THE 5 principles..

Thomas Richard, who I am working with and chatting with a lot about the project (its avery positive collaboration to date), is doing some translating for the Stichting and has also translated Louis' 5 principles for me. In summary, here they go:

1. Redevelopment of urban areas should aim to encourage symbiosis;
2. 1% of all territory should be free of planning;
3. This 1% should be developed by harnessing the "Free Energy" of people;
4. Unemployment could be lowered in a natural way by using their "Free energy"
5. Symbiosis with nature and mans free energy offer creative colutions to dealing with issues as they emerge.

These are not entirely right yet. As they stand however I have to say that these are not the most interesting aspects of the project to me. The most exciting is the 1% free of planning idea, which seems to be the core to me. Like Christiania in Denmark and also Nimbin to some extent in Australia, this 1% could allow for a freedom of space that is vital to ones ability to have a full existence. Individual self determination. Louis also calls this the idea of the "double town", which seems to be a simultaneous town of freedom enmeshed in the real town.

The other day Louis talked to us (see photo above) about this idea of 'Free Enegery". I had thought that this idea was about the persuit of some sort of free behaviour, the right to a sort fo active uselessness taht cumulativel came to something. But when I talked to him about it, it started to sound quite protestant - like capitalism wasnt getting everything from the people. They had more "free energy" that should be used somehow. When he said it, I thought "this is recreation - what about being free to be lazy". I have to clarify this idea.

The unemployment angle is a good thing for sure and has been rewarding but I just think that the principles dont get to the nature of the process, but rather are like a speculative utopianism. I think that they reveal the time they were written, whereas now its clear that the energy flow aspects are more precise and the development over time that has actually happened allows for greater articulations. The Culture-Nature Fusion book was good at finding the right pieces of Le Roy's writing.

(As an aside there have been some visits to the 2 projects that I havent been informed about because of the accomodation weirdness, one of whom was one of the authors of this book - a real loss not to meet this gentleman. the accomodation hassles are behind me now, in so far as I am looking after myself so taht I dont get moved all around teh place. Hardly satisfactory but the project is the focus. I will discuss my perceptions of the Stichting later, which arent all negative, but are about the question of "what should an organisation that does the ecocathedral be?" and even, "Is the idea of an organisation against the principles of the process itself?")