C I T YC I T YI D E A LI D E A L

B Y S H E Y E N N E R I V E R SB Y S H E Y E N N E R I V E R S

Ideal Cit ies are smal l in s ize and populat ion, sustainable

and self-suff ic ient. They are al l located in the fert i le

belt of the world so each City can grow its own food.

The physical layouts are based on the ancient layout

of smal l towns, which had a town square that was the

physical and social center. In Ideal Cit ies the layout is

radial , unless geological factors dictate otherwise. At

the very heart of the Ideal City is the city green space.

Surrounding the green space is a r ing of shops and

communal bui ldings, such as the l ibrary, and around

that a belt of green parks with the four schools equal ly

spaced. The next r ing is the housing circle, which is where

the farming streaks begin radiat ing out towards the outer

edge of the city. Along the very outer l imits of the city

are the barns and pastures for the animals to graze as

wel l as the government bui ldings and storage spaces.

I N T R O D U C T I O NI N T R O D U C T I O N

I D E A L SI D E A L S

The ideals of the current culture have changed a lot

compared to the previous era. People are less concerned

with consuming and care more about the qual i ty of their

l ives. We now l ive in harmony with the planet. L ike some

smal l towns in the past people are concerned with the

wel l being of their neighbors.

Work ethic is ingrained into the culture of today. From a

young age chi ldren are expected to help with harvest ing

and work on the farms. Their jobs are smal l , easy and f i t

for their age. This al lows chi ldren to contr ibute to Ideal

City and learn important l i fe sk i l l s . Everyone in Ideal

City understands the importance of populat ion and that

having more chi ldren than a few chi ldren is unnecessary.

Safe sex is common knowledge and is practiced be al l ,

e l iminat ing unplanned pregnancies. There are many

forms of safe and effect ive birth control avai lable.

Jealousy, greed and sometimes necess i ty were the

leading causes of v iolence and cr ime in the previous

era. In Ideal City where people want for nothing but

knowledge, therefore these things do not exist . There

is no money is Ideal City, t rading is al lowed. No one is

denied the necess i t ies for l i fe such as food and shelter.

E D U C A T I O NE D U C A T I O N

Schools are hands-on and real l i fe sk i l l s and knowledge

of the world are integrated into the curr iculum. They are

based off the idea of the one room schoolhouse, where

al l ages are in a shared learning space. Rather than

being divided by grades, chi ldren are taught at the level

they’re at. The four schools North, East, South and West

are located in the second r ing of Ideal City, with plenty

of green space in between for learning, social iz ing and

playing. Each school has dif ferent areas of learning and

chi ldren move between them as needed.

Education does not stop when chi ldren leave school.

Everyone in Ideal City is encouraged to continue learning

their ent i re l ives. Lectures are held often by locals with

a great knowledge of a part icular subject. Travel ing

lecturers go on tours to other cit ies. Because people in

Ideal City are always eager to share what they know and

learn something new.

Each Ideal City has a health center, which has the

equipment to deal with everything from checkups,

minor in jur ies and ser ious health concerns. The health

center i s fu l ly staffed with at least two doctors, nurses,

dent ists , orthodontists , dermatologists , chiropractors,

acupunctures and other special ized healers. Everyone in

Ideal City is healthy now that we have the technology

and knowledge to cure everything from the common

cold to cancer. Al l health services are of course f ree and

al l healers are always on cal l .

H E A L T HH E A L T H

L E I S U R EL E I S U R E

Leisure t ime and culture is important at Ideal City that is

why every City has an indoor per formance venue in the

city center. This i s a large space avai lable for any k ind of

event f rom plays and concerts to art shows and dances.

In the very heart of the city there is a large green space

that is used as a communal gather ing place. The green

commons is also used for sports events as wel l as other

outdoor events. The l ibrary is in the f i rst r ing complete

with a very expansive col lect ion of electronic books,

magazines, a select ion of pr inted books and computers,

avai lable 24/7.

Art i s just a part of everyday l i fe in Ideal City. People

are constant ly creating. Most people know how to play

several instruments and groups of people can often be

found in the center green space creating music. There

is the option of the l i teral hand crafted method l ike the

ones common in ancient t imes and more technological

methods that use machines. People can mold plast ic

l ike mater ials into vi r tual ly anything, create garments

with per fect ly st i tched l ines, make robotic and computer

parts and use 3-D pr inters.

Every Ideal City has green streaks where food is raised for

the town. The farming is done natural ly without synthet ic

pest icides or herbicides. B iodynamic techniques and

rotat ing crops are a few of the techniques used for a

healthy harvest. In biodynamic growing makes a diverse,

wel l -balanced ecosystem within the green streaks. Ideal

City uses fermented manure, herbs and minerals to

create fert i le land and f lavor ful nutr i t ious food. People

rotate working on the farm and everyone who is able

helps with the harvest, much l ike in ancient t imes. Al l

Ideal Cit ies make a surplus of food to be stored and

saved. Some goes to the Group’s research teams.

In the fourth r ing of Ideal City is where a smal l number of

animals are kept for mi lk, eggs, to create mater ial out of

their hair and bees for honey and pol l inat ion. When an

animal dies of old age al l parts are used. Animals are not

needed as a protein source; everyone in Ideal City has a

balanced diet f rom plants.

