Spaces and Values: Thoughts from Sustainable Creative Communities

Editor’s note: What you are about to read might be called a “white paper” if your typical nonprofit published it. There’s nothing typical about this, though. Burning Man represents a broad movement of creative, unusual people trying to make a weird world better and brighter. Their efforts are being tested more and more these days. From global political, economic and environmental uncertainty to the precariousness of the very creative communities in which we live, our movement has to find ways to become sustainable in the face of all that. This was the subject of much discussion at the recent Burning Man Symposium at Esalen. This paper is the result of some of those discussions.


Spaces and Values: Thoughts from Sustainable Creative Communities

Burning Man convening at Esalen, October 2016

Collaborators

Leiasa Beckham, Christopher Breedlove, Kim Cook, A. Dara Dotz, Harley K. Dubois, Heather Gallagher, Marian Goodell, Peter Hirshberg, David Koren, Josette Melchor, Jon Sarriugarte, Jenn Sander, Neel Sharma, Matt Schultz, Neil Takemoto, Heather White, Mike Zuckerman

(Download this paper as a PDF)

Introduction

It’s time to think big about socially conscious real estate development. Our creative culture has grown to a point where we are now a broad constellation of organizations, entities, and movements that share similar values. At the same time, our values (broadly based on participation and inclusion) have been tested by recent events, including the 2016 election and Ghost Ship fire in Oakland and its aftermath. It is a time when we need to work together to better articulate our values, develop plans for how to advance the causes we care about, and reach out to and communicate with those who may not understand or be aligned with our movement of movements.

Those of us who are starting this conversation met at Esalen in October 2016, convened by the Burning Man organization at a Symposium on Sustainable Creative Communities. We are a group of professionals working in real estate, community empowerment, and urban rejuvenation who have taken the initiative to propose a framework for how our movement can expand from this point forward. We expect to add many others to this conversation.

The Problem

We are living in a challenging time for those working in artistic or creative areas. Resources are scarce and tough to access, and the idea of abundance can feel remote and out of reach. With an increasing distance in the United States between those of significant means and those who are struggling to make their way in the world, it can appear impossible to achieve an environment in which stability and success are attainable. In addition, the fundamentals of running an arts-oriented not-for-profit or creative business are extremely challenging, and seem to become more challenging all the time, as costs nearly inevitably increase faster than income.

However, at the same time, on a global basis, more people than ever (roughly 3.2 billion) are now online and have more agency than ever before. Global poverty has been reduced dramatically in recent years, with the rate of poverty now lower than 10% for the first time in world history. It is clear that conditions can seem hopeful or bleak depending on the frame that we apply: things are paradoxically both getting better (more equal) and getting worse (less equal) all the time, depending on how we look at it.

We believe profoundly in a world in which everyone has equal access to resources and equal ability to chart their own destiny. As professionals working in community planning and real estate, we view space as an important tool in creating change. Our spaces and places are a reflection of our values, and the way that we utilize the built environment to the benefit of our communities. This reinforces, extends, and communicates our values within our communities and to outsiders.

One of the key challenges that we’ve found in moving the conversation forward is mindset. We see a predisposition in creative communities towards thinking along the lines of learned helplessness. This mindset can manifest itself as “collective defeatism” and resistance to change. Reinforced by a position of scarcity, it can be difficult to refocus and imagine oneself as sitting at the center of opportunity. We would like to see our culture move to a collective optimism and “prosperity consciousness.” We have to move in this direction, and fight to expand our conception of what is possible, in order to create change in the mindset of our community members and as a result in the physical environment. Here’s a brief outline of how we see the aspects of these two mindsets.

Scarcity Mindset vs Prosperity Mindset
Fear of outsiders Hospitable to outsiders
Resistance to change Embraces change and leverages it for their own benefit
Belief that it’s all been tried before and nothing new is going to work Optimism in the face of uncertainty
Sense of being a victim of circumstances and outside forces Planning for success in preparation of opportunity
Challenge in defining a collective problem Building a platform to receive prosperity
No ownership of land Collective ownership of land
No equity Shared equity

 

The Solution

We believe that the solution to material challenges begins with the articulation of shared values among and between our communities in order to change the prevailing mindset, expand the sense of what is possible, and lay the groundwork for material change.

