Deep Economy : Do things Locally ! Norair Yeretsian

The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future :
Deep Economy by Bill McKibben is a book about location,location ,location !
You and I have the best location, to do all the things we want.
In Deep Economy, Bill McKibben explores our current state and problems and
suggests we can do better by doing it within reach/locally.
And thereby build a stronger and healthier economy by building many
micro local economies. Because we now have challenges everywhere and
it weakens the whole economy, example our food :

” Even apart from terrorists, the centralized food  system we’ve built presents risks.
The industrialization of poultry is the nub of the problem ‘ of avian flu ‘ says
Kennedy Shortridge, a Hong Kong microbiologist who has spent three decades
studying influenza viruses. Concentrated agriculture also manages to make us
sick on a fairly regular , if less dramatic, basis. Seventy-six million American
fall ill annually from food-borne illness; 300,000 are hospitalized, 5000 die.
Salmonella is the biggest culprit, and its prevalence has doubled since the 1070s,
which makes sense when you consider the enormous poultry barns and cattle
feedlots that grew up in those years.”

We may need to go smaller , faster.
Detroit , Michigan is planning on destroying many urban vacant homes
and creating farm land : Urban farms.
City councils in Toronto and London , Ontario have been debating whether
to allow residential properties the permitted use of : raising chicken, and
possibly other farm animals in their backyards ?
There is a minor movement to getting vegetable gardens growing on Hydro fields.

We could grow more of our food locally and become healthier in the process.
You and I have the best location : Ontario, Canada to do all that we want.
Geographically well located, and with a nice seasonality to grow and raise wonderfully.

Challenges exist and they must be addressed. Environmental issues of the lands is
another concern, testing must be done first prior to growing things on these properties.
And someone needs to establish healthy standards for the soil conditions for that the
results are beneficial for all.

Land and the quality of our land is very important for our health and well being.
When you buy and sell property there is a responsibility to care and protect the
future uses of these properties. Due diligence is important in this area to satisfy
all concerned that the properties are safe and clean ; environmentally.

Adam Smith (1776) in The Wealth of  Nations that ” it is not the actual greatness
of national wealth, but its continued increase” which raises wages.
Benjamin Friedman in The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth
provides a modified perspective on this increase. How modern commerce was
thought to be a one time event — that they would soon hit a plateau.
The new economic revolution showed that businessess could keep improving
their operations, apparently indefinitely.

” By the early twentieth century, increasing efficiency had become very nearly
a religion, especially in the U.S., where stopwatch-wielding experts like
Frederick Taylor broke every task into its smaller parts, wiping out inefficiencies
with all the zeal of a pastor hunting sins, and with far more success. “
writes Bill McKibben ( Deep Economy ,2007; Times Books)

Is it time to re-think, re-set and get back to the Garden of Eden ?

Let’s discuss it :  Twitter @ EnvoyCapRealty  or just below …

nyeretsian@yahoo.com May 16, 2010

The Rise of the Creative Class by Richard Florida , Norair Yeretsian

The Rise of the Creative Class and how its transforming work, leisure,
community and everyday life (2002) by Professor Richard Florida,
now at the Rotman School of Management at the University of  Toronto,
was a National Bestselling book that needs to be read by all our
City Councillors and planners. His latest book , The Great Reset
appears to deliver great wisdom and foresight to future City development
and planning. Although as most of us know it should be planning and
then development not wait for an application, then public forum fighting
and grand standing ( political career made and destroyed) and then
compromised negotiation where no one gets all they want
( no body happy — but good enough attitude, just move on).

The Harvard Business Review (May 2010) (Andy O’Connell)
book review’s comments on
The Great Reset by Richard Florida (HarperCollins,2010)

” We humans are good at making cities bigger, but we’re lousy at making them
smaller. When an urban area loses population and business
–as New Orleans did after Katrina — homes,office buildings,retail
space just sit there and rot : Very rarely does the bulldozer
put them out of their misery. The difficulty of shrinking is one of the
obstacles facing cities in the wake of the most recent ” great reset,”
the author’s term for the global economic downturn.”

Professor Florida argues that elected officials
” need to get over their love affair with big renewal projects”
and move money towards neighborhood projects/developments
which will do better at improving people’s lives.
” Government, won’t be the prime mover in the future years; its
role is merely to enable and accelerate society’s development of an
‘ idea-driven economy ‘, in which every person’s creativity is valued
and individuals shed the burdensome possessions that have been
dragging them down for years. “

The great desire going forward is a new City council which will have
the wisdom and strength of  leadership with a positive determination
to use all our resources in a meaningful and efficient way to create a
City for all that encourages enterprise ,innovation and future
developments,among its creative citizens.

With a positive view We can do better ! We can do more.

We can do this without the easy — let’s just tax them and build it.
The reallocation of resources and review process, with trimming and
pruning services / taxes is all a part of having a healthy garden and environment .

No sacred cows .
It’s evolution and not revolution to getting to our better and possibly our best place.
A great City that works on all levels efficiently and without over taxing its residents
because professionals who care about each dollar they get, spend it carefully and responsibly !

Let’s continue the discussion on  www.  Twitter :  EnvoyCapRealty

nyeretsian@yahoo.com May 10, 2010