Saving the West by Building Community

Poundbury, England

Every generation needs a revolution. I don't mean a violent revolution, but every generation does have at least one battle to fight, because every generation has to fight for freedom. America's battle is not overseas. It's right here, right now, in our country, because it's falling apart. Everything good that our founding fathers and saints built, the great Western civilization founded on the blood of Christ and the martyrs, is in jeopardy of being lost. And we have a noble duty to save it, a crucial mission to make America and the West free again. That is the task of our generation. And that is the mission of Rambling Spirit.

But we need to do more than just talk. As much as I love to write, in the end, it's just words on a page. It's great to share ideas, but we need to do something. We need to be and give a public witness, to live differently and show how our different lifestyles bear tangible fruit in the real world.

That tangible fruit can be a lot of things, but I think one of the best way to make our ideas more concrete is to pour concrete. There are few better ways to showcase the power of an idea than by embodying the idea within our built environment. That is why architecture has always been a profound testament to a society's values. The values of modern society revolves around money, and we see that reality embodied in the edifices all around us that are built mainly for monetary profit.

The problem is, these buildings are not built for sustained profit. They're built to profit the companies that build them, while forgetting about the future generations that will inherit them. This is a precarious structure to build a society upon, and the only way to reinforce it is by proposing some kind of renewal where we begin to rebuild with a motive that's more formidable than profit.

To promote such a renewal, we don't need to tear everything down and start over, because there are already plenty of properties in every town that need to be rebuilt. Instead of trying over and over again to build better communities by developing undeveloped land, we should rehab the abandoned "zombie" properties already within the towns and cities across the U.S., the forgotten properties that could increase the property value of the surrounding area if we simply rebuild or renovate them. Many of these buildings may need to be torn down and rebuilt, but some parts of these abandoned structures can be salvaged.

If we successfully incorporated this kind of renewal in the towns and cities across our nation, the evident resurrection of our built environment could then become a symbol for the rebirth of our civilization. It's falling apart, but there are still some good parts from its earlier years and foundation that we can keep. America is like a distressed building that has fallen on hard times, and needs a rehabber to come revive it while keeping the good elements that have survived.

A community that rehabs these properties and reinvents the space can have a positive influence on the local town, state, country and even the world. But all of this has to start by taking what is good from the past, and refurbishing it into something new and fresh.

In ages past, people built intentionally. The way people used to build represented the culture they were proud to be a part of. Architecture was an expression of the lifestyle that brought meaning to their lives. Classic Americana, Victorian, Romanesque, and one-story ranch homes, for example, all represented a lifestyle, not just a buyer's preference. Traditional architecture is beautiful because it captures something profound and authentic about the people who built it.

I've heard architects and engineers say beautifying buildings is a waste of money, but this mindset represents a sad misunderstanding of beauty. St. Francis of Assisi said, “He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist.” Artistry is not an accessory. It's the valuable work of the everyday laborer who went above and beyond out of love for his craft and culture.

Recent traditional architecture success stories

Despite modern architecture's contemporary prevalence over traditional architecture, love of traditional building styles is still popular, even though you may not notice by looking at the modern landscape. To see the popularity of old architecture, it helps to look to the computer gaming world. In recent decades, the city building gaming genre has exploded with dozens of new twists on the genre. These games celebrate many different styles of architecture, representing different cultures and time periods. For instance, Ubisoft's Anno series has taken off with recent installments like Anno 1800 and Anno 117, which embrace European and Roman architecture from those periods, respectively.

What's being expressed in these video games and many others like them? It's the love of the past. There are games where you can completely immerse yourself in an historic age. There's something to be said about that. We have a palpable nostalgia for the cultures we've lost in this modern, brutalist, nihilistic age.

You may be thinking, "Well, the reason these games are so popular is because the players know there's no way to build as beautifully as we used to in real life. It's just too expensive." But that's not entirely true. Some developers and architecture firms have answered this nostalgia with traditional town designs and new urbanism, as seen in places like Poundbury in England (left), Cayala in Guatamala (middle), Carmel in Indiana (right), and Rosemary Beach in Florida, to name just a few.