We define our shared values as the following:

  • Inclusion – We reach out and proactively invite a diverse spectrum of participants to join our broad movement of movements. Everyone is welcome.
  • Participation – Every human being has something to contribute, and that everyone should be encouraged to participate and be heard. The invitation to participate should be active and intentional, and it is important to be culturally sensitive with the invitation.
  • Equity – We believe and work for a world in which everyone is provided an opportunity to be an owner, a true stakeholder in our society. We need to provide creative approaches to ownership in order to increase participation in shared equity.
  • Creativity – We believe that people are fundamentally, intrinsically creative, and we work for a world in which everyone is encouraged to create and share.
  • Self-Determination – Important collective decisions are made by people who work together to determine their own shared destiny.
  • Responsibility – Those in leadership roles need to take responsibility for others, and to create and hold a safe space in which they can live, work, and create.

Under these values, we propose to develop a broad consortium of allied partnering organizations working in the arts, real estate, community development, and related areas who will work together to create a more inclusive, more equitable, and more creative society. While we originally came together under the auspices of Burning Man, many of us have been working in this arena for decades and acknowledge that Burning Man is one node in a broader constellation of allied organizations.

This broad alliance can then collaborate to share resources, convene gatherings, and approach funding sources in concert to achieve significant societal impact in fostering and promoting these values, the change in mindset that must be affected, and the material changes in how resources are allocated in our world. This is not theoretical; this is real. We know and have seen that, when these values are in place, cities and communities flourish. At a time of rapid societal change, creative spaces are where learning and incubation happen, and where our culture is nurtured, developed, and shared. And yet artists and creatives, while typically a key driver of development and urban revitalization, do not typically participate in its upside.

We imagine a future state in which the spaces that we create and manage are themselves active carriers and proponents of our shared values, where they aren’t simply “owned” by a landlord and leased to a tenant, but where the spaces are supported by a broad network of citizen and organizational stakeholders for the benefit of everyone. But working toward this state requires that we first develop our coalition and then move forward with intention to develop our vision further and identify specific actions to move us closer.

Appendix

One of a set of recommended readings is this article on collective impact. That provides an excellent framework for how conscious real estate development can be leveraged to bring collective impact, collective positive change to a community, which is how the conversation between David Koren, Leiasa Beckham and Neil Takemoto at Esalen 2016 led to the first draft of this paper. Below are three diagrams that begin to illustrate some (not all) of the collective problems, solutions and benefits that a collective impact approach in real estate development can address.

(Download this paper as a PDF)


Top photo by John Curley

About the author: Burning Man Project

Burning Man Project

The official voice of the Burning Man organization, managed by Burning Man Project's Communications Team.

20 Comments on “Spaces and Values: Thoughts from Sustainable Creative Communities

  • What a great article and discussion. I would’ve loved to participate! I run an arts collective with a vibrant group of collaborators in a small town in Princeton, West Virginia. We are transforming a once desolate neighborhood with bright light and color; music, public art, community gardens, festivals, galleries and creative spaces now inhabit once abandoned buildings and define our downtown. I’d love to stay in the loop on these conversations.

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  • Alina says:

    This sounds great! Great opportunity! Thank you for review and informations!

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  • Nexus says:

    Would love to be involved with this coalition, if there’s an opportunity! This is very relevant to the work I’ve been involved in personally and professionally, particularly where I live (an Artspace building in DC), as well as the city’s effort to create and implement a Cultural Plan for the District.

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  • P Segal says:

    I’ve been a member of the Burning Man community since 1990, and I founded of the Center Camp Cafe. As a life-long SF resident, I’ve been seeking alternatives to the wholesale displacement of artists in our city, and found win-win options. http://www.bohemiaredux.org. Thank you so much for putting the combined expertise of the community into this vital issue.

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  • Monsieur Uno says:

    WE ARE EVERYWHERE

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  • I support this with passion. I have beleived real estate developement as the natural evolution to our lifestyle. Ths Burner Transplant Project was a success in early 2002 and recently Im developi g a campus project for west Oakla d and the Homeleas, using q0 principles a d the very natural philosophys of sociocommunial enviorments. Crazy enough ..we are gaining momentum and media coverage. Hope to see Burningman involved on isite and support us in emeadiate future. This article excites the process kids!! Ill tell you what.

