Challenge: What is a path the town of Bolinas, California can take to ensure its desired community values stay intact in the midst of high Bay Area population and economic growth?
Summary: An influx of outsiders desiring to visit a coastal community for surfing and tourism is met with reclusive and reluctant residents. The future of the town is imagined through their current value system: a significant population of residents involved in the arts, a commitment to protecting the outdoor environment, and restricted development through a moratorium on water meters which prevents new building permits. A film festival of the future addresses the complex and sometimes competing issues of the city.
Bolinas is both welcoming and reclusive. This contradictory statement is apt to describe the town with a population of 1,620 because it is tolerant of many different lifestyles and is the home to artists and experimental thinkers. It also attracts surfers and tourists with laid-back lifestyles and attitudes. Yet it is wary of outsiders who may contribute to overpopulation or overtourism. The town is reluctantly famous for cutting down road signs that indicate its location.
Image: Homes on a hillside in Bolinas.
Economic and population growth have been at extremely high levels for much of the last two decades for nearly all cities in the Bay Area. Bolinas has been an exception to population growth because of the restriction of new development due to a 1970's moratorium on additional water meters allowed.
“Overall water usage in Bolinas is limited by a 1971 moratorium that caps water service connections to 587 and restricts new development to instances in which an existing house is taken out of commission, such as by fire or a crumbling cliff.”
— Point Reyes Light
This defining component of the city touches almost all aspects of the social, technological, environmental, economic, and political landscapes.
Our team conducted extensive research, interviews, and ethnographic observatins. The first step we took as a team was identifying the key stakeholders within the community. The myths surrounding Bolinas include various archetypes: The Surfer, The Hippie, The Hermit. The beach town embraces the laidback, laissez faire attitudes of The Surfer, along with being intimately in tune with the ocean, water, and ecosystems. The Hippie defines not just the spirit of the population but also the spirit of the town. Many people who are drawn to make Bolinas their home share similar values relating to communal living in harmony with nature with generally progressive views. As well, Bolinas captures a nostalgic feel for decades past, slower times, and simpler lifestyles—a stark contrast to nearby fast-paced tech and innovation hubs. Bolinas residents are intentional in how they maintain their community and culture. The Hermit lies tucked away along the coast, in the Marin Headlands, away from cities and metropolitan centers.
Image: An “artifact of the future” film festival poster.
After performing multiple layers of analysis over several months we created an "artifact from the future" as a way of envisioning what a future scenario for Bolinas could look like. During a workshop at California College of the Arts in San Francisco our team presented a Bolinas Film Competition poster from 2033. Presenting “an artifact from the future” as a way of generating discussion about the future of Bolinas was useful in articulating the current value system and emphasizing a future direction.
We chose to tell the story of a future Bolinas as an international film festival destination because it embodied the artistic inclinations of the town. The festival was held offshore as a way of addressing the towns current value of maintaining a small sized community. Could an offshore film festival be a way to incorporate the artistic values of the town, acknowledge the desire of tourists wanting to visit the community, and maintain the small town atmosphere?
Using the imagined film festival poster from the future as a starting point, we facilitated a workshop with multiple stakeholders with the outcome of articulating the challenges of the city and a shared understanding of multiple perspectives.