Remaking settlements for sustainability: the Simpler Way

Ted Trainer

Abstract


In view of the global resource and ecological situation, per-capita resource consumption rates in the rich world probably need to be reduced by 90%. This can only be done if there is a "de-growth" transition to some kind of Simpler Way centered on mostly small, highly self-sufficient and self-governing communities in control of local economies within a culture that is not focused on material wealth. It is not surprising that the viability of such a vision is typically regarded as implausible. The aim of this study is to show that normal outer city suburbs could be restructured along the lines required to cut global impacts by the necessary amount, while improving the quality of life. Data on typical Australian consumption rates, food production yields, suburban geographies, etc. is used to estimate the achievable reductions. The theoretical conclusion that such reductions could be made aligns with a study of the Dancing Rabbit Eco-village in northeast Missouri. Heavy cuts in resource consumption cannot be made without extreme change in economic, political, settlement and cultural systems.

Key words: The Simpler Way, de-growth.


Full Text:

PDF

References


ABC. 2014. Gardening program. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Alexander S. and B. Gleeson. 2019. Degrowth in the suburbs: a radical urban imaginary. London: Palgrave MacMillan.

Aliades, A. 2011. Lessons from an urban backyard food forest experiment. https://permaculturenews.org/2011/04/13/lessons-from-an-urban-back-yard-food-forest-experiment

ABS. 2012. Australian Yearbook. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics.

ABS. 2015. Australian Yearbook. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Blazey, C. 1999. The Australian vegetable garden. Dromana, VIC: Diggers Seeds.

Canning, P., A. Charles, S. Huang, K.R. Polenske, and A. Waters 2010. Energy use in the U.S. food system. US Department of Agriculture.

Dairy Australia 2017. Consumption summary. https://www.dairyaustralia.com.au/dairyaustralia/industry/production-and-sales/consumption-summary?keyword=consumption%20summary

Dept. of Environment, Water, Heritage and Arts 2008. Energy use in the Australian residential sector 1986 – 2020. Canberra: DEWHA.

Department of Industry and Science. 2015. 2015 Australian energy update. Canberra: DIS.

Dervaes, J. 2014. Homegrown revolution. 15 min video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IbODJiEM5A&list=TLmHbT8-YpHqo

Diggers Seeds, See, Blazey 1999.

Dioron, R. 2015. What's a home garden worth? Kitchen Gardeners International. http://www.vegetablegardener.com/item/4063/whats-a-garden-worth

DPI. 2007. Sweet corn growing. Sydney: NSW Department of Primary Industries. https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/horticulture/vegetables/commodity-growing-guides/sweet-corn

Fairlie, S. 2007. Can Britain feed itself? The Land 4 (Winter): 18-26.

Garza, E. 2013. The energy cost of food. Resilience 22nd July.

Gascón, J. 2018. Food waste: a political ecology approach. Journal of Political Ecology 25: 587-601.

Grinde, B., R.B. Nes, I.F. MacDonald and D.S. Wilson. 2018. Quality of life in intentional communities. Social Indicators Research 137(2): 625–640.

Holmgren, D. 2018. RetroSuburbia: the downshifter's guide to a resilient future. Hepburn Springs: Melliodora.

Kane, A. 2016. Australia's 7.5 million tonnes of food waste. The Guardian, 6th June. https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/jun/06/australia-75m-tonnes-food-waste-ugly-food-solve-problem

Koont. S. 2009. The urban food gardens of Havana. Monthly Review 60(8): 44-63.

Kunstler, J. 2005. The long emergency; surviving the converging catastrophes of the twenty-first century. New York: Grove/Atlantic.

Lockyer, J. 2017. Community, commons, and de-growth at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage. Journal of Political Ecology 24: 519-542.

Marshall, P. 1992. Demanding the impossible: the history of anarchism. London: Harper Collins.

Mollison, B. 1988. Permaculture: a designer's manual. Tyalgum: Tagari Publications.

