Welcome to ZEDDUP.com

Don’t just redd up. ZEDD UP!

We wish to attract others whose vision for a small urban ecocommunity development in Pittsburgh, PA overlaps our own. By sharing key elements of our own current vision, alongside photos, video, and commentary from sites we’ve visited, we hope to convey that such things aren’t so far-fetched. By mid-2010, we’d like to gain a solid idea of whether a vision like ours could be achieved locally within the next 3-4 years.

The draft working name for this concept is ZEDD UP, or Zero Emissions Diverse Development for Urban Populations. It is a play on two common phrases:

• “ZED” with one “D” commonly refers to  zero-energy developments, those that produce as much energy as they consume. We don’t know if quite this level of efficiency is possible given considerations like affordability, but it would be great to come close.
• “Redd up,” is a Pittsburgh phrase meaning to clean up, in this case building upon our city’s already notable advances in polishing its environment.

Alongside conservation of resources, key goals include:

• providing a simplified environment and lifestyle that supports authentic livelihoods (i.e., more time, money, and energy for individuals and families to focus on what’s most important to them, be it fulfilling work, neglected hobbies, community involvement, etc.)
• modeling a lifestyle that connects different components of healthy, just, and sustainable  living,  including housing structure, location, community interaction, and consumption choices
• increasing the diversity of individuals beyond the populations most often involved in such endeavors

Drawing from areas such as permaculture, cohousing, and the voluntary simplicity movement, this concept is not new. Our efforts mesh with those of The Pittsburgh Cohousing Group and the Pittsburgh Green Cohousing Community. This site is intended to provide information that supports these endeavors, and to outline at least one vision of intentional community. (It is possible that a few models may result from the combined efforts.)

If you are very interested in the concepts outlined here, sign up for updates and join the lists of The Pittsburgh Cohousing Group and Pittsburgh Green Cohousing Community as well. Our communications will likely be more integrated in the future, connecting with all three will ensure you get all relevant information in the meantime.