David Morris (writer)

David Morris was raised in Jamaica, Queens, New York. He received a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University in 1966, an M.A. in Political Science/Latin American Studies from the University of Florida in 1967 and a PhD in Public Policy from Union Graduate School in 1976. After working with the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C., David Morris went to Chile to study the efforts of the newly elected President, Salvador Allende after which he wrote his first book, We Must Make Haste Slowly on contemporary development in Chile prior to the U.S. sponsored coup of 1973 in which Allende died.

In 1974, David Morris joined with two other urban innovators, waste management specialist Neil Seldman and urban agriculture activist Gil Friend to found the Institute for Local Self-Reliance Located in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of D.C,[1] the founders’ experiments included growing sprouts and worms in the basement and tomatoes in the rooftop greenhouse, installing the neighborhood's, and perhaps the city's, first solar hot water system and compost toilet.

Morris's additional experience with earlier neighborhood innovators provided the background for Neighborhood Power: The New Localism, Dr. Morris's 1975 book, written with Karl Hess.

ILSR became a resource for local, state and national efforts in alternative energy[2] waste management, agriculture[3] and other areas that demonstrated the ability of localities to capture their local wealth for local production and consumption[4]

Morris was called upon for advice and technical assistance by federal, state and local elected officials and agencies and leaders in community development. For example, under contract with Saint Paul, MN's Mayor George Latimer Morris developed the principles for and began to implement the creation of what Saint Paul's Deputy Mayor, Dick Broeker called a ″Homegrown Economy″. The U.S. Department of Energy contracted with ILSR to track energy-related dollar flows through the Washington, D.C. economy. The report, Planning for Energy Self-Reliance: A Case Study of the District of Columbia, concluded that almost 90 cents on the dollar spent for energy left the city and estimated the economic impact of conservation and rooftop solar. Morris also served as an advisor or consultant to the energy departments of Presidents Ford, Carter, Clinton and George W. Bush. At ILSR, Morris directed the New Rules and Defending the Public Good Projects.