The New Auckland Super City and its Communities

As is to be expected, a lot is happening in Auckland, Aotearoa/New Zealand now that a new Super City is being created there this year. The implications for local communities are enormous, and new official and community infrastructures are being put in place....

28th June 2010

Janine Benyus – Recognizing What Works: A Conscious Emulation of Life’s Genius

Janine Benyus is one of the essayists from the book What We See: Advancing the Observations of Jane Jacobs, which was reviewed on village-connections.

She is President of Biomimicry Institute "which promotes learning from and then emulating natural forms, processes, and ecosystems to create more sustainable and healthier human technologies and designs....

25th June 2010

What We See: Advancing the Observations of Jane Jacobs – book review

I was sent the book What We See: Advancing the Observations of Jane Jacobs to review.  There will be more material from essays in this inspirational book in future Village Connections Blogs....

22nd June 2010

“Strong Sustainability” Excerpts

The following are excerpts from the visionary scenario described in the booklet, Strong Sustainability for New Zealand – Principles and Scenarios (link to pdf)

This scenario, in part 4 of the booklet, envisages a situation in which “the conditions for strong sustainability have been met” and is written “from the perspective of a person at that future time (date not specified) who is describing things as they are and commenting on the changes that have taken place.

“Like all scenarios, this one is not intended to be predictive....

18th June 2010

Lectures on Ancient Greek Economy & Leisure

Lecture 2, Aristotle

by John Gallagher (MA)

First presented in an Adult Education course for the Workers’ Educational Association in 1982 in Christchurch, New Zealand, the following lecture was the second of a series on Social Change and Human Beliefs.

This lecture summarizes some of the features of Aristotle’s political thought and the Greek environment in which it developed that might usefully be thought about in the present period e....

11th June 2010