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THE
SHAPE OF THE FUTURE
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The
Shape of the Future: (Volume I) The
Critical, Overarching Impact of Human
Settlement Pattern on Citizens’
Economic, Social and Environmental
Well-Being; (Volume II) Prospering in 21st
Century New Urban Regions
ISBN
0-9678108-0-9 by E M Risse was first
published in January 2000 by
SYNERGY/Resources.
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The Shape of the Future establishes
that human settlement patterns have a
controlling impact on the economic, social and
physical well-being of individuals, families,
communities, New Urban Regions and
nation-states. The
book provides the vocabulary and a conceptual
framework to understand human settlement
patterns. The
Shape
of the Future outlines six overarching
strategies to create functional and sustainable
human settlement patterns.
The book also introduces tools, including
Regional Metrics, to help identify, analyze and
determine the cause of settlement pattern
dysfunction.
The
theses, principles, Natural Laws and strategies
articulated in The
Shape of the Future are derived from
quantitative examinations of, and market
response to, the patterns and densities of land
use that have been created over the past 50
years in the United States. In
addition, the settlement patterns that have
evolved over the past 13,000 years are reviewed
from an historic and qualitative perspective to
determine the contemporary market for, and
future of, alternative patterns and densities.
Based
on this material, The
Shape of the Future articulates a
“unified field theory of human settlement.” The theses,
principles and strategies – including the six
overarching strategies to guide Fundamental
Change in human settlement patterns and
Fundamental Change in governance structure –
have been field tested by the author.
The Shape of the Future is
the result of two decades of writing and editing
and sixty years of observation and professional
practice focused on understanding and creating
functional human settlement patterns.
The book covers the full range of
subjects and fields of inquiry that have been
found to impact the evolution and future
configuration of human settlement patterns.
ACCESSING THE
SHAPE OF THE FUTURE
The Shape of the Future is
intended to be a resource, not a form of
entertainment. The
book does not tell a “story.” “Stories”
are the vehicle which MainStream Media now
favors to spoon feed and maintain the interest
of readers. The
Shape of the Future is often found in
the reference section of libraries because there
is not yet a section in libraries devoted to the
science of human settlement patterns.
The Shape of the Future is
not designed to be read from start to finish in
the manner of a novel or a single-message
nonfiction “best seller.”
The most efficient way to grasp the scope
of the book is to read the Foreword by former
Smithsonian Secretary I. Michael Heyman and the
Prologue along with the concluding notes on
pages 779 and 781.
These nine pages establish the intent and
context for the book.
Each
of The Shape of the Future’s two
Volumes, the five Parts and each of the 32
Chapters start with an overview that places the
material which follows in context with the rest
of the book. Within
each chapter, the headings, subheadings, bold
and indented materials together with other
formatting and graphic techniques help define
the key resources provided by the book. The
structure of The Shape of the Future
allows the reader to dig only as deeply as is
needed to understand the material.
The Shape of the Future provides
text quotes from 199 books, includes a reading
list of 146 volumes and has over 1,000 End Notes
and three Appendices to help readers identify
supporting and contrasting views on the topics
raised. It
is, however, the author’s experience in
actually building and managing the places where
tens of thousands of citizens now live, work and
seek services, recreation and amenity that
provide the basis for the theses, principles and
strategies outlined in the Book.
No
review or comment by anyone who has read The Shape of the Future has yet challenged the central theses of
the book. Those
who profit from Business-As-Usual believe that
attacking this or that point will only call
attention to the overall thrust of the work.
Some have confided that a non-specific
down-playing of the book will best ensure that
the information in the book will not negatively
impact their market.
A
few have taken exception to the length of the
work, often suggesting that the text should be
limited to those topics in which they are
interested or conversant.
A political science scholar who read the
work from cover to cover noted that this
critique should be put in the same category as
that of the Emperor in “Amadeus” who
observed that the problem with Mozart’s music
was “too many notes.”
THE
SHAPE OF THE FUTURE AND
RELATED PUBLICATIONS OF SYNERGY/PLANNING
Nothing
has occurred since January 2000 that requires a
change in the structure or content of The
Shape of the Future.
In fact, the indicators of dysfunction
noted in the book have grown worse, and many of
the events discussed in the future tense in the
book have began to evolve.
The book’s second printing in February
2001 incorporated several minor corrections.
This third printing includes seven
typographical corrections called to the
attention of the publisher since the second
printing. The
format and substance remain as published in
2000.
Following
publication of The
Shape of the Future, E M Risse and
SYNERGY/Planning, Inc. completed the first
edition of Handbook which presents a three-step process to create
functional human settlement patterns in a
specific Subregion.
A second edition of Handbook subtitled: Three-Step
Process to Create Balanced Communities and
Sustainable New Urban Regions is being
prepared. This
edition will articulate how to apply the Handbook’s
three-step process in any New Urban Region or
Urban Support Region in the United States. In
addition, regional, subregional and community
specific applications including The Shape of Warrenton-Fauquier’s Future are underway.
