Proxima

Definition: Proxima™ and Proximae™ are trademarks. They are owned by the DH Jones Family Trust ("Owner"). Owner may license said trademarks to a Person or Organization ("Licensee") to be used by the Licensee in association with the marketing and sale of designated products or services owned by the Licensee or licensed by the Licensee from Owner or another owner. As used herein, a ProximaTM (ProximaeTM is the plural) is a Place within a Neighborhood where two or more Households of two or more Members of a Group are located in close proximity to one another if not contiguous. A Member of a Group does not necessarily have to reside within a ProximaTM, but it is better if he or she does for the sake of Social Cohesion. As used herein, the Mission of a ProximaTM is to develop and sustain ProximaTM Critical Mass in the Place of its location. Notice this sequence of Places: A Person is either homeless or lives in a given Household. A Household may be part of a ProximaTM. A ProximaTM is always within a Neighborhood that is always within a Town that is always within a given Nation but may or may not be within a Metropolitan Area. Notice that a Town is an incorporated municipality or unincorporated Place where enough Persons reside such that a 72-Group might be developed. If a Place is so rural that it is not practical for people to regularly develop Proxima™ Critical Mass, then that Place is not a candidate for a Proxima™. Why is this term needed? DAN: Distinguish from tract housing, 4-family flat, apartment building, cohousing, ecovillage, etc. Proxima-MORE Commentary Proximae (plural for Proxima) are places of residence where the Social Cohesion of one or more Groups may be more easily developed and maintained. Proximae are substantial if not essential aids to Social Cohesion. Every Member of a Group does not necessarily have to reside in Households within a Proxima, but it is more difficult for Members to sustain Social Cohesion when residing in Households outside of one. The proximity of Households within the carefully-designed architecture and landscape of a Proxima virtually guarantees a baseline of routine social interaction. A Proxima is developed and maintained by the Members of the Groups that reside there or are going to reside there. There are three kinds of Proximae depending on how they are developed - (1) new construction, (2) the complete renovation of an existing structure such as an old warehouse that will contain the new Proxima, or (3) the slow retrofitting over time of a residential Neighborhood or part of a Neighborhood such as taking down back fences and building a common playground and patio area that begin to constitute the desired Proxima. Why this term is important In our contemporary world of increasing Social Fragmentation, it is necessary that a completely new word be coined for the kind of residential place we are talking about in a Cohesion Project or Cohesion Program. Words like "community" and "village" have been made vapid in modern usage. They have been emptied of the kind of meaning they once had in, let's say, 1776 or 1492 or in the year 5,000 B.C. Think of it - Not that long ago - at the time of the Battle of the Little Bighorn (1876) (or as the Lakota and other Plains Indians would say, "the Battle of the Greasy Grass"), the meaning of the term "village" then is much closer to what this glossary means now by the Special Term, "Proxima." Today a commercial developer builds tract housing in a former cornfield and brands it "The Village of Three Pines." The word "village" in this brand name has about as much meaning as "international community" does in a speech at the United Nations. It means nothing that you can put your arms around. Part of the Social Cohesion re-building task before us is to re-build our contemporary spoken and written language. That's why the CG had to be built. Note that there are other words in current use such as "cohousing" and "ecovillage" that one might reasonably say overlap with Proxima. The difference is this - The word "Proxima" is intimately bound up with the notion of "Social Cohesion" which, in turn, is carefully defined and specific. The words "cohousing" and "ecovillage" are, on the other hand, carefully and professionally designed architectural concepts with vaguely-defined social notions thrown in such as "community," "diversity," "inclusivity," "shared values" and "consensus." Still, the architectural concepts that "cohousing" and "ecovillage" bring to the table have been well-developed in recent decades by experts and are valuable in their own right. You are therefore encouraged to visit The Cohousing Association of the United States website and make good use of its resources and professionals. Here is a child-like video that I find both inspiring and explanatory of what we are trying to build: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_55kHX_188. Here is an excellent keynote speech about cohousing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1859&v=a2iz21gqXI4 Essay: America, a fragmented society Thoughts for three kinds of stakeholders By Daniel Hough Jones, President Charitable Foundation USA www.charitablefoundationusa.org (c) Copyright 2017 Daniel Hough Jones We live in a fragmented society. No one likes it. What shall we do? Introduction We think of a stakeholder as a person or organization that has a vital interest in something that exists or is