Local Resilience Networks

by Kirk Johnson - The New York Times - December 3, 2011

Glenn Grassi used his skills as a set designer in the construction of his portable 84-square-foot microhome, trying to maximize the space available.  Matthew Staver for The New York Times

LOUISVILLE, Colo. - For many Americans who bought more home than they could really afford in the giddy days before the crash, the big-house dream has become a nightmare in the ashes of foreclosure and regret.

So after all that, how does 84 square feet sound?

Glenn Grassi, in building his prototype one-room microhome - 7 by 12 feet stem-to-stern, including a wood-burning stove, an antique parlor chair that also serves as a seat for the compost toilet beneath it, and a shower under the bed - is hoping it sounds, well, like shelter in the old-fashioned practical sense.

Or like a work of art. He is not exactly sure.

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Venice, California has long been a center of innovation within Los Angeles.  Its boardwalk is a spectacle of creativity and entrepreneurship in an open community setting, where the LA megalopolis meets the beach and the Pacific Ocean.  This combination attracts millions of visitors a year in a very small area.

As a result, Venice -- in addition to its opportunities, also struggles with significant and growing challenges with homelessness, drugs, and crowd control, amongst the other problems that all communities face in an economic downturn within a time of energy descent. 

The result?  Both the opportunities and the problems now require creative energy from the Venice community itself to shape what Venice wants to be in the early 21st century. 

Please place your comments on how Venice community members might think about shaping their community to enhance it during the challenging years ahead.