The suggestion has been made for an "Aspie" community inside an urban area, such as an apartment building in a metro area.
Pros:
Relatively inexpensive, depending on the region
Existing utilities
Close to existing transportation networks
Close to existing jobs
Cut down on costs for residents
Allow the community to offer support services
Possible Pros:
If an existing building is purchased, we would not need to take the time to construct anything. We could add on later.
Cons:
Organization.
-Will it be run as a non-profit, with some sort of elected or appointed directors, or will it be run as a community under a handful of people?
Cost
-We still need to fund the initial stage of buying the land and/or building
Residents
-Will residents be required to pay for the upkeep and any services that we offer? How would we assess ability to pay?
Community Relations
-Depending on where the complex is, our relations with the local community might be difficult, for reasons I will explain below.
Comments?
Community Relations:
Realistically, if we come in as a "non-profit" or as a community of people with autism, we can expect a reaction. It may be difficult to get zoning if we are seen as a "Group Home" or "Mental Health", because of the "Not In My Back Yard" NIMBY concept.
Even if not, we could possibly be seen as a strange bunch of people moving into a complex, with all of the possible negative conotations that could provoke (Bad Press being only the least of the problems).
And even if we are seen as a group of people wanting our own "territory", what of our interaction with the local governments? If there are any school-age children, they may attend the local school system. Zoning may be an issue if we want to expand, or even just to stay in compliance with the current zoning code. And how would we deal with unfounded compliants and press stories against our community?
Thoughts?
There will be a cost issue with the most desirable spots (close to mass transit, close to jobs, etc.) costing more than the spots that are not as desirable. I think the site selection would depend on cost, then "work backwards" to cost of transportation to available mass transit and jobs.
Depending on the number of people that the proposed building would have, there is also the issue of businesses affilated or or located with the project.
One of the first businessess I would expect to see is some sort of food outlet. That would mean deliveries, traffic, and zoning complications.
DogBrain, GnosisRoads,
Since any proposed complex would exist under the laws of an existing country, the discussion of socialism and the powers of the state relates more to the laws of the existing country, and best resolved through interaction with the political system.
Actually, I am not convinced that the proposed complex should be a nonprofit. It might be more difficult to move into a commmunity as a "nonprofit" than as a private entity. Also, as a nonprofit, the governance structure of the entity might be more complicated.
Does anyone have an example of a location? It might be easier to discuss the possible issues with an example.
Here are the mega questions.....
Why would we want to have a building addressing only Aspies?
Who would support it?
when there are lots of LFAs, MR/DDs, Downs, people in wheel chairs, and lots of plain old disadvantaged (ex cons, even a few honorably discharged vets have trouble getting work- surprise!!)
So, do resources already exist for at least a few of us, in some cities?
And if they didn't, why should we limit it to Aspies?
Would it be neurodiscrimination, say, possibly against LFAs?
For example, Goodwill, promotes itself as helping the Disabled and the Disadvantaged. Devil's advocate, why wouldn't they help Aspies already?
http://www.dcgoodwill.com
God knows I have dumped enough of my unwanted household items there (all the way up to furniture)
Socially, I am reasonally well accepted by the neurotypical world. I am integrated into their church with hardly any questions. I work next to them without a second thought. I sometimes have the opportunity to date one of them (I feel justified to say Keisha is a NT). I am invited to the events of Keisha's family and the events of Debbie (dated her before Keisha) and her mother, and it is possible that I might attend events with other NTs. My extended family is meeting shortly in Idaho.
Occupationally, I have worked nearly nine years as a Web developer at a government contractor with a strong original focus on weapons engineering (and later focus on civilian Federal government services, research, evaluation, Web sites, conferences, and so on).
Do the vast majority of Aspies have such shallow roots with NTs that they feel the need to fill the vacuum with themselves?
Certainly we need some sort of publicity campaign to say that some of us function when given an opportunity even when they don't vibe right with NTs.
An aspie complex would be able to offer services that would be impractical to offer to a dispersed population. The reason why cities offer so many attractions is because the population exists to support them. With aspies, we need to group together to build the density to support our own services.
Does anyone else have any comments?
Atypical,
Actually, I think if there were either a school or a community, the other would form around it. I just suggested the building complex first.
The problem with a school is that education is a heavily regulated sector. Do you have any thoughts on that?
DogBrain,
And that is yet another problem in the path of the concept. I still think that the concept is valid, but I think it will "go into storage" for sometime.
I may have attempted to "put the cart before the horse", by having a concept (Aspie Building), which I admittedly used from a reference by GuessWho, instead of asking "what services would justify a commmunity".