College student dorms would be run like intentional communities with shared resources (like cars and snowblowers) and structured time together (meals) and each dorm would be paired with a group of elders or children to pour into (afterschool care in the basement, visits to a nursing home with people they get to know for four whole years). People graduate with community skills and intergenerational connections and the local community benefits
THIS. IS. GENIUS. It would be so great to build this in at the college level because so many people would come out with stronger muscles for interdependent living.
I love this. Our local library has an “unusual items” check out list full of things like snowblowers and weedwackers and pasta makers so not everyone has to buy these huge investment items but still has access.
Yesssss! My partner and I rewilded our lawn a couple of years ago. It’s lovely. We have so many diverse pollinators. The main issue now is just staying ahead of the weeds/the grass that wants to grow back.
Let's bring back community dining. There's a dining hall in every neighborhood (definition of "neighborhood" TBD), everyone takes turns making it happen with cooking/cleaning/setup/etc. There are different ways to make it happen so everyone can contribute somehow, even kids and especially teens, but when you hit a certain age or are disabled or sick or injured you get to opt-out of the physical labor and let everyone take care of you. But most of the time, you don't have to do anything but show up and eat, because we're sharing the labor and taking advantage of economies of scale. Showing up is still participating, because there are long tables to encourage mingling outside of your family, and the elders tell stories while you eat, and there are babies to be held and children to teach table manners to. You can still cook dinner at your own place, but when you do, it's because you're making a choice to. Or eat at restaurants if you want, but there are a lot fewer restaurants because the community dining hall is such a great place to be. We're combining our efforts to make less work for everyone and creating social events and safe places for teenagers to hang out and for elders to have some company.
I've had a few things come up in recent weeks that have gotten me thinking about conflict resolution/online moderation/de-escalation tactics and I feel like more people need to be trained somehow in these things to make our communities more open and functional. The people who are good at these things are really good and make it look easy, but I know it's not (especially as a naturally conflict averse person). For example, it is the difference between having a tool library shared between some friends who have shared trust and accountability, to opening up your tool library to your whole neighborhood and being equipped to not have everything collapse because one person hoards the tools
This is such important thinking — exploring how we respond when conflict arises. Have you been in an actual situation where somebody is hoarding tools in a tool library? How did people respond?
Currently, public schools in the US are paid for by local taxes, and school districts and school catchment boundaries are often drawn around wealthy neighborhoods, so that wealthy tax payers are funding only a few schools where their children attend. Larger districts, that include both wealthy and poor neighborhoods— for example, a school district that includes a city and its suburbs — would mean that all of those children would attend schools that have the same funding and the same standards. Also, people would have more housing options, without worrying that their children’s schooling depended on the family living in a particular (expensive) place.
I LOVE THIS POST. I've got a million suggestions, but how about a humane, federal paid parental leave? Maybe we start with 6 weeks and ratchet it up to four months over a period of five years to help employers navigate the change?
This is such an interesting idea. I currently live in a small town where our preschool is in a community center , and there are often lots of activities dominated by retired folks (like pickleball/yoga/etc) in the community space, but there hasn’t been an effort to mix these groups. But it would be really very easy!
I propose a community yellow pages book. Underneath various tasks (grocery shopping, shoveling, etc) there’s someone’s number you can call if you need help.
Ooh! I want to play! Ok, so US towns/suburbs will become walkable, so you can get to all your shopping, schooling, maybe even work on foot. We can have more public outdoor spaces - not just like a playground but a town square kind of feel, maybe a community center that is well maintained because everyone feels like they have ownership. And of course, because it's me, I would magic wand a regular community gathering around physical exercise (Park Run or just people regularly taking walks after dinner). People are inside too much. We should just go home to sleep.
It’s so dreamy to imagine living in a place with like a literal public plaza with cafés around the edges and a park in the middle. Parents can chat over coffee or a glass of wine while their kids play, and we get to run into all our neighbors.
