NewVistas Foundation Website

A foundational principle of the NewVistas model is low overall impact. A NewVistas community has a low ecological footprint, which is a measure of its consumption of natural resources. It generates minimal pollution. It is safe, beautiful, and low-stress.

NewVistas Model

Low Impact: NewVistas Elements (2014)

PowerPoint (Belliston, NVF) identifies aspects of the NewVistas urban plan that reflect the principle of low overall impact. These include a human-scale environment and a commitment to good environmental stewardship.

Issues and Questions

Breaking the Growth Habit

Book excerpt (McKibben 2010) argues that the earth can no longer support the current economic growth model. Suggests the need for more durable localized economies with lower impacts.

Overconsumption Dwarfs Overpopulation

Article (Pearce 2009) argues convincingly that overconsumption is a much greater contributor to environmental pressures than overpopulation. Focus of a low-impact community must be consumption.

Stress and the City (Oct. 2012)

Article (Abbott, Nature) suggesting that the stresses of modern city life may contribute to mental health disorders.

Expanding Eco Footprint

Article (World Centric) explains that the ecological footprint of the industrialized world keeps getting bigger in an unsustainable way.