The End of Seattle EcoUrban Village

 

Since its beginnings in Minneapolis in 1979, Artspace Projects, Inc. has created affordable live/work spaces for artists around the country. In October 2007, Artspace began accepting applications for its second Artist Loft community in Seattle. The first Seattle-based Artspace Community was the Tashiro Kaplan Artists Lofts in Pioneer Square, and the newest community is the Hiawatha Artists Loft in the Jackson Place neighborhood located in the Central District.

I learned about the Hiawatha Artists Loft project shortly after being contacted by freelance writer Diana Wurn about the research and writing I’d done in support of the Seattle EcoUrban Village project. Even though Diana’s story never materialized (such is the fate of a freelance writer), it got me thinking about affordable housing again. And as fate would have it, the universe aligned and delivered Hiawatha. Since it’s far better to join a great movement than to try to build one from scratch, I decided to put the SEV project to rest.

I’m working as a full-time artist now, and my art habit is supported by a great day job that keeps me on my toes yet leaves me energized for a weekend of artmaking.

So this is the end of the Seattle EcoUrban Village project, but it’s the beginning of new things for me. I’m keeping this blog active for others who are on the journey of building intentional community. I hope that these SEV files will provide a source of inspiration and information.

Happy trails to you, until we meet again.

~ Alexis Pierre-Louis

Starting Over

Last June, Seattle EcoUrban Village went on hiatus to explore the possibility of forming a nonprofit with two other grassroots organizations. After careful examination, we realized that our core goals varied enough to prevent a successful merger, but we still support each other through information sharing. So where does that leave us?

Seattle EcoUrban Village (SEV) project is in the midst of growing pains. Change is seldom easy but usually both necessary and beneficial. The SEV project still maintains a large email list of virtual supporters, and is in need of actual, physical support in the form of visionaries, organizational development planners, activists, grantwriters, and other general volunteer support.

In light of the lessons learned these past few months, let me tell you who I am, where we are, and where I hope we’ll go. My name is Alexis Pierre-Louis. I’m an interdisciplinary artist (a jewelry artist, painter, sculptor, and writer), and I am the founder of SEV. I organized SEV because I am tired of and fed up with the lack of safe, affordable, green housing and the lack of affordable organic food in my city. The way I see it: a lot of good organizations got started by tired and fed up people, so I feel confident that I’m on the right track.

My work as an interdisciplinary artist is informed by a philosophical framework that includes urban permaculture, futurist theory, Womanist studies, and the fine arts. I’ve been privileged to live abroad (Germany and Japan) and in most states in the U.S.A. I am a graduate of The Evergreen State College in Olympia Washington; I moved to Seattle about four years ago, and formally began my art practice this year.

I have mostly lived in small- to mid-sized towns, I now live in a mid-sized city, and I’m very concerned about the combination of economic disadvantage, environmental racism, and lack of environmental education, particularly in communities of color. I live in a community where there is a large number of people of color and poor people. Although Seattle is renowned for its commitment to environmental issues, I have too often been told that my urban permaculture ideas won’t work in the Central District and Seattle’s other economically disadvantaged neighborhoods because poor people want jobs not green housing and organic food. I believe all of the above are both desired and possible.

Now, after months of talking with local nonprofits, agencies, real estate specialists, and citizens, I realize that SEV’s focus needs to be on environmental education. So, it may take a very long time for the first SEV building to manifest, but it will happen because this idea is like a river: it may change course, but it won’t stop flowing. And like Sam Cooke originally sang, and like Midwest City sings today: A Change is Gonna Come.

 

(image credit: Garfield High School, Garfield High School Foundation)

SEV Hiatus: Building A Grassroots Coalition

Over the past few weeks, SEV had been in talks with two local grassroots about the possibility of merging our efforts into one nonprofit. What we learned along the way is that each of our groups had generated significant public interest, had established solid e-mail lists, and had members whose attendance at actual meetings was sporadic to nonexistent. Building a coalition is a daunting task that requires a singleness of vision and effort, and the degree to which a coalition lacks these qualities will be reflected in terms of solidarity and efficacy. We had much respect for the vision and goals of our potential partners, but ultimately, we decided to pursue different opportunities.

When a group or an individual has a vision that will benefit society, natural exuberance abounds, but the key to long-term success

Community Outreach Update: week ending 6/16/07

The past few weeks have been a blur of activity as SEV has established its presence in a wide variety of collaborative sustainability networks both online and in person. These efforts produced a deluge of e-mails and phone calls, and we’re slowly building our network. This week, SEV outreached to government and business leaders while continuing to seek out volunteer opportunities with like minded grassroots and established sustainability groups. Our lead organizer has been appointed state coordinator for a university-based art project, and hopes to introduce a cadre of fine artists to the fold.

This week

• meeting with real estate agent/community activist to discuss possible SEV sites
• meeting with DenCity Research/SUMIT to discuss collaboration
• meeting with Sustainable Seattle to discuss collaboration
• meeting with City of Seattle Neighborhood Service Center rep to discuss local resources

After the week of meetings SEV will regroup to discuss organizing our first public meeting. Stay tuned…

Why Housing Cooperatives Are An Excellent Idea For People Who Need Affordable Homeownership

Can a tiny, little grassroots initiative change the world? We think we can! The Seattle EcoUrban Village (SEV) formed in a moment of frustration (as do many great inventions). Constantly denied affordable housing rentals because of graduate student status, yet needing affordable housing because of the same, SEV looked around for a better way and found intentional community then cooperative home ownership.