Yes. This. I think of the plazas i spent time at in Spain, Italy, Columbia— with families eating in restaurants or chatting over coffee or drinks and kids in the plaza on bikes and running around or drawing with chalk etc — ahhh why dont we have this
This post made me think about an event some rad folks in my community organized last year. They held it at the Oddfellows hall, and it was about approaching our political process through art. They invited artists to set up tables or stations where participants could engage in different creative ways around topics like voting and public policy-making.
It was such a great idea. I had a table inviting folks to do an embodied activity that was kind of a trust-walk/radical-listening combo. There was a lino-cut printmaking table where people made t- shirts with political images and slogans. There was a table for writing poems to legislators.
Since the organizers were all on the far left, it ended up being a lot about protesting the current administration. I'm all about that, but I think it would also be cool if events like this were more frequent and more inclusive of a range of views. Maybe a monthly gathering?
Love this… my idea is more part time work options in all fields. A lot of disabled people, parents, elders, want to be able to contribute to their fields without the obligation of working 40hr weeks (myself included).
YES YES YES! And making sure that part time work provides health insurance. And adding an option for working towards Public Service Loan Forgiveness while doing part time work in relevant fields (instead of full time work being a requirement for this type of loan forgiveness)!
Totally! It would be so amazing to be able to have a part-time job with benefits. And I could not agree with the PSLF part more -- not least because requiring full time work also means that so many people with disabilities are ineligible.
I also dream of a world where people are taught things that are universally needed in school… like how to drive, cook, pay taxes, etc. But being a meteorologist, I also wish there was a more weather and climate literacy goals in primary education. I think it would help with both weather safety and climate action.
So many good ideas! I especially love the idea of civil service for young people.
I know this idea is not quite in the circle of consensus (yet?) but I think it would be awesome for society on many levels if plant-based food became the default everywhere. I think it would be so cool if schools, restaurants, workplaces, etc defaulted to plants automatically, and then if someone wanted to have dairy or eggs, they would have to go out of their way a little bit and those things would be considered more of a special occasion food. I’m imagining there would be amazing plant based dupes for meat and dairy in this future, so no one would feel like they were missing out. This shift could have huge impacts on carbon emissions, public health, reducing antibiotic resistance, and creating a kinder society for animals too.
I think more community spaces would be helpful, where people with different beliefs and opinions can meet each other. In our little village, there's a monthly gathering, and it's a great place to realize that people I usually wouldn't talk to much are actually not that different from me.
Also, not overworking people for arbitrary deadlines set by the clients, in tech where I work and surely other industries as well, would give people more headspace to care for each other and give each other some grace.
In my high school, we all had to take a vocational class (shop, auto repair, sewing, etc.) and it truly built lifelong skills! Let’s make it happen everywhere.
Yes! Lots of high schools are getting rid of these programs (including, I recently learned, the high school I attended) and it is SUCH a bummer and disservice to kids and the community.
In addition to civil service for young people, there should be (preferably mandatory but certainly funded) programs for folks (young or old) to travel, ideally abroad but could also be nationally to understand other contexts. I live in a small city and so many people (the vast majority with financial means) have never left the region and it's just so important to understand that there are other ways to live and we need to see and experience that to even begin imagining what could be possible.
That would be amazing. Truly utopian dreaming, Sarah! On the national level, I could imagine this happening in conjunction with a civil service program -- not so much about going to poverty-impacted areas and performing charity, but more like just going *somewhere* and working in a senior center or daycare or -- dream of all dreams -- combination senior center/daycare center.
College student dorms would be run like intentional communities with shared resources (like cars and snowblowers) and structured time together (meals) and each dorm would be paired with a group of elders or children to pour into (afterschool care in the basement, visits to a nursing home with people they get to know for four whole years). People graduate with community skills and intergenerational connections and the local community benefits
THIS. IS. GENIUS. It would be so great to build this in at the college level because so many people would come out with stronger muscles for interdependent living.
I love this. Our local library has an “unusual items” check out list full of things like snowblowers and weedwackers and pasta makers so not everyone has to buy these huge investment items but still has access.
