Post date: Oct 14, 2014 1:11:03 PM
My sister reminds me that I have not written about the neighborhood or neighbors or community. So here is my chance.
Geographically, we are down the riverbank from the historic town plaza onto the river bottom. Of course this river has probably not flowed for ten thousand years, since the ice age. But it looks like a flood plain - flat, mostly grassy (or with thistles now), overgrazed, with occasional trees. The satellite view clearly supports this as a flat, green area flowing out of Taos Pueblo towards the Rio Grande, set in a field of brown. However, the water table is now about six feet below the surface.
When we bought the property three years ago there were only three houses, and it seemed quite suburban. Now, with more built, they seem cheek-to-jowl. Most are in a big circle, with common land in the middle, the Common House on the north side and the common barn on the west. To the south of this property is a town park that gets walkers - often with dogs - frequently during the day.
In one corner of the park - nearest our community barn - is a flock of goats, nominally tended by a group of Vietnam veterans. So far I have only seen one person with the goats, and he does not look old enough to be a vet of that war, but he is a very good salesman. There seem to be too many goats in too small an enclosure, with three small open sheds for protection.
This goat group also has a well and a small garden - though it is a bit late in the season to tell what might be growing. The goats are friendly and attract visitors.
In addition to the housing community, there is an irrigation ditch (acequia, in Spanish) that runs through my part of the subdivision. This ditch has not run with water for years, but I still pay annual dues and should work one day a year cleaning the ditch. Missed that work day, too.
I have been staying in the large, finished and furnished, but not yet occupied house of one of the community members. This is extremely convenient for me, as I can walk to shops, cafés, two groceries, the town plaza, library, and the architect.
Most of the residents are still either building or settling in. The exceptions are the two houses that were here three years ago. (The third house built then is the Common House - for meetings, meals, and laundry.)
Only two gardens even remotely appear settled - the others look like piles of dirt and rocks, or sprout freshly planted greenery and very visible drip irrigation tubes. Some residents are actively learning what grows here, and others leave that to the landscaper. Nothing really exceptional for a new subdivision!
Thus the neighborhood residents have not had the energy to build a strong community yet. The core group has been together for six years and have met every month plus a monthly work day. I made my first monthly meeting in person (I have attended others via Internet for three years) but have never attended a work day, and will miss the next one, too.
The members are friendly, though. I’ve been invited over for dinner a couple of times, invited out to dinner, and given tours of all the finished houses. Most are quite nice inside. Three, in particular, have a very nice, consistent style that is well executed. Two of these are quite upscale, one obviously, the other more subtly.
Most of my neighbors are artists. Several are or were academics. Most do oil painting and have studios with northern light. Two have sewing rooms and do patchwork and/or appliqué.
Given the fact that most of these artists are probably introverts (like me) and that they are both settling in to a new house and still trying to produce works of art, I’m not surprised at the apparent lack of socialization. True, most stop and greet on their way to the Common House to pick up their mail or walk the dog. But, then, I’m still somewhat of an outsider and definitely a newcomer.
A recent item on the meeting agenda has been conflict management. I’m not at all sure what brought this up, but conflicts are sure to arise among neighbors, and it is wise to learn how to deal with conflict amicably.
This community is advertised as supporting sustainable housing. That topic alone is likely to raise conflicts, since the concept of sustainability is somewhat of a religion and not crisply defined. In my view, it distracts from the more important concept of community. If we can learn to live together, and consider the rest of the world as an extension of our community, then sustainability will follow. If we consider the materials and techniques that we use to build our individual houses as primary, then we will not build community.
We have a big task to build community among this group who live in close proximity to one another. While physically a neighborhood, we must become a social neighborhood, too.