Why We’re Doing This

Robert:

My goal in creating Pod Cities is to set up the kind of society and community that I would like to live in myself.

When I think of “retirement,” images come to mind of old people, isolated in their homes with nothing to do but watch TV.  I don’t want that to be me.  I don’t want that to be anybody.  I plan to grow old with friends and family around, supporting each other and continuing to work and play together.

Aside from that, even though it sounds simple, I would really love to have food handled more easily.  Right now, I find myself preparing meals for just one person, and it seems like such a waste of time.  Plus, I’m sick of my own cooking.  Or I end up eating stuff that’s not healthy.  I’m sure a lot of people grab something fast because they’re hungry and don’t have time to cook or don’t feel like cooking.  That can be both expensive and unhealthy.

I’d like to have a place in the city and in the country, too.  I wouldn’t want to be solely responsible for taking care of them.

I’d like to be able to relate to people that have similar values and interests to my own.  I’m not saying that everyone in Pod Cities needs to share my views.  In the process of forming Pods and Work Groups, the Pod Cities system would support people in finding others that share their interests and values.

Finally, if our currently society totally falls apart, and we can’t get enough water or power or food, I would like to have a back up plan.  For some people, Pod Cities could simply be a safety net.  What would happen if the economy did collapse?  What would people do?

I saw a show on an artist that had grown up on a farm during the Great Depression.  The Great Depression hardly affected his family at all because they were already so self-sufficient.

It would be great to be self-sufficient instead of so dangerously dependent on a system that operates outside anyone’s control.

 

PJ:

I’m planning on starting a family at some point in the near future.  I’ve always thought I wanted at least one kid, but the idea of having my kids become my entire life is daunting.

I still want to be able to have date nights and vacations and work on creative projects.  I love the idea of living in a community that feels like an extended family, in which we can watch each other’s kids and give each other time off.

I totally agree with my dad on the food thing.

When I lived in Japan, I had a cute little apartment right across the hall from my friend’s apartment.  This living arrangement of having my own space with someone I cared about right there nearby worked really well for me.  Also, I liked living in the dorms in college, and having all my friends right there.  Now that I’m “grown up” and live away from most of my friends and family, it’s hard to find time to get together.  If we lived closer, I would have a much richer and more fulfilling social life.

The more I think about Pod Cities, the more I want to move in right now!

No More Lay Offs

My daughter called from L.A. this morning and told me that her boyfriend just lost his job.  He’s a smart guy who was good at his job and invested years of hard work, waiting for the time when he would be promoted and it would all be worth it.

When it comes to layoffs, people on both sides of the situation involved may not have done anything wrong.  For example, the employer isn’t necessarily greedy or heartless.  And the employee isn’t necessarily a bad or non-productive worker.  It could be that the employer had to lay people off to stay in business.

The problem is that the system is not set up to take care of the people.  The focus is too narrow.  These corporations were created as legal entities that have a life of their own but not humanity or a soul.  The bottom line is everything.

So many people are living with the illusion of job security and simultaneously living in fear that the job will be taken away.

In the Pod Cities concept, people always have the opportunity to contribute and be fairly compensated for that contribution.

You could argue that in the capitalist system, when someone gets laid off they could contribute by starting their own business, getting another job or volunteering.

However, jobs are not always readily available, and it can be a harrowing and demoralizing experience to get a new one.

As for starting your own business, over 90% of businesses fail within their first two years.  Finally, volunteering doesn’t pay the bills.

Imagine if all your basic living needs were handled no matter what.

Pod Cities uses a system we call Social Capitalism.  Social Capitalism takes advantage of the efficiencies of capitalism and improves upon it by harnessing the power of interpersonal connections.

What is a Pod City?

A Pod City is a company town, and the people own the company.

In a company town, the workplaces, housing and services are all integrated.  Originally, this was dictated by a profit motive.  In Pod Cities, the motive is to provide the people with the best possible lifestyle.

Pod Cities are not the same as intentional communities, co-housing or eco-villages.  However, a Pod City can be all of these.

Typically, the most challenge aspect of forming an intentional community is the financing.  By being company-owned, Pod Cities is self-financing.

Having the people own the company allows for a democratic process of fair distribution of the community’s resources.

The biggest different between Pod Cities and a typical intentional community is that Pod Cities fully integrate business as well as living situations.

Pod Cities are more efficient, beautiful, and environmentally sustainable than today’s typical built environments.

The basic concept behind Pod Cities is that things work out better when planned.  They evolve according to a natural process.  Pod Cities proposes using fractal patterns to organize the growth of the community.

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Welcome to Pod Cities!

HAVE YOU ever found yourself stuck in traffic and feeling frustrated?  Have you ever noticed how much TIME it takes just to prepare meals?  Have you ever wondered how a family used to be able to live on one income, and now it seems like even two people working isn’t enough?

The current system is not working for our benefit and happiness.

We are looking for something better.

Imagine if…

• You could come home every night to a home cooked meal.
• Your best friends lived right next door.
• You could always find someone trustworthy to watch your kids.
• You didn’t have to worry about economic downturns because you knew your needs would be taken care of.
• You didn’t have to stress about how you were going to pay the bills.
• You’d always be able to find people to hang out with on a Friday night.
• You could focus on doing only work that you truly enjoy.

That is all possible in Pod Cities.

The socio-economic system that we have now is simply what we happen to have from the evolution of our society and technology.  It was never planned or intentionally designed.  Now it’s time to step back and re-evaluate, taking into account all that we’ve learned and all the new possibilities that technology is giving us.

In Pod Cities, we believe in taking a fresh look, as if starting from a totally clean slate.

There is a shift in consciousness taking place in our country.  Have you noticed?  The attention is moving away from being “all about me” to be about “us.”  That means our families, friends, and communities.

Pod Cities is about facilitating this shift in living and working in community.

The intention of this website is to co-create a new social-economic system.  That’s a tall order!  We don’t know how to do it on our own, but we think we CAN set up the system that will let it evolve with the involvement of interested people.  This blog is an open invitation for you to participate in the creative process.

Join us now.

Sincerely,

Robert Van Hulle  &  PJ Van Hulle