WorldChanging: Tools, Models and Ideas for Building a Bright Green Future: The Slow Home Movement

In the legendary story of the founding of the Slow Food Movement,
Carlo Petrini planted his feet at the Spanish Steps in Rome and
declared that he would not stand for the introduction of McDonald’s
into the historic area. Fast food would not squelch the rich traditions
of Italian culture. And indeed it did not. Petrini not only succeeded
in elevating resistance against that McDonalds, but against fast food
the world over, by providing appetizing alternatives through the Slow
Food Movement.

In the years since, slow has become something of a meme
in its own right, applied to numerous other fields and issues as an
understood strategy of peaceful but active resistance to harmful trends
and changes. Whether it’s in food, medicine, or urban planning, slowing
down is a decidedly noble form of 21st century activism.

The newest slow kid on the block is the Slow Home Movement,
a web-based design community and resource library dedicated to taking
residential architecture back from the grip of the “cookie cutter
houses and instant neighborhoods” churned out by community-blind
development corporations, to revive the presence of good design and empower individuals
to create homes that will support and fulfill them for a long time.
It’s a sustainable approach in that — like with all products — a
commodity that is longlasting both in terms of material quality and
evolving personal taste can prevent waste and produce trusting
relationships between people and their environment. [read more]