appear with design solutions for people from all
walks of life, rich or poor, any age, race, culture or color.
We estimate 10-20% of the general population will be interested in participating with this less
expensive eco-friendly lifestyle as it becomes available.
- Move in with little to no down payment and significantly less ‘red tape’
- Rent or monthly payment being a small fraction of traditional costs (perhaps as low as
200/month instead of a thousand or more a month in some places)
- Live and work in the same place, people find a home and a job
- Have neighborhood services (amenities) available nearby
- Indoor air quality is less toxic in natural buildings
- More time spent outside
- With many Peace Hamlets available in a network, people can more easily move around
and find their best fit living situation
- Airbnb offers a worldwide alternative to hotels. AoP networked Peace Hamlets offer a
similar alternative to finding a home (residence) and job (employment) all in one
Donations and funding to acquire land can be managed by a dedicated and special group of
local people who are able to initiate and manage a local land bank. There are many tools for
owning and holding land. Land trust, land bank and leasing land are the more commonly known
methods. A 99 year lease can be a good option when the owner wants to keep the land, as is
the case with using public land. The land bank is a good choice for a region or county that wants
to have many Peace Hamlets.
See Appendix 2 for more details about a Local/Regional
Regenerative Land Bank.
To find people in your area who are interested, send out an invitation/application to apply. See
Appendix 3 for a sample Invitation-Application that can be used to prepare one more specific to
your location and needs. Sponsor a local event that allows people to get together. Meet for a
few hours in the evening or put on a weekend festival. Offer music, dancing, food, workshops,
presentations, vendor space, etc. All with a focus on planning for co-creating Peace Havens.
We might call this a Peace Feast festival. Come and enjoy a banquet of peace while planning
for a more peaceful and satisfying way of life.
Living and working in natural buildings offers better health, primarily because of the poor air
quality in traditional buildings. Off gassing from the unsustainable building materials treated in
toxic chemicals can remain in the place for many years. Lack of cleanliness and poor air
circulation adds to the unhealthy quality of indoor air.
Contrast traditional development with the DIY Low Cost-Quick Action development
Attaining affordable housing is the same sad story across the nation. It is difficult to find developers and get projects approved.
Designs may be for expensive monolithic apartment buildings, possibly being built with shoddy
materials and poor workmanship. They are cutting corners and have cookie cutter designs. The
buildings are likely to need extra repair and maintenance sooner than later. They include little
planning for common space and placemaking. Often the developer will also become the
managing authority. We wonder about creating another kind of slum housing. Most offer to rent,
not own, and the rent is still way too high for anyone earning minimum wage or below.
Here are two semi-random examples from Florida and Michigan:
In Crystal River, Florida, they have succeeded in actually building what is called affordable
housing. The process started in 2018, and is finally available for people to move in summer of
2024.
- Rents are set at $735 a month for a one-bedroom apartment and $967 for a
two-bedroom apartment.
- According to Catholic Charities Executive Director Maggie Rogers, they will not be
offering a sliding-scale rental rate at this time.
- A security deposit is one month’s rent.
- Tenants pay their own electric and water bills.
- Also, no pets allowed.
A nonprofit developer is planning a 45-unit affordable housing project at three unused lots on
Grand Rapids’ southeast side where a previous development proposal fell through. Let's look at the financing.
- The project budget for 1309 Madison Apartments is about $19.2 million, per documents
filed with the city
- ICCF secured a payment in lieu of taxes exemption for the development in August from
the city of Grand Rapids, and the Grand Rapids Housing Commission has committed 16
project-based housing vouchers, pending ICCF receiving approval for the $7.6 million in
low-income housing tax credits for which it applied.
- The rest of the project will be funded through gap and mortgage financing from the
Michigan State Housing Development Authority, as well as through other grants and a
deferred developer fee, according to documents ICCF filed with the city.
