I'On Dialogues Pt. 5 - "I and Thou: Who is my neighbor?"

Part 5: "I and Thou: Who is my neighbor?"

“But he [a certain lawyer], willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’” ~Luke 10:29 (KJV)

“...Jesus immediately pulled that question from mid-air, and placed it on a dangerous curve between Jerusalem and Jericho. And he talked about a certain man, who fell among thieves. You remember that a Levite and a priest passed by on the other side. They didn't stop to help him. And finally a man of another race came by. He got down from his beast, decided not to be compassionate by proxy. But…helped the man in need. Jesus ended up saying[...] this was the great man, because he had the capacity to project the ‘I’ into the ‘thou,’ and to be concerned about his brother.” ~Martin Luther King, Jr. Mountaintop Speech, April 3, 1968

Session Panelists/ “Provocateurs”:

Lead Provocateur: Chris Elisara, Founder & Producer, First + Main Films

Fellow Provocateurs:

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Full Series Description:

“Ancora Imparo” (I am still learning), attributed to Michelangelo, then 87, while working on the design for St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

In 1995, a radical new neighborhood was proposed for Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. Radical in the sense that its design departed from the conventional post-WWII growth patterns. But also radical in that the vision for I’On built upon the foundational root of human settlement patterns. Opposed at the outset, the neighborhood’s founders, Geoff, Tom and Vince Graham, together with supporters of their vision, endured years of political and legal wrangling to secure approval. Though acclaimed as South Carolina’s most celebrated neighborhood of the past 25 years, I’On continues to be viewed as a radical departure from the norm. Because it is!

In honor of the 25th anniversary of I’On’s approval and groundbreaking, the Grahams invited urban designers who helped shape the vision for I’On, as well as builders, scholars and activists who have inspired their thinking over the last quarter century, for a gathering called The I’On Dialogues.

Held October 23-25, 2022, the Dialogues drew upon lessons learned from I’On and elsewhere for the purpose of raising the level of awareness and discourse surrounding land use and transportation policy reform. Divided into eight sessions interspersed with walking tours, The I’On Dialogues sought to provoke opportunity-opening discussion that would advance the endeavor to achieve a more beautiful and humane built environment.

I'On DialoguesVince Graham