ABSTRACT
The EVI project is, and continues to be, a complex project. It is complex in its efforts to create an ideal village that aims to simultaneously solve both degraded environments and disconnected communities. This chapter introduces the EcoVillage at Ithaca project through a thick description of a day in the community. EcoVillage at Ithaca is a complex organization dedicated to improving the way communities are built, advocating that they be constructed in ways that enhance social interaction and protect the natural environment. The nonprofit EVI was incorporated in January 1992 as part of the Center for Religion, Ethics, and Social Policy (CRESP), now called Center for Transformative Action, an affiliate organization of Cornell University. The EVI, Inc. board and residents' groups were and have remained separate legal entities for practical and financial reasons. Apart from the physical features of the neighborhood, a multitude of experiences and concepts were observed that exemplified ways that residents felt a sense of community.
