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What we are doing here in the
social system is a bit like zonation in permaculture. It is
designing levels of resolution for the individual or family
social activities relative to their intensity of use. The
social components are sited so that activities can be
contained at various levels in relation to the family (and
the amount of resources and level of complexity will also
influence the siting). (Things we do quite regularly are
done in the local levels: the family or the neighboiurhood
level. Infrequent activites are sited a long way away). The
things that we want to do all the time are close to us,
found at the level of the individual family or the
nieghbourhood, or at the level of several hundred houses. So
the tennis court might be close, but the things we want to
do only now and again rarely are a long way away. So it is
lesser intensity of use as distance increases.
This is identifying,
designing and laying out the components of the social system
in relation to the individual. So that the individual is at
the centre of the system.
THE ECONOMIC SYSTEM
Then we can go to the
economic system. We can say: where do our goods and services
come from ? We get so many things from such a long way away.
We get food from the other side of the world too often. If
the things that we need everyday we get from a long way
away, then we are going to have to pollute and waste
everyday to get them. There is a lot of pollution and waste
in a food producing system that comes from a long way
away.
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