Overcoming Objections to DIY villages
DIY villages can help achieve strategic plan goals and objectives
Municipalities have a strategic plan with goals and objectives. Fair and affordable housing is a
big one, also youth engagement, improving public health, better and equal access to health
care, lower crime rate, less unemployment, beautification, livability and sustainability are some
of the bigger goals and objectives most places share. The DIY Low Cost-Quick Action
eco-friendly regenerative community offers many contributions that help us attain these
important goals. Peace Havens are a viable option for providing much needed housing,
employment and many more social benefits.
Unfamiliar Ideas
These ideas may seem unfamiliar. There is a steep learning curve for people who aren’t aware of
regenerative lifestyles and the advantages of living in close knit communities. Often there are
myth-conceptions. We’re not talking about hippies, communism, subsistence farming or
something for the far distant future. Many interesting advancements are happening worldwide in
natural building, regenerative agriculture, homesteading, alternative fuels and eco-friendly
community development. We suggest educating ourselves and our community about the many
possibilities for designed solutions. We can use both modern and ancient (time tested)
technologies to help us live in peace with ourselves, each other, our shared planet and available
resources.
NIMBY- “Not In My Backyard”
“Not In My Backyard” is a common saying, it means objecting to ‘other people’ (people
not like us) living near us. Richer people often assume less wealthy people will bring
undesirable traits, like crime, trash, tarps, noise, and evidence of addiction all around. Nobody
wants this, especially not the people living it. Wretched is what it looks like when we do nothing.
When we actually DO something, things can improve. We plan to place each DIY village into
neighborhoods appropriate for their intended purpose, style and business.
Uncomfortable Topics
Municipal leaders don't want to get attacked politically by people with money who fear any help
to ‘those people’ will attract more undesirables. Homeless services are often an unpopular topic
for people who don’t relate to life on the streets and the culture of poverty. A DIY village can
simply offer a way to get people safe at night. Allow people to take care of themselves.
Please consider what it’s like to be a woman on the streets at night, every night. Look around
and wonder, where would I sleep if I had no home. We are witnessing the existential distress of
an increasing population of people living below poverty level.
"While the poverty rate for all women aged 65 and older is 10.6% (or just over 1 in 10),
the poverty rate for single women living alone is almost twice as high at 19%. Older
persons living alone are much more likely to be poor (15%) than older persons living
with families (6%)."
Executive power can make unilateral decisions within a certain spectrum. Hypothetically, a
mayor could declare an emergency mandate to assure every woman will have a safe place to
sleep at night. Making it an emergency would allow possible changes in the status quo to
activate available spaces.
Sadly municipal leaders across the country are choosing to ignore the problem, do nothing or
move people to another county. Most often there are no services in smaller towns so when folks
fall into poverty they are transported to neighboring bigger cities where they are away from
friends and family. A big city is an unfriendly place to land with little to no money. Charitable
services are often set up more to get donations than to deliver services. Often donations are
interrupted in the delivery flow from donor to recipient.
From the outside looking in it might appear that charities are available with many services. In
reality, a person who needs to actually use these services will likely find them not available, no
space or so much red tape it becomes unattainable. Often, services will stay listed as available
long after they are not, this means folks who need the services have to seek them out only to
find them not there.
DIY Low Cost-Quick Action eco-friendly communities, LET’S GET STARTED
Give ourselves permission to Go, Grow and Glow! Send out an invitation locally to find people
who want to be involved. Dare to do something, set aside land, get started, get excited, solve
problems collaboratively with design solutions that can take this to the next level. All of us
working together for the common good. Sprouting and growing many Peace Havens is a
practical solution to problems we are collectively facing.
We can build a better world, starting at home, co-creating one eco-friendly Peace Hamlet at a
time, while planning for many more. Homes and hamlets built by hand with love and creativity
offer many benefits, including health, happiness, economic security and excellent food. Like a
bird needs a nest and a fox needs a den, humans need placemaking. Placemaking is the
process of creating quality places that people want to live, work, play and learn in. Designing for
solutions offers countless fascinating possibilities and a WIN-WIN for everyone involved.
Appendix 3 Sample Invitation and Application
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