Pasta maker! 😍
I love this idea!
Rewild our lawns and support those in our communities who grow and craft healthy food.
Yesssss! My partner and I rewilded our lawn a couple of years ago. It’s lovely. We have so many diverse pollinators. The main issue now is just staying ahead of the weeds/the grass that wants to grow back.
Let's bring back community dining. There's a dining hall in every neighborhood (definition of "neighborhood" TBD), everyone takes turns making it happen with cooking/cleaning/setup/etc. There are different ways to make it happen so everyone can contribute somehow, even kids and especially teens, but when you hit a certain age or are disabled or sick or injured you get to opt-out of the physical labor and let everyone take care of you. But most of the time, you don't have to do anything but show up and eat, because we're sharing the labor and taking advantage of economies of scale. Showing up is still participating, because there are long tables to encourage mingling outside of your family, and the elders tell stories while you eat, and there are babies to be held and children to teach table manners to. You can still cook dinner at your own place, but when you do, it's because you're making a choice to. Or eat at restaurants if you want, but there are a lot fewer restaurants because the community dining hall is such a great place to be. We're combining our efforts to make less work for everyone and creating social events and safe places for teenagers to hang out and for elders to have some company.
HELL YES. I want this so bad. I completely long for a community kitchen. Your vision is totally beautiful!
I've had a few things come up in recent weeks that have gotten me thinking about conflict resolution/online moderation/de-escalation tactics and I feel like more people need to be trained somehow in these things to make our communities more open and functional. The people who are good at these things are really good and make it look easy, but I know it's not (especially as a naturally conflict averse person). For example, it is the difference between having a tool library shared between some friends who have shared trust and accountability, to opening up your tool library to your whole neighborhood and being equipped to not have everything collapse because one person hoards the tools
I definitely wish I had better tools for this!
This is such important thinking — exploring how we respond when conflict arises. Have you been in an actual situation where somebody is hoarding tools in a tool library? How did people respond?
Currently, public schools in the US are paid for by local taxes, and school districts and school catchment boundaries are often drawn around wealthy neighborhoods, so that wealthy tax payers are funding only a few schools where their children attend. Larger districts, that include both wealthy and poor neighborhoods— for example, a school district that includes a city and its suburbs — would mean that all of those children would attend schools that have the same funding and the same standards. Also, people would have more housing options, without worrying that their children’s schooling depended on the family living in a particular (expensive) place.
Hear hear!
I LOVE THIS POST. I've got a million suggestions, but how about a humane, federal paid parental leave? Maybe we start with 6 weeks and ratchet it up to four months over a period of five years to help employers navigate the change?
MAY IT BE SO
Thanks for the shout-out. I vote for co-located day care and elder care please!
This is such an interesting idea. I currently live in a small town where our preschool is in a community center , and there are often lots of activities dominated by retired folks (like pickleball/yoga/etc) in the community space, but there hasn’t been an effort to mix these groups. But it would be really very easy!
YES YES YES
I propose a community yellow pages book. Underneath various tasks (grocery shopping, shoveling, etc) there’s someone’s number you can call if you need help.
Oh my god, this is a SUCH a freaking good idea. We could recruit providers at the community dining hall.
Ooh! I want to play! Ok, so US towns/suburbs will become walkable, so you can get to all your shopping, schooling, maybe even work on foot. We can have more public outdoor spaces - not just like a playground but a town square kind of feel, maybe a community center that is well maintained because everyone feels like they have ownership. And of course, because it's me, I would magic wand a regular community gathering around physical exercise (Park Run or just people regularly taking walks after dinner). People are inside too much. We should just go home to sleep.
It’s so dreamy to imagine living in a place with like a literal public plaza with cafés around the edges and a park in the middle. Parents can chat over coffee or a glass of wine while their kids play, and we get to run into all our neighbors.
Yes. This. I think of the plazas i spent time at in Spain, Italy, Columbia— with families eating in restaurants or chatting over coffee or drinks and kids in the plaza on bikes and running around or drawing with chalk etc — ahhh why dont we have this
100%!