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  • Rod Coleman says:

    Great timing! As a Regional in Reno, and like many other local Burners, I’ve shared my home and half-acre for prep and storage with more distant Burners over the last ten years. I’ve also enjoyed, contributed and been involved with Hagy’s Burner Hostel, PermaBurn, Stone Soup, 4th of Juplaya, Reno CORE, the Generator, Art Town and the Morris Burner Hotel. Some of these projects have been more successful than others. I recently purchased 116 acres 50 miles west of Reno only a mile from the Lahontan reservoir. It includes a thousand feet of the Carson river, fifty cottonwood trees, and plenty of desert for artistic expression. I plan to build a home and invite other Burners to share this resource. I need to figure out the best way to do it. Thank you all for taking the lead on this important topic. https://www.facebook.com/sudden.net/media_set?set=a.10211811271334276.1073741830.1144455157&type=3

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  • TheStout says:

    This sounds an awful lot like shuffling chairs on the titanic. If the system of private property ownership and corporate capitalism is itself the problem (as evidenced by the rapid destruction of all natural habitat and the “ownership” by 6 people of wealth equal to that of half the world’s population) then these proposals aren’t really addressing the real problem.

    Secondly, if we take, ahem, Burning Man Project as an example, gee what great intentions it all started with only to end with a board of directors consisting almost exclusively of the top 1% wealthiest people in the country making decisions for the 80,000 or so participants who have virtually NO SAY as to decisions or processes. This is simply another form of paternalistic oligarchy. This is not radically inclusive participatory democracy. And if this occurred with the best of intentions at the hands of artists and counter-cultural elements, what chance is there for creating an institution that will not be co-opted by greed, market-forces, and the very American LOVE of money?

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  • Ty says:

    Wow. TheStout is clearly not part of any solution here. I guess it’s ok for some people to give up and say that anyone that works 90+ hours a week and ends up with a house or some land, or a business is the bad guy. Doesn’t make any sense to me though. The white paper seems very naive and too broadly encompassing, but that’s kind of admirable too. Trying to fix busted things is a good thing, even if you try too much with each bite at the problem. People like that make the future better. I think we should give them a hand and make the workload lighter. Who knows……the World could probably use our help, AND it looks like fun!

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  • julie j says:

    I like this in theory, curious to see what it looks like in action as the cost of cities/urban areas seems to keep going up with increasing scarcity and market demands.

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    • Neil says:

      The first diagram shows examples of the principles in action in the outermost ring. If you have questions about any of the particular examples, you can post it in facebook.com/groups/playacity and I’ll help you get answers from the people involved.

      The people who put this paper together are also working on how to collectively incorporate these principles in real projects. You’ll see any updates in the aforementioned group.

      Given that cities/urban areas are more efficient uses of land than suburbia, what you may start to see is more suburban parking lots and abandoned industrial areas becoming walkable communities (i.e. more urban).

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  • AnnaMaja, Christiania, Denmark says:

    Thanks for the article. Happy to see the immense energy from the time at Esalen alive. And to the skeptics – Of course it is possible. It is happening right now, all around the globe. We just need to find each other. There is so much experience to share. Socializing makes us stronger.

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  • Patrick Walker says:

    Changing Whirld

    The logic of the world changing and being different from my comfort and affirmation is sometimes difficult and confusing to spread out on the table and see what possibly gunna happen for the better of mankind.

    I don’t like change really but hello. Good things have definitely happened; other stuff drains me and saddens.

    I like the natural environs but the built environs are what I enjoy the most.

    Artistic pursuit builds.

    Newer people who have never sat together before and lay clear observations out on the table and state: this may work sorta like this and this and this is the process we are in the late teens (2017>>>>) not just cash troves.

    A thousand ideas laid out on the table and that’s the future.

    Regarding realestate and development and land use; the developers have been way too stingy. PLEASE not just the cash troves ideas in development stinginess.

    Get going guys.
    Schools are a good place to start so start with teachers.
    Offer them a new way of thinking cause a lot of them are really handcuffed and they don’t wanna be.
    Be brave and change.

    I churn and churn waiting for things to change that are worthwhile.

    Get going guys

    Spaces and Values: Thoughts from Sustainable Creative Communities

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  • Gemini says:

    Wow, wow, wow! I was inspired at the GLC, and also spend a huge amount of time volunteering at the Morris Burner Hostel to begin making this change and seeing it in the world. We have short-term and long term rental space and have been around for almost four years. We are currently in a battle with the City, we think part backlash of Ghost Ship, and also a utility relocation easement. We have a crowd-funding campaign happening, check us out! The city has said we get to keep our community garden, there’s a lot in flux right now, but we want to be this.

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