Long Term Thinking
Brian Eno was recently in San Francisco to give a lecture sponsored by the Long Now Foundation, an organization which is trying to instill long term thinking in our monkey brains. Eno's lecture was on the topic of his new book, 250 Projects for a Better Future. The premise is to formulate 250 attainable projects which would have a lasting benefit on the future of mankind. www.worldchanging.com posted a note about the lecture as well as an open invitation for contributors to post suggestions for Eno.
There are some interesting comments posted to the thread there. The one which caught my eye was the pointer towards Arcosanti, a arcology being built in the Arizona desert. Designed by Paolo Soleri, it is a physical application of his principles of "arcology" (architecure + ecology).
[from arcosanti.org] "In 1970, the Cosanti Foundation began building Arcosanti, an experimental town in the high desert of Arizona, 70 miles north of metropolitan Phoenix. When complete, Arcosanti will house 5000 people, demonstrating ways to improve urban conditions and lessen our destructive impact on the earth. Its large, compact structures and large-scale solar greenhouses will occupy only 25 acres of a 4060 acre land preserve, keeping the natural countryside in close proximity to urban dwellers."