Let's make it happen! Expelliarmus! 🪄 (I don't know Harry Potter so sorry if you have a tail now.)
Lololol
This post made me think about an event some rad folks in my community organized last year. They held it at the Oddfellows hall, and it was about approaching our political process through art. They invited artists to set up tables or stations where participants could engage in different creative ways around topics like voting and public policy-making.
It was such a great idea. I had a table inviting folks to do an embodied activity that was kind of a trust-walk/radical-listening combo. There was a lino-cut printmaking table where people made t- shirts with political images and slogans. There was a table for writing poems to legislators.
Since the organizers were all on the far left, it ended up being a lot about protesting the current administration. I'm all about that, but I think it would also be cool if events like this were more frequent and more inclusive of a range of views. Maybe a monthly gathering?
Oooooooh I love this!!
Love this… my idea is more part time work options in all fields. A lot of disabled people, parents, elders, want to be able to contribute to their fields without the obligation of working 40hr weeks (myself included).
YES YES YES! And making sure that part time work provides health insurance. And adding an option for working towards Public Service Loan Forgiveness while doing part time work in relevant fields (instead of full time work being a requirement for this type of loan forgiveness)!
Totally! It would be so amazing to be able to have a part-time job with benefits. And I could not agree with the PSLF part more -- not least because requiring full time work also means that so many people with disabilities are ineligible.
Even better... universal health coverage so you don't have to be employed to have access to medical care! ;)
True - thanks for pushing me to dream bigger!
I also dream of a world where people are taught things that are universally needed in school… like how to drive, cook, pay taxes, etc. But being a meteorologist, I also wish there was a more weather and climate literacy goals in primary education. I think it would help with both weather safety and climate action.
So many good ideas! I especially love the idea of civil service for young people.
I know this idea is not quite in the circle of consensus (yet?) but I think it would be awesome for society on many levels if plant-based food became the default everywhere. I think it would be so cool if schools, restaurants, workplaces, etc defaulted to plants automatically, and then if someone wanted to have dairy or eggs, they would have to go out of their way a little bit and those things would be considered more of a special occasion food. I’m imagining there would be amazing plant based dupes for meat and dairy in this future, so no one would feel like they were missing out. This shift could have huge impacts on carbon emissions, public health, reducing antibiotic resistance, and creating a kinder society for animals too.
I would love for there to be more affordable, nutritious, delicious meat substitutes!
I think more community spaces would be helpful, where people with different beliefs and opinions can meet each other. In our little village, there's a monthly gathering, and it's a great place to realize that people I usually wouldn't talk to much are actually not that different from me.
Also, not overworking people for arbitrary deadlines set by the clients, in tech where I work and surely other industries as well, would give people more headspace to care for each other and give each other some grace.
Our local YMCA is the most diverse community I am part of.
In my high school, we all had to take a vocational class (shop, auto repair, sewing, etc.) and it truly built lifelong skills! Let’s make it happen everywhere.
Yes! Lots of high schools are getting rid of these programs (including, I recently learned, the high school I attended) and it is SUCH a bummer and disservice to kids and the community.
I may come back with some ideas later, but this conversation makes me think of one of my favorite poems "My Invisible Horse and the Speed of Human Decency" by Matthew Olzmann: https://poets.org/poem/my-invisible-horse-and-speed-human-decency
Love this. Thank you so much for sharing it.
In addition to civil service for young people, there should be (preferably mandatory but certainly funded) programs for folks (young or old) to travel, ideally abroad but could also be nationally to understand other contexts. I live in a small city and so many people (the vast majority with financial means) have never left the region and it's just so important to understand that there are other ways to live and we need to see and experience that to even begin imagining what could be possible.
That would be amazing. Truly utopian dreaming, Sarah! On the national level, I could imagine this happening in conjunction with a civil service program -- not so much about going to poverty-impacted areas and performing charity, but more like just going *somewhere* and working in a senior center or daycare or -- dream of all dreams -- combination senior center/daycare center.
Love it!!