By 2050, there will be 9 billion human beings on Earth.
We offer these thoughts:
All human activity should result in the enrichment of all life in the all the world. We should change our mindset from consumption to creative cohabitation.
All buildings should be composed of materials that are beneficial to the well-being of their occupants, harvested in ways that help restore habitats and ecosystems. When materials must be replaced or removed from a building, either by obsolescence or by choice, they should be returned to the community for re-use as a valuable asset.
All buildings should produce more energy than they use, returning the surplus to the community for its beneficial use.
All buildings should collect and purify water for the benefit of the users of the buildings and their sites. Any surplus water leaving the site should be clean enough to drink and be returned to the community in a form and manner that is beneficial to the community.
All buildings should manage their own waste, whether liquid, solid or gaseous, in such a manner that everything of value is used up in its entirety or returned to the community for its beneficial use.
All buildings should be good neighbors to their communities, wherever they may be, enriching the lives of all inhabitants regardless of status.
Expansion of the built environment into open space should stop. Our monetary efforts with respect to where people live and work should be focused on reviving and improving our communities and re-building, improving, and re-inventing our infrastructure. People should live together with clean air and water, peace and quiet, without disease, in places that nourish their bodies and minds.
These are not new ideas. But we should make them our new goals… then work together to achieve them.