David Eisenberg & The Future of Building/s

Published Wednesday, November 25, 2009 by Dan Gainsford | E-mail this post

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Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Location: Tucson, AZ

Yesterday having gotten my van back on the road, I met with David Eisenberg of the Development Center for Appropriate Technology. Sitting in the shade of some trees within a dry riverbed we launched into a beautiful on-camera dialog. We explored the idea of planning holistically for seven generations, and the idea that the most important interests to represent these days are the interests of future generations. In David's case, his eleven year old grandson.

Under the occasional rumble of military aircraft, we spoke about how much of the current system that produces the regulations and building codes that govern building and development are dominated by participants serving private interests rather than the public interest. Though there are plenty of opportunities for public interests to weigh in on codes and regulations, the public interest is often treated essentially as a special interest. Because of how the rules are written governing the need for "balance," those representing the public interest are typically in the minority in these public processes, as part of the "general" category of participants. The other two basic groups of participants are those representing two typically private interests sectors - producers and users, and since no one category of participants can have a majority, those purely representing the public interest are always in the minority.

David spoke to a vision of the future of building codes/regulations that would take the larger issues of our built environment and the long term viability and sustainability into greater consideration. Although the work is not always glamorous and 'fun,' to affect change at this higher level is to affect change all the way down to the cornerstones of our built environment. Imagine a world where profit driven interests are still served and stable while at the same time we are able to manage and take a holistic view of our supply streams, building waste streams, and structure lifespan and ecological/human impact.

Perhaps it's a tall order, but one worth pursuing, since it would affect our overall ability to adapt and respond ecologically far into our future. The argument against such new building codes seems to often be one of economic costs, however, I would argue that there are potentially huge economic benefits as well. It becomes a streamlining of the system to minimize not only unintended consequences but also waste streams that have negative economic impacts down the line. In this converging and increasingly global economy it only makes sense to realize that there is no such thing as AWAY and every shortcut here will eventually affect us there. If we are to truly look at the future of generations to come, now is the time to make key choices in how we move forward.

One major obstacle is money.. finding the money to make it all happen. David and I share a laugh as we talk about the limitations of money. Money is stopping us from accomplishing so much in the here and now. Money and debt has placed limitations on our ability to adapt for the possibly impending future. But in the end, money is just an idea... a paradigm... a man made construct just like a building code. We can change this idea any time we want, and the irony and paradox is, we can probably make a lot of money building a new paradigm beyond money. ;-)

When our grandchildren look up at us and ask, "Why didn't you do something to save what was truly REAL and CONSEQUENTIAL?"... it will be a real shame if we find ourselves replying, "Well we just weren't able to change our ideas regarding what mattered most to us."

peace,d

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