Wiki + "arcology" =s SciFi ? Why? NOT!

If a 'community co-operative' can abet development of Ar/Cosanti, in concrete (no pun intended) terms it must have a mission statement. If defined as a 'worker co-op' it overrides Wiki definitions that equate 'arcology' (surely, a noun) w/ 'science fiction' (a literary genre). 

Encountering that equating of "arcology" with "scifi"  made me look sharply at "arcology development" - if it exists, if there is, what is it, what isn't it? Is it simply "creating a pedestrian city"?

Mont St. Michel and Lhasa, though self-contained to some extent, don't have structures zillions of stories high. Hong Kong seems super-clever about managing density, but is it moving to 'arcology' in any way? How about Japan?

Is the "green movement" arcological? Can we "arcologize" a place? I happen to think so although I know Paolo Soleri  was not convinced: he opposed suburban development of any type in principle even if, paradoxically, he lived in one. 

Arcology can take a free pass on its philosophy (although I have a cautionary feeling about limiting arcology with more than biographical refernce to Paolo's idea of Chardin) but what I wonder is, how far past Go is it/can the hypotheses get; what should they do with what  they collect when they do pass that all-important square? 

On its own Monopoly board, what will it play to build? I can hope for trams, hostels, co-housing, learning spaces of all possible sorts. Plus international connections that expand its sense of itself. 

Looking at <http://www.workaway.info/> I see yet another network of people who'd likely 'fit in' with Ar/Cosanti's own network <http://www.arcosantialumninetwork.org> 

Here's another paradox: despite the condemnation of cars and agreement that arcology per se implies there is inter-city mass transit, Arcosanti doesn't have a 'transportation' department with transit technology folk spinning out plans for alternative transport systems - to build for itself and the world. (Yet.) Nor has it yet got an independent architectural office. An A@A - Architects@Arcosanti consortium, wasn't that what Jeff Zucker  proposed?

I do have one caution: Including Paolo's interpretation of Chardin in a developmental definition of arcology is still  a debate, has been a lengthy debate over years and years. Remember "Minds for History"? 

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Art Joyce, who's a journalist in the Kootenays of BC, put me in mind of Arcosanti when, at a fund-raiser 'coffee house' concert at one of our local galleries, he addressed the audience, asked that we "engage ...in an act of imagination [that can] lead to a place transformed...that can carry its ... tradition into the 21st century." Quoted Blake: The Sun's light when he unfolds it / Depends on the organ that beholds it."  Asked if we can see the challenges as an opportunity rather than a burden. Asked if, "a decade from now we will say, 'It was too much for us' or, like Blake, 'What is now prov'ed / was once only imagin'd.' Reminded us that 'generations of volunteers have kept that place open, kept it vital to the cultural life of the community [despite] indifference or ... resistance.' That 'many volunteers have come forward to help.' 

What we can do, he concluded, is to "pay their courageous tradition forward." Quite right. 

In parallel, Jeff Buderer posts quite an exhaustive critique on his blog, Life After Arcosanti. He's got a big say. broadcasts his say profoundly. Their two voices cause me to reiterate that IMO, an Ar/Cosanti Community AZ Co-operative, a worker co-op for a PULA (“Prototype Urban Laboratory Arcology” – can’t let them sci-fi fanatics down, eh?) can/will sustain the triple-bottom line [economic, social, environmental] responsibility of the idea which 'arcology' implies. 
   
A community co-operative is a Wikipedia-type approach to revitalizing Ar/Cosanti's 'Old Town' 'downtown.' A PULA co-operative's mission can be to develop and innovative all the economies of businesses Arcosanti can sustain, including architecture, education, sciences, arts, crafts, industries and technological services of enterprises that can/will authenticate 'arcology' as an artifact. 

Arcology not as fantasy but as a material culture concept that can be actualized. 

If the tiny, tiny country of Israel can incubate a plethora of businesses <http://mappedinisrael.com/#> why would an Arcosanti Community Co-operative not be able to apply itself to tasks that will incubate/develop businesses at Ar/Cosanti?  
A PULA Co-op's goals can be simple:

• to establish Ar/Cosanti's innovative economy as a global hub for arcology studies, industries, creative enterprises (agriculture, energy conservation, et al).
• to attract and retain worker participation at Ar/Cosanti.
• to create a 'crowdsourcing' community that can reach out across the globe to promote a responsible 'triple bottom line' [social, environmental, economic] for the development of a prototype urban laboratory arcology.
• to cultivate growth of a 'long tail' destination-oriented, decision-making community. (Long Tail's hypothesis is that the shift away from a relatively small number of decision-makers indicates a large number of people (the "long tail" can be responsible for decsions made by  small number (the 'head") if they are identifiable as a cohesive community around shared interests. A co-operative's business structure make that identity clear. 

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