|
 It turns out there's a large segment of the population
that has removed itself entirely from the new home market because it's so
alienated by what it sees. The people who comprise this group, described as
Cultural Creatives by a 1997 American Demographics magazine article, (see
below), are more than ready for an alternative, and they've adopted Not So Big
as their rallying cry. In many ways, the Not So Big House, although ostensibly
about house design, is also about how we choose to live, what's important for a
balanced existence, and what will insure a healthy planet and community for
future generations. These are the concerns of many Cultural Creatives, eager to
live their own lives in a way that supports their values. Not So Big thinking
helps them to do just that.
If you start with the design of your own home, making it a place that fits
your lifestyle, you'll be making a small but noticeable contribution to solving
the current crisis of scale and consumption.
"Most Cultural Creatives do decorating and remodelling rather than buy a new
house because builders don't really give them what they want in a new home. In
thirteen years of doing research on the housing desires of Americans, I don't
think I've seen an architect do as clean a set of designs as Sarah Susanka,
designs that actually deliver what this emerging subculture of 50 million
Americans really wants."
--Paul H. Ray, Ph.D., Co-author of The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People are Changing
the World, Harmony Books, 2000.
|
