Building Community
Community can mean people who share a physical space, those who share beliefs or goals, or people who act together. When people who live together or have interests in common don’t have a sense of connection, they may need to create activities to build community.
We’re All In This Together
Why cooperation and service create more sustainable prosperity than competition and profit Having lived the harrowing tale of a fallen industrial giant, Bethlehem should know better than anywhere that the current “system” doesn’t work, economically or environmentally. Bethlehem Steel is … more
Is Sustainable Urban Living a Viable Outcome of Our Current Political System?
“Without systemic change, sustainable communities are not possible.” This is the opening statement from a whitepaper by Ben Price, Projects Director for the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF). He is speaking here of our political system and goes on … more
How Will We Shape Sandy’s Legacy?
To those who endured and watched as the storm passed along the East Coast of the United States, the story of Hurricane Sandy is one of heartache and devastation. To those who follow weather, the storm is a phenomenal meteorological … more
Commit to Leadership in Sustainability
The benefits of making a clear commitment can be dramatic, especially over the long term. When students, faculty, staff, and alumni know that the college or university is making a broad and comprehensive commitment to sustainability, they are more likely … more
Public Spaces Endangered
The Fall and Rise of Great Public Spaces Why we need parks, streetlife, squares, markets, trails, community gardens and other hang outs more than ever by Jay Walljasper, On the Commons, August 5, 2012 Opponents of Copenhagen’s first pedestrian street … more
Public Spaces
This article from On the Commons makes a number of important points about land use, pedestrian-friendly environments, and building community. The Rise and Fall and Rise of Great Public Spaces by Jay Walljasper Public space is a literal commons: the … more
What Part Is Labor Playing in the Transition?
Working class. Ahhh. To someone steeped in the leftist lingo freely expressed in the New York City of the 1960s, with its peace, civil rights, labor, and leftist activism, it’s refreshing to hear such culturally repressed language out in the … more
Echoes from the 1960s
Billionaire George Soros recently warned that the world capitalist system faced the potential of massive street violence—if not collapse. Mainstream discourse has failed to give due credence to the most widely shared argument of Occupiers: our democracy is broken, corporations … more
A Growing Community
The Lafayette College Community Garden is my favorite place to be. But what makes it so special? The essence of community: I’m not just growing food for myself, but we’re all growing food for ourselves and our loved ones, together. … more
The Importance of Being Radical
I attended the memorial service of a dear friend recently, a friend who had been very active during the Civil Rights Movement in the 60s. A college friend of his spoke at the service about attending protests and marches together, … more