Granny with Child
Child Making Gift
Woman and Child Outside

Being a child focused community does not mean those without young children are excluded

When people hear the pitch for a community-parenting-first community, they often assume it is only meant for and only appealing to parents with young kids. They might be surprised by the interest we have received from empty nesters.

When Malcolm was young, he frequently ran into an older woman who would sit on the bench at a park and engage with the kids who were out playing. As a kid he didn’t think much of it but as an adult he realizes she was lonely and looking for a sense of community, looking to fulfill a role that used to be normal in our communities for people at that age but one that had lost its relevance in a society of strangers.

Encouraging Community

Eureka will run a chit system allowing community members to, instead of paying parts of their monthly dues, take on community tasks ranging from childcare, to mowing the soccer fields, to caring for the gardens, to cleaning up after a storm, to building new amenities. These tasks will be organized as communal, group activities, allowing individuals of all ages to engage socially in work that benefits the community without worrying about free riders or needing an excuse to help out. The system is similar to a babysitting co-op, but functions on a community scale and across all projects. Communities are not forged through brief waves on the street or parties – they are formed through routine interaction, joint labor, and a shared goal (in this case, raising exceptional children).

Empty Nesters Have a Role in Community Parenting

Being a community parenting environment doesn’t mean every member has kids—it means every member of the community takes on responsibility for ensuring that the the kids in the community have a save and rich environment to grow up in.
Historically it was common sense that all members of a community shared a role in raising children, only recently did the concept of children being possessions of their parents to be given to the state to raise during the day arise. With the rise of this trend seniors in our society lost a role that previously was critical to the development of our children.

A Pull Community

A pull community means a community designed to pull people together. To create opportunities for knowledge sharing whether it be at the maker studio or the community gardens.

Rethinking Holiday

Holidays have always been an amazing tool for teaching children important lessons on a community level and an excuse to come together. We have looked at new ways to build out holidays in the empty spots both to dress up our town and teach important lessons (like delayed gratification, seeing the world from other peoples perspectives, and reflecting on ones internal motivations for their stated goals).

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