

Hey Look, MIT students. A Leftover FEMA Trailer. - Anon84
http://www.wired.com/beyond_the_beyond/2009/06/hey-look-mit-students-a-leftover-fema-trailer

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dschobel
_Permaculture_? _Environmental justice_?

Has anyone claimed the law where a project's legitimacy varies inversely with
the amount of buzzwords needed by its creators to describe it?

If not, I'm claiming it now. (I demand an XKCD comic on the matter within a
fortnight)

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_pius
I like the idea of that law. :)

That being said, terms aren't buzzwords just because they're unfamiliar to
you.

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rdj
Maybe the coffee hasn't kicked in for me yet, but this whole project seems to
be missing something. First, I find it odd that a visiting lecturer in visual
arts would have been a consultant for disaster recovery and development in one
of the most profound natural disasters and screw-ups this country has seen.
Second, while I appreciate that they found an alternative use for the
substandard living vehicle, a mobile greenhouse hardly seems impractical given
the goals of the project. Finally, after reading the article and visiting the
associated site, it seems they have simply installed a retracting entry point,
nothing more.

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dschobel
Just based on the wired article (which may or may not be fair) it does seem
more like a work of art than a work of engineering.

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keltecp11
This reminds me... why is Urban Farming so popular in other nations and not
The U.S.?

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pchristensen
1) The intense shift from rural to urban to suburban over the last 100-150
years still has our heads spinning

2) More emphasis on grass farming (lawns) that are usually so much work that
they preclude any actual gardening

3) Longer commutes and working days that push off lower priorities. Work more
-> more money -> less time -> buying food is more attractive b/c of the lower
marginal value of money and the higher marginal value of time

Other countries are either a) poorer and have to grow food to survive or b)
rich but have better work-life balance and have more time for things like
gardening.

