The suburbs are broken.
Our severe isolation comes from our community design—the lack of central gathering places, the car as primary transportation, the endless sprawl—these all result in everyone living their lives in isolated bubbles. And the result of that is worse than people recognize.
New ideas and initiatives require encouragers, supporters, collaborators—and diverse viewpoints. And without diverse viewpoints, ideas become ingrown, incomplete, and citizens become despondent about their ability to make a difference or have any say. Our city becomes something that “happens to us” instead of something we are all part of making together.
We can’t completely redesign what our community physically looks like. But can we redesign how it works?
An growing number of people have spent the last 8 years installing a new community operating system, bit by bit. It’s already had some effect, but that effect is only going to grow. This talk will expose people to seeing the problem for what it is and help people recognize the simple steps they can take to be part of upgrading our broken state to one that’s empowered, civically engaged, and fully transformative.