Other Ways of Doing Architecture in El Colorado Documenting how the joyful, collective, and quietly radical work of reclaiming a community space, one hand-painted turtle sign at a time, is sustainability in practice.

For local community building platform Programa VACA, sustainability means two things at once: the materials used to build, and the knowledge shared in the process. Public space in El Colorado is created and defended through collective use, decision-making, and ongoing care. Programa VACA, residents, and volunteers design three separate, yet invisibly connected, interventions that respond to the community's needs and desired futures. Hand-in-hand, they shape a new public park to reclaim stolen space, a research center for sustainable building techniques, and, yes, new animal-shaped signs on the beach to protect nesting sea turtles.