This unfinished Arizona 'futuristic hippie commune' has a problem

FOX News ^ | By Christopher Carbone

[Red Badger]

In the middle of Arizona's desert lies something unexpected: a rather strange, unfinished "city of the future."

Jutting out of the vast, barren Sonoran Desert and reachable only by car, Arcosanti's domes and curved structures look like something imagined up by a science fiction writer.

There's one big problem, however: The project is reportedly only 5 percent complete.

A nonprofit group called the Cosanti Foundation has been working for decades to create a city that would inspire the future of urban design by incorporating a range of environmentally-friendly features to reduce sprawl and minimize the need for cars while harnessing solar power and natural vegetation to energy reduce costs (sic).

[dfwgator]

[Mr Rogers]

"Each year, 50,000 people visit Arcosanti...but only about 80 residents call the city home."

Oh well.

I guess I've driven past it hundreds of times without noticing. About 60-70 miles north of Phoenix, just off of I-17.

[Red Badger]

Just follow your nose....................

[who_would_fardels_bear]

I visited twice. The only real addition between my visits (which were spaced more than ten years apart) was a nice café.

When I went there the first time they had built at least two of the archways. One was brightly painted and the other was already fading. The main source of discussion in the community seemed to be whether the brightly painted arch was better or worse than the faded one.

The general consensus was that the faded one was better.

The general consensus should have been that there were more important issues than the paint on the archways.

[I want the USA back]

Hippie communes live off other peoples’ money. They are too stoned and lazy to work, so they get welfare money or checks from dad. The government feels sorry for them, and gives them money.

No sympathy from me. You get stoned, you don’t work, your hair is host to multiple civilizations of lice, you do nothing useful with your life. Your beard contains fossil remains of every meal you’ve had since you grew a beard. One good thing about you, however. Your sweat actually kills mosquitoes in flight.

[McGavin999]

I have a couple of Solari bells. They are hand made, beautiful and the sound they produce is incredible. Never been up to their city though

[tbw2]

Nor is it the only such case.
Masdar’s zero-carbon dream could become world’s first green ghost town
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/feb/16/masdars-zero-carbon-dream-could-become-worlds-first-green-ghost-town

[Red Badger]

In the desert as well...............

[tbw2]

They actually tried ... and failed, too.

Masdar’s zero-carbon dream could become world’s first green ghost town
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/feb/16/masdars-zero-carbon-dream-could-become-worlds-first-green-ghost-town

[crz]

Never watched that movie.

[crz]

There was a commune just north of Lake Havasu.

They all lived in campers and walked around without much on for clothes.

I heard that the locals got together and kicked them to hell out.

[hanamizu]

hippie reinvent-the-wheel route.

---

Of course they didn’t invent the commune either. Amana, Oneida were two of several communes founded in the 19th century that were successful for a time. Trouble is the passage of time. The first and second generation might be enthusiastic, but the third—the grandchildren of the founders, not so much. The Shakers were a bit of an exception—since they didn’t allow sex, they had to grow by constant recruitment. Surprisingly the held on for more than 200 years. Last I heard there were only 3 or 4 left.

[Parley Baer]

“about a mile of I-17....I was thinking this place was in the middla nowhere”

Exactly. The writer of the article is an idiot. I would not exactly call that desert country either.

[hinckley buzzard]

It is not really in the Sonoran Desert. It is well to the north of Phoenix, in the Verde Valley, higher elevation and a year around river iirc. Semi arid but more normal vegetation. It was begun at least as far back as the seventies, maybe even the late sixties. The originators are all probably dead or gone by now.

[catnipman]

ROTFLOL!

[AppyPappy]

One of my friends tried to live there. They kicked her out for being crazy.

[Lean-Right]

This strikes me as beiing odd also.
You would at least plant trees
that offer shade to offset the
heat the structures absorb.

[dirtymac]

“reachable only by car”

Is that supposed to mean that this is a really isolated community?

90% of the entire civilized world is only reachable by car. No passenger trains, no commercial airport so no traveling by plane, and no harbor so you can’t get there by boat.

Stupid, as is appropriate for these dimwits in the desert.

[sphinx]

The definition of terms is important here. The best known "contemporary" alternative communities, defined as groups that intentionally live by a consciously different code, are probably the Amish, Mennonites, and Mormons. And monasteries, of course. These obviously differ a great deal in their level of integration with the broader society. There are many smaller groups that also march to a different drummer.

Outright communes tend to be relatively short-lived, as they often have difficulty making decisions and reaching agreement on an equitable division of labor. (Too many Bernie Sanders type bums ruin things pretty fast, unless the group is disciplined enough to kick them out). Charismatic leaders can keep things going for a generation or two but don't last forever. A strong religious commitment helps. Strong family structure helps. Recruitment and retention of the young are huge issues. The founding generation may be highly motivated by a shared vision, but the kids tend to go their own way, as is true for kids in the wider society as well.

Alternative communities are interesting experiments. They should not be scorned; people are putting themselves on the line to try to make something work, and the worst that can happen is that they learn something. I have zero respect for the Occupy drum circle types, or the members of hippie crash houses living on food stamps and drug dealing. I have great respect for the tie-dyed hippie who runs a quirky bookstore or crunchy granola bakery in some small town. The latter are successful small businessmen and are usually good neighbors. More power to them. Not everybody needs to be a cubicle rat or corporate climber.

[Oatka]

Masdar’s zero-carbon dream could become world’s first green ghost town

Key sentence: "Only 300 live on-site, all graduate students of the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, who are given free tuition and accommodation.