In
addition to project reports and course materials
developed by SYNERGY/Planning, Inc. over the
past 19 years, E M Risse has to date authored 73
columns and six Backgrounders that are published
and archived at www.baconsrebellion.com.
This website serves as “The Op/Ed Page
of Virginia’s New Economy.”
In these documents, Risse uses current
topics and events directly related to human
settlement patterns to construct bridges between
the principles and thesis presented in The
Shape of the Future and the three-step
process outlined in Handbook.
As noted below, this CD includes a listing of
these columns and Backgrounders on Risse’s
Profile Page from www.baconsrebellion.com.
Risse’s
Bacons Rebellion column “The Shape of Richmond’s Future,” 16 February 2004, provides an overview the application of
Handbook’s three-step process to a specific
New Urban Region.
This column also outlines the scope of
the Fundamental Change in governance structure
and in settlement patterns necessary to evolve
Balanced Communities within sustainable New
Urban Regions.
A
series of three columns by Risse (“Wild
Abandonment,” 8 September 2003, “Scatteration,”
25 September 2003
, and “The Myths That Blind Us,” 20 October 2003) comprise a Special Report on the forces
currently eroding the Countryside.
This Special Report is based on fieldwork
in the Mid-Atlantic from the Philadelphia New
Urban Region to the Hampton Roads New Urban
Region. Nine
of his columns related to balancing transport
and settlement patterns were published by www.baconsrebellion.com
between 24 May and
20 September 2004.
Transportation
is termed “the canary in the minefield of
human settlement patterns” in The
Shape of the Future.
VOCABULARY
Some
of the words and phrases used in this
Introduction and in The
Shape of the Future may be new to the
reader. These
terms are defined in the book.
The book includes a Lexicon (Appendix
One) and a discussion of Core Confusing Words
(Appendix Two). The
use of the listed Core Confusing Words is
avoided in the book.
Risse’s
Bacons Rebellion columns “The Foundation of Babble,” 28 Nov 2005
, “Deconstructing The Tower of Babel,”
12 December 2005, and “Babble Postscript,”
3 January 2006, provide tools to help citizens understand the
importance of a comprehensive, robust and
articulate vocabulary and are included as
separate files on this CD.
In
addition, the “Search” feature of Acrobat
Reader software makes it easy to locate passages
that use and discuss any word or phrase.
The reader can also locate what Amazon.Com
terms “Statistically Improbable Phrases” (SIPs)
and “Capitalized Phrases” (CPs).
These phrases are an important element of
the vocabulary necessary to create an
understanding of human settlement patterns.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ON THIS CD
As
a bonus feature, this CD also includes three
PowerPoint presentations used in “Shaping The
Future,” a Spring 2003 subregional certificate
program for community leaders.
Risse was responsible for the content and
assembled the faculty for this program.
The PowerPoint presentations illustrate
principles and concepts presented in The Shape of the Future and include: “The Five Critical
Issues,” “The Physics of Gridlock” and
“Priority Transport Improvements.”
While these programs focus on the
National Capital Subregion and the
Washington-Baltimore New Urban Region, this
material is applicable to every large New Urban
Region and to most components of smaller New
Urban Regions and Urban Support Regions in the United States.
NB:
When originally presented, the PowerPoint
programs were accompanied by written material
noted in the presentations.
This material is available at www.baconsrebellion.com
in the Backgrounder “The Five Critical
Issues,” 15 December 2003, and in the column “Where the Jobs Are,”
24 May 2004.
COMMENTS AND FEEDBACK
Comments
and feedback on the material in this CD is
welcome. As
noted in each of the files, material on this CD
Rom including this Introduction is copyrighted
with all rights reserved by SYNERGY/Planning and
Bacons
Rebellion.
E
M Risse, Principal
SYNERGY/Planning,
Inc.
124 Derby Way, Suite 100
Warrenton, VA
20186-3031
spirisse@aol.com
www.synergyplanninginc.com
CREDITS
The
CD version of The Shape of the Future was
prepared by Corporate Copy, Chantilly, VA,
and the other files on this disk by
SYNERGY/Planning, Inc. Warrenton,
VA, and by Bacon and Eggheads, Richmond,
VA. The CD was produced by Web Kenner, Inc. Warrenton, VA.
CD TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Introduction
to The
Shape of the Future / The
Information on This CD |
PDF |
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The Shape of the Future |
PDF |
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E
M Risse Profile and Column Index from www.baconsrebellion.com |
PDF |
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“The
Foundation of Babble” |
PDF |
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“Deconstructing
The
Tower
of
Babel
” |
PDF |
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“Babble
Postscript” |
PDF |
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“The
Five Critical Issues” |
PowerPoint |
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“The
Physics of Gridlock” |
PowerPoint |
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“Priority
Transport Improvements” |
PowerPoint |
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