EcoVillage at Ithaca

Ithaca, NY — There is something timeless about the houses in an unusual neighborhood just outside of Ithaca’s tiny downtown. They’re placed close together and sit lightly upon the land, as homes did in early American settlements or medieval villages. But the time-warp feeling one gets at the EcoVillage at Ithaca may have more to do with the fact that the usual trappings of suburban development — multi-car garages; wide, paved streets; vinyl siding — are nowhere to be found. Where there might be driveways in a conventional development, the EcoVillage houses have front-yard gardens of peppermint, basil, and butterfly flowers of all sorts.

Professors and administrators attending a community-college conference here got a tour of the EcoVillage, one of the better-known intentional communities in the country. The whole idea of the EcoVillage is to turn the current trends in housing development upside down: Build small, build efficiently, build close together, and leave the surrounding land undeveloped, or preserve it for agriculture.

The EcoVillage stands on 175 acres that were originally slated for bland, suburban housing. Ninety percent of the land would have been taken up by houses, and 10 percent would have been left green. When the EcoVillagers got their hands on the land, they turned those figures around. Ten percent would be taken up by development, and the rest left alone. Car parking is on the perimeter of the development, leaving the areas between and around the houses open for pedestrians and playing kids. Much of the open land could be used for agriculture; there are two organic farms on the site, and the villagers would like to have more.

About 100 adults and 60 children live here. Liz Walker, a resident who is one of the founders of the village, said that a population of 300 is probably the upper limit that the community could support.

The houses range from 600 square feet to 2,400 square feet. A tour of a 1,100 square-foot home owned by Monty Berman, a 78-year-old adjunct professor of psychology at Empire State College, revealed a humble but warm interior. The walls are superinsulated, the windows are triple-glazed, and the features inside seem to be low-cost and low-maintenance. (Floors in one room were sealed sheets of plywood.)

The kitchen is tiny, but that might be because residents of EcoVillage eat in a common house a few times a week. Laundry facilities and playrooms for the children are also located in the common house.

Those living in the EcoVillage make decisions communally — process that the residents admit is frustrating at times. Anyone working in higher education would be able to relate.

The EcoVillage, in fact, works closely with the colleges in the area. Students from both Cornell University and Ithaca College work on projects at the EcoVillage, and the villagers are active in leading seminars about sustainability.

During the tour, Ms. Walker led the crowd to the edge of the village, which looks out toward Ithaca. On the opposite side of the valley sit Cornell, on one hilltop, and Ithaca College, on another.

“I like to think that we have these various educational institutions on these hills,” Ms. Walker said, “and we are one of them.”

(Photos courtesy of EcoVillage at Ithaca)