There's a curious development in a suburb of my hometown Chicago, about as benevolent as a subdivision can be, in one of the sprawlier areas in the Midwest.
Prairie Crossing is an eco subdivision right off a commuter train line, housing not just lower energy use than the Americanaverage homes, but also an eco-minded charter school, acres of prairie preserve, an organic CSA farm, a homey retail area and StarGrazer Cafe, a restaurant that focuses on local, organic, and "natural" food. Terra Firma, the real estate development and advisory firm leading Chicago in ecologically-responsible property planning, runs the retail center there.
Perhaps their next step will be to ban SUVs from their community? Require all residents to take a two-week Ellen Page style permaculture course? Those hopes may be far fetched, but so is the idea that a place as conscious as Prairie Crossing were to exist in the first place, even as we enter a world where their efforts will soon become the minimum standard for healthy retraction.
Check out this new video, made by Big Teeth Productions, a Chicago-based production house, about how their subdivision farm works with the restaurant just a few yards away, which serves their food often just hours after harvest. I hope they have some dehydrators, or that this winter they'll be willing to explain to angry customers why fresh local tomatoes aren't on the menu.
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Lots to think about, mostly opportunities for communities (and not just individuals) to transition to something more sustainable. If you get a chance, check out TIna Traster's columns of the HuffPo and her new book on Kindle (a compilation of her essays and newspaper columns on living in the suburbs, growing her own food, raising chickens, and trying to get others to consider a new way). It fits right in with your writing. Link: http://www.amazon.com/Burb-Appeal-Collection-Humorous-ebook/dp/B0042G0SZA