Yesterday I came across this story on NPR:

A Social Experiment: Communes In Cul-De-Sacs : NPR.

The story is about “cul de sac” communes, planned neighborhoods where people share resources. Different from the Utopian societies of yore, where the main requirement was isolation from the rest of civilization, this cul de sac commune idea integrates modern culture with communal living.

Isn’t that where the word “community” comes into play?

One thing I have noticed and pondered in the last few years, especially since having children, is that modern day conveniences and technological advances have enabled and encouraged people to move out of the traditional village structures that once upon a time characterized human civilization. We don’t live with extended family, we sometimes don’t even live in the same state (or country!) as our parents or siblings. The far flung nature of our interactions has created a disconnect between neighbors. Where you once might have known everyone in your village, now you may have a vague sense that someone lives next door, but you don’t want to get involved. People want privacy.

What we’re also seeing, however, is an increase in stress directly attributable to the breakdown in community. Social culture and shared experiences used to allow neighbors to come together and help individuals, like a family. I don’t live anywhere near my family, so in an emergency, who do I ask to watch my children? If  I didn’t know my neighbors well, how would I have coped last year when an allergic reaction to medication sent me to the hospital in an ambulance? Wait for DYFS to put my kids in temporary foster care until I was released?

I think the ability to travel and an increasingly global economy and culture is a wonderful thing. But I also think that community is an essential part of humanity, and in the absence of the built-in communities that extended family offers, we really should work to get to know and love our neighbors.

That’s why I think these cul de sac communities are a good idea. You don’t need to have a formal charter and share money, though you could if you wanted to. I personally don’t think I could talk my neighbors into that; I am in a Republican haven and my hippie pinko commie ways already earn me the occasional roll of eyes. But sharing resources in a way that fosters the connection between neighbors? Sure, I can do that.

Potlucks, shared shopping trips, community gardening, neighborhood social gatherings—I associate these things with the best kinds of neighborhoods, where your child can play outside and know that 4 or 5 other parents are keeping a vague eye on all the children and no infraction of the rules will go unnoticed. Where a neighbor can call me and tell me “I am making a trip down to Ledgewood, do you need anything?” so I can save on gas not making the same exact trip.

I don’t know if I am quite so pessimistic as others are, in thinking that the current structure of society is going to completely collapse, but I think the dire times we live in will certainly encourage people to connect and reach out to those in need and for help. I am really inspired by this idea of fostering community in small ways. I don’t know that I would go so far as to call it a commune, but community? Absolutely.

More information on the Cul de Sac Commune Project:

http://www.wannastartacommune.com/

Some ideas on communal living from the WSAC pamphlet:

IDEAS FOR SHARING
Use these ideas as conversation starters. Adapt them to meet your needs or add your own. We have compiled this info from the neighborhood pilot projects we are running, and also from historic and current experiments in communal living—check our commune pilot blog (http://www.culdesaccommune.org) and Facebook page for more ideas.

LEARNING & INFO SHARING

• start a lending library (DVD’s, magazines and books)
• home school among families with young children
• hire tutors and take lessons as a group (Salsa dancing!)

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS

• build a database of house locations, contact info, number and name of family members, number and name of pets, emergency numbers, etc for use during fire, earthquake or other disaster

CARE

• watch out for each other and each other’s houses
• care for animals and bring in newspapers and mail when people were away
• shovel snow for aging couples
• babysit, provide elder care
• share a housekeeper

FOOD

• carpool for grocery trips
• share leftovers
• have weekly potlucks
• share an organic produce delivery service (one box of local produce is often too much for one family to eat over the course of a week)
• harvest and can extra produce
• grow grapes and make wine
• share a garden or create a garden in an empty lot
• share a compost pile
• share the care of farm animals (chickens, etc)

STORAGE

• share storage space with neighbors in need of extra room

ENERGY & SYSTEMS

• share recycling duties
• come together to buy solar panels, create a solar array on your street
• dig wells, create a water purification system or graywater collector
• install a small windmill

LANDSCAPING & NATURE

• plant wildflowers in an empty lot, or plant trees or flowers across a whole area to bring cohesion and visual delight
• plant fruit trees and share in their care
• add or remove fencing, pathways
• get joint bids for landscapers and other services to increase price leverage
• create a back yard children’s playground across a few houses
• defend an area from rodents and small animals

CLOTHING

• recycle or swap clothing

EVENTS & EXPERIENCES

• host an annual block party
• create a small stage/seating area for music, dancing, performance and theater
• share a yoga instructor, masseuse or acupuncturist

ART, ARTS & CRAFTS

• make or show art
• collectively sell art, or arts & crafts (buy a booth for the commune at a farmer’s market)

CARS/TRANSPORTATION

• organize car pools and ride sharing (to and from school, to the airport)
• share a snow-blower
• buy a light pickup truck to share among a few families

AMENITIES

• build small structures to share (yurts, tipis, tents, garden sheds, shade structures)
• buy a pizza oven or barbecue grill to share
• buy a projector and screen and host movie night in a makeshift outdoor theater
• share a hot tub or pool
• create a meditation area or protected quiet space to share

WORK COLLECTIVES & BARTERING FOR SERVICES

• share home office space
• barter for services
• share financial resources to complete a project
• run a collective business and share profits

TECHNOLOGY

• share a wireless connection
• share a satellite dish