Atlas City Project

Yesterday and today I've been talking in the RBOSE Mumble server with Paxton, a person who is currently attempting to become a permanent resident of Auroville. He spend quite some time as a "guest" learning how Auroville works and how the Auroville way of life. I spoke with him, asking if he was interested in having a meeting with Atlas Initiative Group, if you guys wish to.

He doesn't mind at all and considering most of you are wanting to know what Auroville is like, this is the perfect opportunity.

Just let me know when the majority of you guys are available, I'll see if he is available and if so, we can hop on the RBOSE Mumble server and have a Q & A!

This is a great model for us as it shows us what can be done and that it is possible.

On the other hand they are very different in some ways from what we would we talking about creating.

This would be great. We've been trying to begin a rapport with their members for some time now unsuccessfully. I'm currently on Eastern time until around the 27th. It's family time so I don't know what the plan is until last minute, but usually free. Let's makes sure to copy the discussion, and anyone familiar with the city can add a few questions to the Q & A list.

I can also grab the questions asked by RBOSE, since most of them cover the questions that most of you guys would ask. The least it would do is help out brainstorming other questions, plus, the meeting would need to be hosted on Mumble anyways (on Atlas Initiative Group's permanent channel I set up a while back). The meeting would be recorded and posted too, so anyone who would miss it could just listen to it.

What would the best date be? I'm thinking July 30th / 31st or August 1st.

I am very excited to try to join groups.

It seems to me that RBEF is filled with the organizers, RBOSE is filled with the rebels and rabble rousers, Atlas is in many senses like one of the main projects in either of those groups scope, and Eco towns is another.

Plus all of these groups are duplicating some of each others work and could really probably use the benefit of other of it because the different focuses
have gone in different directions.

Each group seems to have about a third of the people it really needs to launch at the first stage of being seriously socially viable - ie attracting new people like TZM does all the time.

TZM is starting inspiration for some of you guys (not me) but its also hopeless. If RBE is going to happen it will take RBOSE or RBEF or ATLAS or etc to do it, and, probably, since the game is such a hard one to play, we might as well join forces in taking on the rest of the worlds negative inertia and etc.

I think that these groups would do best if they merged somewhat, keeping their own boards and sites but copy each others work.

I check out New Z Land all the time, and Dagonae said he should be able to make this Saturday's meeting. I hope some people from CityNet join as well. They have, by far, the most numbers. Unfortunately, a lot of the numbers are facebook people and don't really participate. I'm glad we are getting a lot accomplished, and hope that we can help or join with other groups as well. Atlas already has it's NPO paperwork filed and our bank account will open as soon as I get back in town so we can't really change our name or anything without useless fees. If nothing else, we will be able to potentially set up the rough draft for the other groups to follow.

I will just rest back at this point which is that in terms of scope, Atlas was wise to really focus on the core heart of things so the scope is much narrower and much more focused and this has in some senses created a very lucid focus here missing elsewhere.

I experience this in a twilight zone sort of way as I get to feel which groups are capable of relating with me at which levels.

Or even almost ready to go there.

The real problem of all problems is getting people into the mindset of working on problems and doing design together. We are programmed to chit chat..

For these reasons, Atlas could operate as the sort of jump starter work which would give all of these groups good eye candy and that kind of sense of what real work looks like.

The fastest way to 1001 new members is an endless array of exotic architecture images and our own file sharing social engine.

As you guys take from here and repost these images on the wiki, realize that somewhere around 101 buildings or so the wiki starts having potential to go viral, same thing with the file sharing.

The bored 3D modeling crowd alone could pick us up thousands of new people,
but we have to have something here which piques their interest.

Before this gets off topic...
Lets answer the question shall we?

What would the best date be? I'm thinking July 30th / 31st or August 1st.

Yes, visuals will be the main key to gain support, and potentially help with grants as well.

As for the date, I have no preference. Since no one has really said anything I suggest the 31st late day because it's Saturday and should allow more people to join.

Yes, plus in the afternoon of the 31st there will most likely be a meeting between AOSDT, RBEF and RBOSE.

This is what I received from them back in March:

"Dear Brad,

Your projects sounds very ambitious - but then so is ours!

If you want to read and explore more about Auroville have a look at our main website, which also contains many links to the individual groups and activities that are part of the whole: www.auroville.org/

Meanwhile, I forward your reply to Bhavana, who is a great networker and types alot faster than I do, so manages 100 times more mails per day.

Maybe also link up with Marti, who helps connect us to the Eco-villages network and other worthy international projects....

'bye for now,

Isha"

Since then, nothing more from any of their members. They have such a great community, but they're quite hard to get ahold of unfortunately.

I talk to Paxton everyday and he should be bringing in some more Auroville residents to the RBE meetings on Mumble..I'll keep you guys posted.