It is all about the vision

I love this. A southern California couple found themselves worried about the future of privately owned lands around Joshua Tree National Park. Even as they were busy trying to use the court system to prevent a massive landfill on an old mining site, they turned to design as a tool of activism. Specifically, they created a design competition (pdf) within which design students developed visions for the privately owned site. Not that the owner was supportive or actively participating:

Terry Cook, executive vice president and general counsel, says he would have thought the Charpieds and the Emerging Green Builders would have consulted his company before making plans for their property. "It would be like me submitting your house for redesign without your permission," he says.

Since many local residents didn't view the former mining site as an asset, one of the goals was to illustrate how the site could become a valuable and integral part of this desert landscape. The vision of the winning student teams may have portrayed it as less profitable uses, like a wilderness heritage center, but their visions may change the view of members of the community who can now understand that there are appealing alternative uses. These alternative visions serve as a much more optimistic and positive tool for change. Will it be enough to change the future uses of the land? Dunno. But I like the idea of showing how good things could be with the intentions of getting people more motivated to make it so. And it sounds like it might have been a fun party, too. (Mapped)