Morgan, T. 2013. Perfect storm: energy, finance and the end of growth strategy. London: Tullet Prebon.

Rakocy J.E., M.P. Masser and T.M. Losordo. 2006. Recirculating aquaculture tank production systems: aquaponics—integrating fish and plant culture. SRAC Publication No. 454. College Station: Texas A&M University.

Rees, W. 2017. Interview. http://www.resilience.org/stories/2017-11-03/resource-limitations/

Pitzer, S. 2009. Home grown home grains. North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing.

Rosset, P. 2000. Small farms are more efficient and sustainable. Multinational Monitor 21(7&8).

Safa, M. 2011. Determination and modelling of energy consumption in wheat production using neural networks: a case study in Canterbury Province in New Zealand. Ph.D dissertation. Lincoln, NZ: Lincoln University.

Schroeder, G. and S. Serfling 1989. High-yield aquaculture using low-cost feed and waste recycling methods. American Journal of Alternative Agriculture 4(2): 71-74.

SixWise.com 2017. Americans spend HOW many hours a day watching screens? http://www.sixwise.com/Newsletters/2009/April/22/Americans-Spend-Many-Hours-a-Day-Watching-Screens.htm

Smaje, C. 2016. A neo-peasant farm in Wessex. Small Farm Future. 30 Aug.

St-Onge, E. 2015. Senegal transforming 14,000 villages into eco-villages! Collective Evolution. June 17. https://www.collective-evolution.com/2015/06/17/senegal-transforming-14000-villages-into-ecovillages

Tainter, J.A. 1988. The collapse of complex societies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Trainer, T. 2010. Third world development. The Simpler Way website. http://thesimplerway.info/ThirdWorldDev.long.htm

Trainer, T. 2016a. The Simpler Way: summary. The Simpler Way website http://thesimplerway.info/Main.htm

Trainer, T. 2016b. Remaking settlements: the potential cost reductions enabled by The Simpler Way. The Simpler Way website. http://thesimplerway.info/RemakingSettlements.htm

Trainer, T. 2016c. But can't technical advance solve the problems? The Simpler Way website. http://thesimplerway.info/TECHFIX.htm

Trainer, T. 2016d. Housing. The Simpler Way website http://thesimplerway.info/Housing.htm

Trainer, T. 2017a. The limits to growth analysis of our global situation. The Simpler Way website. http://thesimplerway.info/LIMITS.htm

Trainer, T. 2017b. Pigface Point; sustainability education site. The Simpler Way website http://thesimplerway.info/PigfacePoint.htm

Trainer, T. 2017c. Remaking settlements; tool inventory: dollar and energy costs. The Simpler Way website. http://thesimplerway.info/RemakingToolCosts.html.

Trainer, T. 2017d. Transition Theory and practice. http://thesimplerway.info/Transition.htm

Trainer, T. 2018. The Simpler Way alternative society. The Simpler Way website.

http://thesimplerway.info/THEALTERNTIVELong.htm

Trainer, T. 2019. Entering the era of limits and scarcity: the radical implications for social theory. Journal of Political Ecology 26: 1-18.

Trainer, T., A. Malik and M. Lenzen. 2018. Comparing the monetary, resource and ecological costs of industrial and Simpler Way local production: consider egg supply. http://thesimplerway.info/Eggs.html

USDA. 2015. Grain and feed annual. GAIN Report Number AS1506. https://gain.fas.usda.gov/Recent%20GAIN%20Publications/Grain%20and%20Feed%20Annual_Canberra_Australia_4-7-2015.pdf

Watson, K. 2015. Home growing produces ten times the food of arable farms. Our World, UN University. 29th March.

Wise, P. 2014. The potential value and impacts of residential and community gardening. Canberra: Australia Institute.

World Wildlife Fund. 2014. The Living Planet report 2014. World Wildlife Fund and London Zoological Society.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2458/v26i1.22972

Copyright (c) 2019 Ted Trainer

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.