These beautiful examples of new urbanism didn't just grab new land and build on it. They redeveloped poorly developed areas. Before they became what they are today, Cayala was just another neighborhood in Guatamala City, and Carmel was a boring, disconnected urban sprawl suburb. The visionaries who built these places saw the problems with modern urban planning, and decided to look further into the past for solutions.

We shouldn't throw away the past

Today's modern culture promotes the idea that every era dies and a new one has to come take its place. But that's not true either. We die, sure. But we can contribute to a legacy that lasts. We are made for an eternal home, and we can build places that reflect our longing for that eternal home, places that are built to last and withstand the test of time. Our hope for that eternal home can help us establish here on earth places that help others see that light, like a beacon that guides the way to heaven.

We can spread that hope by redeveloping abandoned properties throughout America. We can reimagine these acres of neglected space, build welcoming, Christ-centered environments that host socials, prayer, and other events. Through these properties that are now dead, we can bring new life to our civilization and show the power of resurrection.

This modern era presents a unique challenge to us. Our society is falling apart. Everything great that Western civilization was built upon is crumbling, but this tragic situation presents an opportunity. Every distressed property, every zombie property that's dead that no one cares about, is a chance to present new ideas for building communities. What was dead can rise again. It's up to those who believe in the Resurrection to make it rise again, though.

I keep using the word "community" because when we think about constructing buildings these days, we usually don't think about building community. But we should. What would our built environment look like if we built primarily to foster community rather than to make a profit? Whether it's an abandoned shop, house, industrial park, or any other forgotten property, what can we do to reimagine all of these neglected places, so they encourage people to come together for strong, meaningful reasons?

There are some places that used to be warehouses and they were converted into beer gardens, condominiums, or apartments. That's fine. I understand that. We need housing, leisure and "third places" between home and work. But so many new developments today just contribute to urban sprawl. When we build sprawling developments with wide commercial highways, dead-end disconnected roads, and gigantic parking lots, we're separating people. That's the opposite of building community.

Condos and apartments often function the same way, because most of them are very closed-off buildings with straight and narrow hallways like a school or prison. They're built primarily for profit or affordability, not livability. You can't really spend any meaningful time in those hallways. They're narrow because people prefer space in their own unit over common space. Sure, some of these condo and apartment complexes have some nice common areas, but these areas are more of an afterthought than a central element.

There are some fair compromises where towns have built large living complexes in mixed-use neighborhoods. I've seen this form of new urbanism especially in New Jersey, where developers are building 5-7 story apartment buildings with shops on the bottom floor, and plazas scattered around the new development. Some places that come to mind are the new town centers in Long Branch and Glassboro. I applaud these new planned communities because they are a step up and away from typical urban sprawl. However, the apartments above the shops in these new mixed-use areas are still too uniform and mass-produced, failing to convey the organic growth people have grown to love over the centuries. I guess that kind of growth just takes too long, even for those who are promoting the new urbanism. What can we do to encourage builders and developers to build for posterity?

It's often been said that smaller is better. I think we need to be reminded that slower is better too. Growth needs to be small and slow. The two go together because if we're building little by little, progress is going to be slow. How we build and how we live also go together. Our unconditional embrace of "progress" has caused problems in not just how we build, but also how we live. We just need to slow down, live life one step at a time, see what works, then build upward and outward from there. That's how we ought to build and that's how we ought to live.

How we build reflects how we live, and our built environment affects how we live. Before modern technology took over our lives, people communicated through their built environment in walkable towns, squares, plazas and parks that were integral parts of their landscape and daily lives. Today, we communicate mainly online and on smartphones, so our built environment reflects that through disconnected, static housing developments, shopping districts and office parks.

Toward a interactive lifestyle

When we make it easy for people to interact with each other, to have social gathering places that are easily accessible, where people could talk and do things together, more good things happen and fewer bad things happen.

The places we live, work, shop, play, and learn should prioritize human interaction, because most crimes are committed out of sight in some unappealing area not created for socializing; or when people aren't around, when people don't see it. So, the more areas we make that are conducive to people hanging out, the less crime there will be. And we can build environments that encourage wholesome activities well into the night. Gathering places aren't just good for daytime activities. They're ideal for nightlife as well when they are well-lit.

