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Copyright Bruce Nixon 2010. All rights reserved. This electronic copy is provided free for personal, non-commercial use only. www.brucenixon.com Priority given to walking, continuous cycling networks and attractive, frequent and cheap public transport Rapid, reliable, regular bus or tram transit that is more attractive and cheaper than using private cars Street design forces drivers to respond to an urban environment Waste treated as gold Reduction of waste and promotion of recycling within the community Use of human waste for fertiliser Implementation of water conservation and flood safety measures Various Sources include Ecologist, June 2009, Sustainable Cities – a greener urban environments, special issue with articles by Hank Dittmar, Carolyn Steel, James Hulme, Pat Thomas interviewing Dr David Strong, Bill Dunster, and Twin Cites Study * Passive solar building design aims to maintain interior thermal comfort throughout the sun's daily and annual cycles whilst reducing the requirement for active heating and cooling systems. Passive solar building design is one part of green building design, and does not include active systems such as mechanical ventilation or photovoltaics. * * Street Connectivity refers to the directness of links and the density of connections in a path or road network which help bring about human contact. Street Connectivity is defined in Online TDM Encyclopaedia. Conclusion The essence of cities, towns, communities and buildings fit for the 21 st Century is they are holistic and in harmony with nature. We should remember that we live at a time when the Earth’s resources are more precious than ever before and millions of lives, including our children and their children, depend on our using them sparingly. We need to recycle, repair and re-use wherever possible. We need to employ the simplest technology fit for the purpose and solutions that will last. This means turning for inspiration to how our ancestors made buildings cool in summer heat and warm in winter cold. Some valuable concepts underlie the simplest ways of creating sustainable habitats. Amongst these are Muda, a Japanese concept, which Dr David Strong describes in the interview in the Ecologist. Muda is about elegant simplicity eliminating waste and complexity. It is about doing more with less. Carolyn Steel advocates communities created on “Sitopian” lines. The word is based on two Greek words, sitos meaning food and topos meaning place. It is a state of mind that results in recreating our habitats in ways that value food and base it locally. Empires and cities that did not follow this principle, often did not survive. Resources BRE Trust/ Building Research Establishment, CABE the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, Campaign for Better Transport, Cycling Demonstration towns, Farm Crisis Network, Global Action Plan's EcoTeams, Natural England, Homes Under Threat- helping people save their homes from demolition- Sylvia Wilson sylvia@homesunderthreat.co.uk, Soil Association, Sustainable Energy Academy – transforming homes, Sustainable Travel Towns and Transition Towns. Further reading - in addition to those already mentioned: Day, C, Places for the Soul – architecture and environmental design as a healing art, 2008, and Consensus Design – Socially inclusive processes, 2002, Elsevier and Forum for the Future’s Sustainable Cities Index. 186
Copyright Bruce Nixon 2010. All rights reserved. This electronic copy is provided free for personal, non-commercial use only. www.brucenixon.com Chapter 14 - The Possibility of Peace - ending war, violence and the threat of nuclear annihilation August 2009 through June 2010 It is time to end war The subject of this chapter – the possibility of peace - is the most ambitious. Can we really end war? Will it work? I hope to show that ending war is entirely possible and you can play an important part in bringing it about. In the face of climate change, peak oil, rising world population, wasteful and unequal consumption of the earth’s resources, increasing poverty, starvation and extremism, conflicts and wars are inevitable – unless we act differently. We have to accept that, with the probable exception of WW2, force rarely works. The enormous weaponry of the great powers is useless in the face of today’s challenges. The availability of nuclear weapons to terrorists is an inevitable and frightening prospect. “Wars” on terror, and drugs, do not work. The lesson of history is: ultimately we have to talk with “extremists”. Drugs must be legalised. Ultimately, we’ll need to engage with the Taliban in Afghanistan, Hamas in Palestine if settlements are to be reached and Al-Qaeda if their campaign of terror is to be ended. The time has come to resolve conflict by means that do not involve violence. It is perfectly possible. The following is proposed: A paradigm shift We have to address the global system. A critical mass that recognises systemic change is needed. Continuous growth is unsustainable and unjust. Western addiction to consumerism perpetuates an insecure and unsafe world Ending poverty and the economic and social injustices at the root of hostility and many conflicts An emphasis on what works Putting major resources into conflict prevention, reconciliation, trust and peace-building rather than military interventions. Whilst slower, it is more effective, and costs less in lost lives and destruction Enabling people on the ground to empower themselves to resolve their problems and conflicts and tackle corruption – instead of imposing solutions. Ending the threat of nuclear weapons through urgent action to bring about nuclear disarmament Strictly controlling the sale of arms Preventing, through international collaboration, resource wars that will loom large in the future Taking steps to limit the size, power and influence of large corporations and prevent their abuses Making the UN democratic and giving it more power Providing citizens with constitutional powers to gain control of their governments and prevent war being declared without fully informed consent Practising ethical foreign policies are ultimately in our best interest Learning to respect our differences Accepting that discussions need to take place with all stakeholders; excluding “extremists” does not work Addressing terrorism and the causes of terrorism non-violently 187
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A better world is possible - Global Commons Institute

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