We feel the cooperative housing model is the best opportunity for artists, students, single mothers, the working poor, and others to obtain affordable home ownership. Recently, in connecting with friends and consultants, we began to examine existing artist housing models (like ArtSpace) to inquire, is the renter-landlord model the best housing model for artists or is it contributing to neighborhood gentrification?

SEV also connected with Alec Hill of the Tree of Life Collective, a bioregional workers’ collective in Central Vermont dedicated to transforming human systems of food production, ecological sustainability, dissipating traditional economy, and making more time for celebrating life!

As our ad hoc consultant, Alec recently gifted SEV with these consideration:

Artist Internship with Tree of Life Collective

The Tree of Life Collective (TLC) is a nonprofit workers collective of artists in Montpelier, VT that works to “create social change around the principles of bioregionalism, social ecology, and spiritual resonance with the Earth”. TLC is offering a opportunity to learn jewelry making techniques in titanium, a reactive metal that changes color when anodized. The intern will also have an opportunity to make a liveable income in a non-hierarchical environment and contribute to social projects. For more information, read the Tree of Life Artist Internship flyer then contact contact TLC.

Dreamtime Transformative Arts Festival

The Dreamtime Festival is a collaborative festival in Paonia, Colorado that combines the educational aspects of a conference and tradeshow with the celebratory aspects of music, dance, theatre, film and and visual art. With live performances by world-class bands, workshops on themes of sustainability, personal development, individual and social responsibility, holistic healing and gift economy, participants in Dreamtime Festival “dream the future together, and create a magical and unforgettable experience that serves ourselves and the world.”

The festival runs July 19-22, 2007 and tickets can be purchased through the Dreamtime website. To learn more visit the Dreamthefuture tribe.

A Comparative Guide to Cooperative Home Ownership

The cooperative is a resident-owned housing model that has been successful since the first housing cooperative in the late 1800s (NAHC, 2007). In a cooperative, residents own shares (their apartments) and a corporation (a nonprofit or for-profit organization formed by the resident-owners) owns the apartment building. Together the the resident-owners and corporation make operating decisions about their community.

Below is a quick comparison chart that compares cooperative ownership against renting, single family home ownership, and condo ownership

Types	Cooperative	Rental	Single Family	Condominium
Ownership	The residents are shareholders in a corporation that owns the property. Owning a share entitles you to occupy a unit.	Tenants own nothing. On expiration of lease, tenants may be forced to vacate.	Owners acquire individual title to their dwellings and yard.	Unit “airspace” owned by individual, plus an undivided share of common elements.
Monthly Cost	Members pay the Co-op for their share of the actual operating cost, building mortgage, and real estate taxes, based on the non-profit operation of entire community.	Tenants pay rent specified in lease.	Owner must make his or her purchases of whatever is needed, often at higher retail costs. Owner makes mortgage and tax payments to lender.	Same as cooperative, except mortgage payments and taxes are paid directly to the lender.
Move-in Cost	New members buy their share in the cooperative and also pay the first monthly charge in advance.	Usually one month’s rent is paid as a security deposit, plus the first month’s rent.	Purchaser must buy the property, usually with a mortgage with a down payment of at least 5% and closing costs of 3% or more.	Same as single family, plus first month’s condo fee and often a “contribution to capital” of 1-2 months’ fee.
Community Control	Co-op resident members elect their board of directors, which decides all policy matters. The Board usually sets up several committees to help run the community.	Renters usually have no voice at all in establishing and maintaining community standards.	Individual owners have no jurisdiction over their neighbors.	Condo owners, like cooperatives, elect a board of directors.
Community Service	Co-ops provide a natural base for service and activity desired by its members.	Provided at discretion of landlords.	On your own.	Condos similar to co-ops, unless limited by state law.
Federal Tax Benefits to Individuals	Your share of mortgage interest and real estate taxes are deductible on personal income tax return.	No benefit.	Mortgage interest and real estate taxes are deductible on personal income tax return.	Mortgage interest and real estate taxes are deductible on personal income tax return.

chart: NAHC

References

National Association of Housing Cooperatives, http://www.coophousing.org/about_nahc.shtml

Increasing Diversity in Intentional Community

 

Introduction

Intentional Community (IC) is a way of sharing housing and resources with people who share similar values. The IC model presents a significant opportunity to reduce living costs and pollution intake and output. For these two reasons alone, IC should be one of the most attractive living models for communities of color, which generally experience poverty and environmental injustice in greater numbers than European-Americans (Heiman, 1996) .

But because of some of the preconceived ideas about IC, and because of the traditional values held by many people of color, many intentional communities have a difficult time attracting and retaining people of color.

This Ain’t Your Momma’s Hippie Commune

One of the commonly held preconceived notions about IC in traditional communities of color is that intentional community is just a dressed-up, 21st century concept for old-style, 1960s-era hippie communes where white folks with long-hair do recreational drugs and refuse to bathe. Because of the global dispersion of intentional communities, there are a wide range of communites reflecting a variety of living styles including IC communities with all the amenities of urban living such as high-speed internet, e-mail, public transportation, and cable television.

Accomplishments & Goals for Week Ending 060107

GOALS FOR THE WEEK ENDING 6/1/07

• Connect with CL contacts from week 2
• Write a new CL ad and post in a new category (categories previously used include Artists and Groups)
• Join Flickr Groups
• Post project description on Idealist.org
• Find & join (free) local permaculture, sustainable living, intentional community groups
• Post project description on Intentional Communities
• Re-read Apex’s organizing history
• V-market (through word-of-mouth) on WordPress, Blogger, Flickr, MySpace, etc. and find more viral marketing outlets