a. Acknowledge Sovereignty – We must establish a basis of authority on which the people can develop the land uninhibited by any legal challenges, and by which destructive construction can no longer happen. It is the people’s right to develop land for long term species vitality, and establishing land sovereignty and transcending the question of ownership or profit, we fully assert this authority given to us by universal law, natural law, common law, and by Constitutional Law.
b. Evaluate Environmentally Sensitive Zone History and Context – Because Austin
was segregated by race, class and wealth, and developed in that manner, it’s worth reviewing the context in which building practices were determined. In no way am I advocating to ignore environmental care (obviously I am serious about actualizing true earth care). It’s possible that some of the more scenic and geographically interesting areas of our city were deemed environmentally sensitive purely to limit the amount of poor citizens who could access them. We need a full scale geological review, to update our information base and context and not rely on old assumptions. This review should explore every available land area that can be developed using modern techniques with long term ecological concerns in mind. This will give us more options in providing equitable access to all areas of Austin.
c. Establish Build-To-Own Single-Family Districts in Every district* – Once all areas
are determined, we must identify the most appropriate areas for single family developments. With these developments arrives the question: who will be the builder? (see below**) These single family developments give us the opportunity to explore new models accessing home-ownership, and experiment with Build-To-Own cooperative construction methods, architecturally beautiful eco-earth-homes, maximum vitality health optimizing designs, all net-zero-earth-resonant construction techniques, most efficient neighborhood water and gardening layouts, Life-Long and Multi-Generational ‘Lease/Stewardship’ programs. (life-long stewardship could be one alternative to outright ownership, giving residents opportunity to live for life in a place without fear of losing their home, while giving them option to pass the residency/stewardship on to their children, or if not, giving the community an opportunity to repurpose the stewardship to another person, if the current resident should permanently leave or die.) *must have close & equitable access to current and new public transit systems.
d. Right to Return families first option – It is logical and fair to provide ample opportunity
for displaced people the right to return to Austin, and move them to the front of the process for residency in the new housing developments of their choosing. No longer will net worth be a barrier to accessing a quality home in a beautiful area.
e. Density Zones are for Vertical Millions, and We can do It Rent Free, No utilities
Costs – Frankly, we cannot afford to screw up the density zones. New buildings like The Fairmont and The Independent are great examples of our failure as a city. Why are we using the density zones for the private profit of limited entities, rather than build vertical for the long term vitality of humanity? How can we claim to be a city that cares for the environment, yet allow vertical monstrosities to be constructed using destructive and toxic ecological practices? Why do we tolerate a City Hall (for decades) that empowers this broken state of affairs? Imagine a different iteration of The Independent. Instead of private ownership, it is owned equally by all citizens of Austin. It is constructed using natural air flow systems, solar glass, grey water recapture, rain water collection, vertical farming/gardening integrations, net-zero energy usage, carbon sequestration concretes, equitable experience design and architecture. And this building includes mainly residential for local people who have contributed to the construction of this project, with either money, time, resources, or labor. We can reserve some units for short term rentals, as an iteration of AustinPeoplesBnB, where profit sharing from rentals is reinvested in the community. We have people-owned shops to showcase creations, art cooperatives, educational and health facilities, gathering centers and community building activities. Can you see with just one imagination, how much of an opportunity we are missing out on? Feel the pain of these mistakes, The Fairmont and The Independent, and now imagine this happening in every density zone in the city, a grim reality where poverty and inequality is worsened, where local people are shoved outside and away, where only the wealthy classes and private real estate interest prevails. I’m not a dystopian, but you can see where our current trend is leading us, and it’s time for us to stand up for ourselves. With the People in charge of developing the density zones, we can build a future that benefits all people and hurts no one. It is not the right of an individual or entity to profit from the land, and therefore it is not a violation of rights to assert the peoples right to develop for maximum freedom and vitality over multi- generational consciousness.
f. **The People’s Development Cooperative – With the acknowledgement that land
belongs to no individual or entity, it makes sense that we would shift our industrial behaviors toward construction and development. This would mean we shift the profit model entirely. In order to establish a Development Cooperative without being feared or opposed by construction workers and relevant skilled laborers, the profit model must be crafted to favor and reward workers more favorably for their contributions, and decentralize the hierarchical model of profit splits. Currently, ‘the lion’s share’ goes toward the owners, rather than the actual skilled expert workers doing the job. With a peoples development cooperative, we have the opportunity to actually spend less and achieve more in terms of worker benefits and ultimately desirable outcomes. Remember, we are co-creating the absolute maximum now, no longer mired in the woes of minimum wage and labor struggle. Again, we honor where we’ve come from and who got us here, yet now we must elevate our prospects if we are to save our species. Note: this People’s Development Cooperative is essentially the establishing of a company, owned by a cooperative trust, comprised of every citizen of Austin. 1 person = 1 point (point meaning unit of measurement to denote percentage share of ownership) — — No person can ever own more than one point of stake in the cooperative, creating a truly equitable scenario for generations to come, since the equal percentages always fluctuate with the population size, which at this point is obviously going up. This 1-1 model of cooperative ownership in a trust, controlled and managed by the people, is an important model we can use to establish a transition system toward our liberation. One by One, with a One- to-One model, we will free ourselves from debt slavery and live sovereign on the land. It’s crucial to also mention that these Cooperative Trusts are NOT new departments or office within the government, they are independent, people-owned systems; this prevents us from repeating historically relevant mistakes of centralizing power and relying on corrupted systems to provide for human vitality. We will truly decentralize the hierarchy and equitize the access to resources through this cooperative, transparent and accountable system.