proposed to be made. When the focus of the conversation is a fragmented society, however, it seems odd to speak of stakeholders. It is like speaking of stakeholders in a derelict, abandoned building. The vitality is gone. What is there to have a stake in? The United States is a fragmented society. The St. Louis metropolitan area - the focus of this essay - is a fragmented society. The purpose of this essay is not to debate statements like "It is really bad," or "It is not that bad." It is clear enough - America is not the way it should be. It could be better - a lot better. Therefore, we should make it better. On that point, Americans agree although some of us are exhausted and can barely lift our heads to the proposition. Okay, exhausted or otherwise, we agree - America should be a lot better. Then the question quickly follows - what shall we do? What's the plan? Waiting for the next election cycle has already produced the status quo over and over again. We already know that alone does not work. So the plan must be something, in addition, the election cycle. Let me be clear - What we are talking about here is the fragmented society that we do not like and its inverse, a cohesive society that we do like, but do not have, yet want. We want social cohesion. Heck, we desire it deeply. We are sick of social fragmentation. What shall we do to become more cohesive? This essay is addressed to three kinds of large, organizational stakeholders who - hopefully - are not as exhausted as the ordinary citizen and so have the capacity to do something. Although there is overlap, I am speaking of organizational stakeholders who think in (1) economic terms, (2) environmental terms and (3) social terms, i.e., in terms of behavior and relationships. If you look at the North American continent from "sea to shining sea," you could intellectually divide it for discussion purposes into three parts - (1) the land, (2) the built environment and (3) the people on the land in the built environment. Assuming for the moment the land is a given, social fragmentation and its much better opposite - social cohesion - are to be found in the behaviors and relationships of the people in the built environment. This essay is addressed to three kinds of stakeholders that for discussion purposes are divided into three categories - Those primarily concerned with (1) economic matters such as lenders, investors, and real estate developers, (2) This essay for various stakeholders about cohousing, ecovillages and similar residential and mixed-use real estate developments that, hereinafter will be referred to as "the Project." The Project - if it were undertaken entirely in the context of Cohesion USATM - would be referred to as "Proxumae," which is the plural feminine form of the Latin term, proxuma from which we get our word, proximity. The development of a Proxuma is always preceded by extensive adult education about the harms of social fragmentation and the benefits of social cohesion. The group of prospective Proxuma residents is thus carefully formed around the fundamental human need for social cohesion before new construction, renovation or retrofitting of an existing neighborhood into a Proxuma is undertaken. Contents 1 Introduction 2 Environmental benefits 3 Social benefits 3.1 Second Heading 3.1.1 Third Heading Imagine a hypothetical cohousing, ecovillage or Proxuma project. Let's call it "the Project." To repeat the question - How should prospective lenders and investors think about their potential participation in financing the Project? For discussion purposes, let's assume the projected benefits gained in return for the projected costs with regard to the Project may be conveniently separated into three categories - Economic, social and environmental benefits. And let's further assume that the I argue that the Project will likely be a good deal for the lenders and investors in an economic sense because of the willingness of social and environmental stakeholders to participate In other words, to the extent How should prospective lenders and investors think about them at economic opportunities? What is already well understood In theory, the Economic benefits to lenders and investors may be enhanced in a given Project by (a) their returns being greater than the alternatives and/or (b) the risk of failure being less than the alternatives because of the Environmental and Social stakeholders participating in the given Project's financing in a subordinate position. The calculation of these relative costs and benefits is outside the scope of this essay. They depend on all of the particulars of a given, proposed Project. In the following sections, we will quickly Environmental benefits The premise of the above paragraph is that the Water, soil and air pollution, as well as climate change and other Environmental problems, have been highly studied in recent decades. Much data is available. From the Economic lender and investor's point-of-view, all of that this is summed up in the willingness of Environmental stakeholders to "put cash on the barrelhead" with regard to the specific Project. In recent decades, governments and philanthropic foundations have been doing just that. This essay need not explore these Environmental "inputs" further. Social benefits Second Heading The second heading is Georgia 12-point, underlined. Third Heading The third heading is Georgia 12-point, not underlined.