If we build more social spaces, there's going to be more social engagements, more friendships are going to be formed, and more things are going to start happening naturally. Not everything has to be outside, but we do need more outside gathering places, more squares and plazas buzzing with activity day and night. If it's a colder climate or if there are concerns about the weather in the area, provide canopies, awnings, outdoor heaters and firepits. A gathering place doesn't need to be very fancy. It just needs to be inviting. It doesn't take that much to do this. In fact, the aforementioned abandoned places can easily be converted into community gathering spaces by just knocking down the decrepit structure and building a pavilion and some picnic tables.

These gathering spaces can also create opportunities for businesses. We're so dependent on cars that we often forget how much we don't need them. Sometimes we choose a car over walking simply because it's raining and we don't want to get wet. Well, hold on. Let's think of that. Let's think of some kind of attire that is comfortable to wear in any kind of weather. Manufacturing such attire can't be more complicated than manufacturing a car. I'm sure there are a lot of clothing companies out there that would love the opportunity to sell more affordable all-weather gear. If we became less dependent on cars, a creative clothing company could be like, "Wow, people are using cars less and less these days, and they now want some kind of outdoor gear that lets them go outside in any weather. Let's tackle that challenge."

If we reduce the need for cars, a new interconnected lifestyle will emerge, where people interact with each other again. The automobile will continue to be a part of our lives for a long time, and there's nothing wrong with that. But they don't have to be so dominant. Just think of an average commercial break for your TV show. Half of the commercials are for cars. Take a look at your typical city or suburb. More and more, they're being taken over by cars. They've just overwhelmed our society and we need to reduce our dependence on them.

To that end, it would be good to start thinking of other forms of transportation that are smaller, like enclosed golf carts. You see golf carts all over the place, right? But they're open. I think the main reason golf carts aren't a more popular means of transportation is simply because they don't have doors or windows. So, give them doors and windows, for goodness sake! People would then probably use them for all kinds of errands and quick outings no matter where they live. Then, for more clement weather, there's scooters, bikes, and just plain old walking. These are all other options for getting around---remember?

So, why am I talking about all of these different means of transportation? Because the way we move is integral to living a more holistic Christian lifestyle. When we're not zipping past each other in big boxes of metal, we have more opportunities to interact with people. And the more opportunities we have to interact with people, the more chances we have to love them, to show them charity, to smile at them, to make their day, to give them a word of advice or encouragement. All this stuff happens on the street, in public places. And if we're in cars, we're going and leaving quickly, and we're just passing by each other. It doesn't provide as many opportunities for us to build community.

So, reducing cars will directly help build stronger communities and also stronger Christian communities. It'll also reduce our dependence on outside resources like gasoline and power companies.

Just imagine your typical medieval village. Picture a father who's a baker and he's constantly baking for people in town, and there's a constant flow of customers coming in and out of the downstairs shop, but his family lives upstairs. There's perpetual interaction, and you're always meeting new people. You're always building relationships. Just imagine a world like that. Just imagine a world where you walk right out your door, and you naturally interact with the people around you because they're all walking to where they need to be. I just want people to see the opportunity. All we need to do is let go of our need for modern conveniences, but I'm only emphasizing our need to do that so we can be less dependent and more free.

I want people to see the beauty in natural community, to see the potential of a different kind of lifestyle where we get back to our human roots. Certain aspects of our past stay with us. The way we built villages in the past was so prevalent that it's a part of us now. It may even be in our DNA to want communities that are interactive, where you can walk 100 feet from your own front door to your local pub, church, or park. And we've lost that. I don't know much about genetics, but this desire is so innate within me that I don't think it's just me, if that makes any sense. I don't know where else or why else I would have such a desire for a place like this unless it was in my DNA, and I really think it's in everyone's.

For thousands of years, people lived in walkable villages. The more I talk about it, the more I notice how it's such a basic thing that tore us apart. I think our sprawling metro areas left just enough space between us and our neighbors for the devil to get in.