A G R I C U L T U R EA G R I C U L T U R E

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R E U S ER E U S E

There is no such thing as waste in Ideal City. Everything

is either reused or when i t has reached the end of i ts l i fe

i t i s composted or recycled and reborn as something

new. Even after al l th is t ime there are st i l l a few sort ing

projects left . Groups of people and robots s i f t and sort

the mater ials left f rom the previous era. At this point we

have discovered ways to deal with al l mater ials in a way

that is sustainable and beneficial .

Al l Ideal Cit ies use solar power. Rainwater and snowmelt

are col lected and stored for use in the cit ies. With no

pol lut ion rainwater is once again pure. That water wi l l be

reused as grey water throughout Ideal City. This means

water used for bathing and washing is used for water ing

plants and for toi lets.

Human waste and other organic mater ials , which were

once discarded, are now used to create the per fect

compost. Human remains are returned to the earth in

their natural state. People remember those that have

passed on with memorials in their homes.

In the city people do not own their own cars. S ince the

city is smal l everyone walks or r ides a bicycle. In Ideal

City there are no roads, only paths in the grass. Large

loads of goods are transported us ing hand or bicycle

drawn carts. There is publ ic t ransportat ion such as t rains

and buses for t r ips outs ide the city. The government

provides and cares for a smal l number of cars for

citywide use. Al l t ransportat ion is eff ic ient and does not

harm the environment.

T R A N S P O R TAT I O NT R A N S P O R TAT I O N

G O V E R N M E N TG O V E R N M E N T

Since each Ideal City is smal l there is no need for a

government in the tradit ional sense. Each Ideal City

has i ts own local Group that keeps Ideal City running

eff ic ient ly and maintaining transportat ion as wel l as

the ent i re town. Everyone in Ideal city learns conf l ict

resolut ion at a young age, so each cit izen knows how

to handle matters of disagreement i f they should occur.

There is a counci l , which spearheads research endeavors,

gather ing the greatest minds across the Cit ies to make

new advancements for al l Ideal Cit ies. Members are

only able to be on the counci l one term before wait ing

another ful l term before reapplying.

Everyone’s pr imary job is taking care of the community

by doing communal jobs such as tending the f ields,

car ing for the animals and keeping Ideal City clean.

There is a rotat ing schedule of jobs with dif ferent levels

that take into many var iables l ike age. Chi ldren do

s imple jobs such as col lect ing eggs, running errands and

ass ist ing with the harvest.

Ideal City people can choose their secondary job. Some

people prefer to do one specif ic job al l of the t ime, l ike

baking bread everyday for the City and others l ike to do

many dif ferent jobs. Teaching is a very important job in

Ideal City. Teachers receive special t raining and always

st r ive to come up with innovative ways to teach.

O C C U P A T I O N SO C C U P A T I O N S

A R C H I T E C T U R EA R C H I T E C T U R E

Sustainabi l i ty i s one of the top concerns of Ideal City,

therefore bui lding mater ials and new bui ldings are

careful ly considered. Every bui lding has the highest

eff ic iency poss ible and ut i l i zes the natural surroundings

such as sunl ight and rainfal l . Al l bui ldings are al l bui l t

us ing sustainable resources that wi l l not harm the

environment. The bui ldings are eff ic ient for the cl imate

they are in.

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There are a number of bui lding methods avai lable such

as st raw bale and eathships, which are bui l t with reused

t i res that have not been recycled. At the beginning of

an Ideal City everyone who needs a home gets to design

there own and decide on what sort of bui lding method

they would l ike to use. Those wel l versed in architecture

and engineer ing are avai lable to ass ist and look over

plans.

The f i rst step in creating a sustainable bui lding is

conservat ion of resources. Everything must be eff ic ient

and renewable. Insulat ion is also important to bui lding

an eff ic ient bui lding. A thick foundation, wel l - insulated

wal ls and roof are a few of the ways many bui ldings in

ideal city keep a comfortable temperature with minimal

heating and cool ing. Straw bale bui ldings and earthships

are two examples of common bui lding methods that

have extra thick wal ls . Pass ive solar design is also widely

used. This i s when elements in the bui lding l ike st ructure

and layout take ful l advantage of the sun for warmth and

l ight. Many roofs in Ideal City have solar panels.

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Ideal City takes place after the col lapse of civ i l i zat ion,

as we know it . After l iv ing in temporary and unorganized

groups the smal l number of survivors gathered together

to come up with the per fect way to l ive that would

ensure a long last ing civ i l i zat ion that worked with the

earth instead of against i t . This book is a col lect ion of

those ideas that created the Ideal City.

Richard Wolff descr ibes in his book Occupying the

Economy how we need to go beyond capital ism, I

bel ieve we need to go even further. We need a new way

of thinking and with i t a new society. I th ink we should

take the DIY movement, mentioned in Brent Luvaas book

DIY Sty le to the next level. In my ideal city everyone

makes what they want and need on an individual level .

I also agree with Stacy Mitchel l ’s Big Box Swindle , in Ideal

City chains, big box stores do not exist .

C O N N E C T I O N SC O N N E C T I O N S

R E F E R E N C E SR E F E R E N C E S

Occupying the Economy By Richard Wolff

Big Box Swindle By Stacy Mitchel l

DIY Sty le: Fashion, Music and Global Digital Cultures By

Brent Luvass

The Host By Stephenie Meyer

Gatt ica Screenplay & Directed By Andrew Niccol

Oak Val ley School

Dana Sawyer

Earthship.com

Energy.com

Uwgb.edu

301monroe.com

Biodynamics.com

A N T H R O P O L O G Y 2 A N T H R O P O L O G Y 2

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M A I N E C O L L E G E O F A R TM A I N E C O L L E G E O F A R T