great neighbourhoods...in bermuda?

What makes a great neighbourhood? Do we have any in Bermuda? A recent move from a relatively isolated house on top of a hill to a location where we have neighbours we can reach out and touch, made me ponder these two questions. 

I came to the conclusion that, while the elements that make a great neighbourhood make sense, we don't really have any in Bermuda that are completely fully formed. What we call 'neighbourhoods' in Bermuda are really residential subdivisions.

uptown oakland, ca: image - apa

The American Planning Association (APA) has a 'Great Places in America' programme, which "...celebrates places of exemplary character, quality, and planning." It spotlights great streets, great neighbourhoods and great public spaces with winners in each category selected each year.

For 'Great Neighbourhoods' there is a list of characteristics that includes:

1. has a variety of functi'.onal attributes that contribute to a resident's day-to-day living (i.e. residential, commercial or mixed uses),
2. accommodates multi-modal transportation (i.e. pedestrians, bicyclists, drivers),
3. has design and architectural features that are visually interesting,
4. encourages human contact and social activities,
5. promotes community involvement and maintains a secure environment, 
6. promotes sustainability and responds to climatic demands, and,
7. has a memorable character.

Pretty lofty list. Uptown Oakland, CA (pictured above) was one winner; for other 2014 winners in the Great Neighbourhoods category, click here.

And how does Bermuda compare? Well, taking into account scale, population, land mass, etc., probably the central Town of St. George or North-east Hamilton come closest to being a 'proper' neighbourhoods. Those locales win out over, say, Flatt's Village or Somerset Village, because of that crucial element of human contact. There is a sense of neighbours knowing neighbours, which, combined with the other characteristics that apply, such as everyday functionality, memorable character and architectural heritage, make these communities of enormous potential, and something quite unlike my new 'neighbourhood. 

court street, hamilton

cohousing for bermuda revisited

Cohousing is a concept foreign to Bermuda but one that is worth looking at again. 'Again' suggests Bermudians considered it at all when, in reality, I keenly researched it back in the nineties but appeared to be alone in my interest.

The topic came up recently, when (and this happens when you reach a certain age) friends asked us if, in retirement, we would consider some form of communal living. The discussion centred on private accommodation around a square of some sort where we could keep an eye out for each other but not actually live together. We like these friends but not that much.

After dispensing with the term 'commune', which has unfortunate Koolaid connotations, I realised we were being asked to ponder a form of cohousing.

cohousing in sebastopol, ca: image - schemata workshop

A familiar form of residential development in Denmark, Sweden and, to a lesser extent, USA and UK, cohousing communities are made up of groups of families or couples living in self-sufficient private residences but who access and use shared facilities as well. The key component of cohousing is a Common House with a kitchen and dining facilities where everyone can share an evening meal, have community meetings and generally socialise. Links between residences are important too, as the notion of watching out for each other is a primary reason for living in a cohousing set up. Other shared facilities can comprise playgrounds, laundry facilities, workshops and guest accommodation. 

As described by the UK Cohousing Network, advantages include:

            common kitchen: image - schemata workshop

• a sense of community and shared values, a sense of belonging,
• keeping one’s privacy while having an active and locally based social life,
• living more economically and sustainably – sharing skills, tools, heating systems, all sorts,
• neighbours that become friends and the mutual support that comes naturally with that (anything from shared childcare to a shoulder to cry on to a pint of milk to someone noticing if you have not been seen for a day or two),
• support in older age, and,
• feeling useful/making a contribution.

Cohousing is something Bermuda should investigate. It could be an alternative to traditional assisted living situations or as a (new to us) way of building healthy and sustainable communities. 

bermuda blue halo

Bermuda's Blue Halo project seems to have become stuck and I'm wondering whether there is a way of getting it 'unstuck.' After all, it does not seem to be a bad idea to create a marine reserve within part (or all?) of Bermuda's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). 

Established through the United Nations's Law of the Sea, Bermuda's EEZ extends 200nm out from the island and encompasses an area of 179,514sqm (The Future of Bermuda's Exclusive Economic Zone, 2014, p7). Pretty impressive for an island only 21sqm itself. 

We consider ourselves very sophisticated so I was surprised to learn the Barbuda Blue Halo project had come to fruition in an article by Scott Pierce, "This Tiny Island Is Way Ahead Of Major Countries When It Comes to Ocean Regulation" written for Collectively. 

barbuda, image - wiatt foundation

I am not involved in the Blue Halo project and only followed the arguments for and against on Facebook - which is probably not the best environment for reasoned discussion on this matter. However, it seems to me that Barbuda, with the help of the Wiatt Foundation, has managed to concoct a compromise that balances its economic and environmental interests. 

Are we in Bermuda not capable of doing the same? We spend time talking at each other instead of being in dialogue with each other. Also, we seemed to approach this project from fixed positions. Bermuda Blue Halo proposes two rings: one for existing activities to continue as before and another, wider, ring for a marine reserve. Perhaps that needs some more thought.

Then again, others consider the economic potential of, say, seabed extraction of precious minerals - as yet unexplored and, if we are honest, not likely to be explored any time soon without many millions of dollars that we do not have - to be such that no marine reserve should be contemplated at all.

We do this a lot in Bermuda: start from opposites corners of the boxing ring and forget there is a middle. The Blue Halo supporters appear to be seeking that middle ground. The economic fantasists? I'm not so sure.

The Sustainable Development Department undertook substantial public consultation in the autumn of 2014, the above-mentioned The Future of Bermuda's Exclusive Economic Zone, and concluded that more research needed to be done before committing to either the economic or environmental strand. Theoretically, this forces supporters on both sides to try harder. Hmm...

To 'unstick' this project, a time-frame and deadline must be attached to this research. The potential of our EEZ as either a marine or financial (or combination thereof) bonanza deserves to be fully understood, and soon.