Lessons from Kunstler: A Changing American Lifestyle?
Tuesday, 15 March 2011 10:44
Beaufort was fortunate to have national known author, James Howard Kunstler, in town to speak recently. If you missed him, you owe it to yourself to spend some time looking over his writings and messages. Jim has been speaking and writing about the American condition since the early 90s with his book, The Geography of Nowhere, talking about the placeless building of the suburban condition and everyday American lives. His later book, The Long Emergency, published by the Atlantic Monthly Press in 2005, is about the challenges posed by the coming permanent global oil crisis, climate change, and other "converging catastrophes of the 21st Century.” This work correctly anticipated the meltdown and great recession, of which we are are still in the midst.
In cities and small towns throughout America, we find telling characteristics unique to each region and gain insight into its history, art and daily life. The dwellings, civic parks, architecture and design speak directly of the people who influenced and added charm to the province. The most recent Civitas writing introduced the deep seeded notion of community. From this springboard of ideas, we ask what brings people together and creates community?
The past eight Civitas writings have focused on creating and designing great places. We have discussed streets, agriculture, designing in context, and the public and private realms, all of which must be carefully thought out to make a village, town or city great. What we have not discussed too much is what makes the heart of great places: community.
The CNU Carolinas is proud to announce it’s 2011 Lecture Series. The goal of the series is to introduce locals to some of the nation’s foremost experts in both the built and natural environment. Most importantly, these speakers address how they work together, which is the true beauty of the Lowcountry. Each quarter brings a major, more nationally – and even internationally – known speaker, as well as a relatively local speaker, both of whom will discuss a similar theme.
When: The first two dates for the major speakers are set, and the second two will be finalized shortly. The minor speakers are planned to come the 3rd Wednesday of March, May, July and October. These dates will also be finalized and formally announced.
Where: The locations for all presentations are still being finalized.
More Information: please visit our website www.cnucarolinas.org for more details. You may also contact Eric Brown at 843-986-9610, or
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for sponsorship information.
The fabric of our communities is diverse. It is made up of many different components, including diverse people and their various lifestyles. One of the challenges we face is that we must understand how the sum of all these parts works together before changes can be made. Understanding how something fits into a larger whole is called “Context,” and context-based design and planning is key to retaining and growing a community’s sense of self and place.
Culture - Civitas
In cities and small towns throughout America, we find telling characteristics unique to each region and gain insight into its history, art and daily life. The dwellings, civic parks, architecture and design speak directly of the people who influenced and added charm to the province. The most recent Civitas writing introduced the deep seeded notion of community. From this springboard of ideas, we ask what brings people together and creates community?
The past eight Civitas writings have focused on creating and designing great places. We have discussed streets, agriculture, designing in context, and the public and private realms, all of which must be carefully thought out to make a village, town or city great. What we have not discussed too much is what makes the heart of great places: community.
The CNU Carolinas is proud to announce it’s 2011 Lecture Series. The goal of the series is to introduce locals to some of the nation’s foremost experts in both the built and natural environment. Most importantly, these speakers address how they work together, which is the true beauty of the Lowcountry. Each quarter brings a major, more nationally – and even internationally – known speaker, as well as a relatively local speaker, both of whom will discuss a similar theme.
The fabric of our communities is diverse. It is made up of many different components, including diverse people and their various lifestyles. One of the challenges we face is that we must understand how the sum of all these parts works together before changes can be made. Understanding how something fits into a larger whole is called “Context,” and context-based design and planning is key to retaining and growing a community’s sense of self and place.