Clyde and Betsy Jackson with Prince Charles
Park Cities residents Clyde and Betsy Jackson were among 15 American developers and wives invited by Prince Charles to share ideas on sustainable, planned communities, such as the one the prince developed himself, called Poundbury. During their stay, the Jacksons toured Poundbury (the photo shows Betsy and Clyde Jackson talking with the prince while touring the town), which is in Dorset. Clyde says he’s using many of the prince’s ideas in a planned, self-sustaining community called The Tribute, under construction now near Little Elm. As in Poundbury, the Tribute will even have its own schools. Says Clyde: “We had lots of one on one conversations. He is very passionate about good design, sustainable development and proper architecture. His eyes really light up when he talks about it.” I talked to Betsy briefly before she left, and learned that the prince preferred his guests to dress simply, and via the palace had instructed the women not to wear jewelry except for a strand of simple pearls and a wedding ring. They were also instructed to wear suits. I thought this was interesting. Americans, no doubt, tend to overdress on such occasions. 
3 Comments to “Clyde and Betsy Jackson with Prince Charles”
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Oh, Rebecca, that is really interesting! I didn’t know anything about this new development. Thanks for flagging it. Europeans are so much more advanced than Americans in their approaches to sustainable living. I stayed at a hotel in Florence recently that had all the guest room’s energy tied to the door lock. So, when you left the room (with the key) everything automatically shut off. When you used the key to reenter, everything came back on. Brilliant.
Loyd, we’re not THAT far behind. For example, a hotel in Hawaii automatically turns off the AC or heat whenever the balcony door is opened. It may not turn off all the lights, but it’s nice to know that all that extra energy is being conserved (particularly since guests tend to leave the AC or heat running.)
That’s a nice surprise. The last hotel I stayed in in Hawaii had 24 hour electric waterfalls and rooms that were so cold, I had to open the windows to warm up.