This weblog is a little more than a month old. For those of you just tuning in, I thought it would be a good time to recap the highlights so far. For those who have been reading all along, I hope this post helps consolidate the picture of all we’ve covered. We don’t want to get lost in the minutia of individual articles. Effecting change requires a constant grasp on the big picture.

Growth Myths
We’ve spent the most time so far debunking several growth myths, arguments developers and others in the growth industry use to convince us that “we must grow to thrive.” These arguments are indeed myths as they are almost all demonstrably and fundamentally flawed, often wholly wrong. Here’s the list of myths we’ve busted so far. (Click to read the applicable article)

All are myths. All are busted.

We looked at a fourth myth as well. Yet I didn’t list it above as it hardly even qualifies as a myth. It’s really just a diversionary couple of comments, commonly used around here, evidently to justify residential growth. It’s so nonsensical though that just putting it in the form of a single statement makes it look plain silly:

So that one’s busted too, though I’ll likely still devote another short post to it to fit it into the official myth busting series.

The post showing the unwitting admission the growth machine makes as a result of myth #3 is well worth thinking about as well.

Sustainable development
The other central part of our work here so far has been to start exploring the concept of sustainable development as it might apply in Mt. Vernon and Lisbon. We need alternatives to residential development, which is no alternative at all since it only creates a drag on our economy as it errodes the character of our towns. Sustainable development is a real alternative, already in use to some degree, which could nourish our economies and communities as a whole. So far…

and began to…

That will continue.

Etcetera
Oh, and don’t forget the Wal-Mart movie we’re bringing to the Bijou on November 14th!

That’s not all we’ve covered. But it should be more than enough to get you up to speed or to help pull together the big picture of what we’re doing. If you want to dig further, take a look at the interchange regarding WalMart and other big box retailers under the first post on the site. Also see the post on the Project’s stance on people moving here, the story of the mighty little water meters of Bolinas (no residential growth since 1971 — and thriving!), and the rest.

To those of you who have been checking in here from the start I extend a thanks and an invitation to become more active in commenting. You need not say anything much; a quick sentence is fine and keeps me from having to pour over the hieroglyphics of site statistics to reassure myself that people are reading. :) To you newcomers, I extend the same invitation. I ask as well that you read enough to be clear on the importance of the message. These towns as we know them are at risk. Take it from someone who’s seen the destruction this kind of “development” can wreak.

Thanks!