Community Life

Locally-based commons build the “social wealth” of our communities. It is therefore important to create and maintain an independent business sector, inviting public spaces, local agricultural initiatives, and other vital community systems.

October 24, 2005

The Walt Scale of Crass Commercialism

A new way to measure the scale of tacky commercialization in a place – the Walt scale.

October 20, 2005

Social Emotions and the "Big Man" Model of Social Organization

The little-understood topic of social emotions has big implications for our lives and even the economy.

August 28, 2005

Traffic School

Traffic accidents kill more than 40,000 Americans a year, yet the media glamorizes the speed and power of cars. No one sees these deaths as a major problem.

August 24, 2005

The Rise of the Share-Recycle Movement

The internet has spawned a new kind of recycling movement, in which people easily find new owners for things they are ready to toss out.

August 23, 2005

Corporate Graffiti Vandals

How is a lively commons reduced to a mere market? It starts with small steps.

August 19, 2005

Build It and They Will Sit

Build it and they will sit. A bench can transform an empty space into a public place. William H. Whyte, the champion of lively cities, showed us that.

August 10, 2005

Train

A train ride not only spurs creative thinking about the commons. A train ride is a commons in itself.

August 10, 2005

Common Law and Public Trust

Americans vigorously defended parks and other public assets from privatization in the 19th century.

August 9, 2005

Property in the New Millennium

The commons is not lost in big gulps, but in little nibbles. Closing a public park for a day to accommodate a corporate meeting is the start of trouble.

August 9, 2005

Expressions of Community Heart-Mind

A garden grows in Steamboat Springs and offers a shining example of community connection.