ethanappleseed
31-10-2006, 02:51 AM
Permaculture Community -
A little collaborative research project for all of us: QUANTIFYING ZONES OF USE. http://www.zonesofuse.wikispaces.com.
How big is Zone 1? What's the distance to Zone 2? We need your numbers!!!
Several clients have asked my design group recently: How big is Zone 1? How far to the edge of zone 2? etc. After discussing this with a number of folks, we concluded that NO CONSENSUS EXISTS. Of course; Zones of Use vary in size depending on the people and the site.
Nevertheless, we want numbers! We want some solid data to use for our (and your!!!) analyses and design work. So, let's get the numbers. Let's determine the range of possibilities, drawing from all our experience designing and (more importantly) LIVING with the Zones of Use concept.
Here's the basic scenario: given a 3-4 person household, if you were to step out the back door, how many meters/feet until the edge of Zone 1? How many more meters/feet to the edge of Zone 2? What is the approximate area of Zone 1? Zone 2? (We can also think of Zones 3-5, but getting numbers for 1 and 2 is our priority.)
We are interested in your experience of what the Zones of Use ACTUALLY ARE in practice, as opposed to what we think they should be.
3-4 person household
Distance to edge of Zone 1 = ???
Distance to edge of Zone 2 = ???
Area of Zone 1 = ???
Area of Zone 2 = ???
For now, let's keep it to this simple example. But feel free to visit the wiki (below) and evolve this discussion -- what if you're on a steep slope? What if there's only 1 person? What happens in a village setting? How do the broad climate zones affect zones of use? What SHOULD the sizes be, as opposed to our experience of what they ARE?
Every one of us that adds their figures makes this a more robust and more useful resource for the Permaculture community. We will summarize all the findings on the wiki, so that everyone can use them.
Reply directly on this thread, or visit the wiki we've created specifically to research this question: http://www.zonesofuse.wikispaces.com
In Peace
Ethan Roland
A little collaborative research project for all of us: QUANTIFYING ZONES OF USE. http://www.zonesofuse.wikispaces.com.
How big is Zone 1? What's the distance to Zone 2? We need your numbers!!!
Several clients have asked my design group recently: How big is Zone 1? How far to the edge of zone 2? etc. After discussing this with a number of folks, we concluded that NO CONSENSUS EXISTS. Of course; Zones of Use vary in size depending on the people and the site.
Nevertheless, we want numbers! We want some solid data to use for our (and your!!!) analyses and design work. So, let's get the numbers. Let's determine the range of possibilities, drawing from all our experience designing and (more importantly) LIVING with the Zones of Use concept.
Here's the basic scenario: given a 3-4 person household, if you were to step out the back door, how many meters/feet until the edge of Zone 1? How many more meters/feet to the edge of Zone 2? What is the approximate area of Zone 1? Zone 2? (We can also think of Zones 3-5, but getting numbers for 1 and 2 is our priority.)
We are interested in your experience of what the Zones of Use ACTUALLY ARE in practice, as opposed to what we think they should be.
3-4 person household
Distance to edge of Zone 1 = ???
Distance to edge of Zone 2 = ???
Area of Zone 1 = ???
Area of Zone 2 = ???
For now, let's keep it to this simple example. But feel free to visit the wiki (below) and evolve this discussion -- what if you're on a steep slope? What if there's only 1 person? What happens in a village setting? How do the broad climate zones affect zones of use? What SHOULD the sizes be, as opposed to our experience of what they ARE?
Every one of us that adds their figures makes this a more robust and more useful resource for the Permaculture community. We will summarize all the findings on the wiki, so that everyone can use them.
Reply directly on this thread, or visit the wiki we've created specifically to research this question: http://www.zonesofuse.wikispaces.com
In Peace
Ethan Roland