This week in class we learned about green building concepts such as ecocities and smart growth. Cities should be build for people, not cars. Currently, our cities are not being designed with this in mind, nor were they in the past. So our cities need to be rebuilt around the ideas of sustainability and community. Since fossil fuel use is not sustainable, our cities need to be walkable. Everything a person needs should be within walking distance from their home.
A "mixed use" community would have housing, businesses, a grocery, gym, coffee shop, hairdresser etc. within a small area. This would allow for a safe, comforting small town feel, where everyone knows and looks out for one another. A mixed use community is better for people as well as the environment. Our cities won't be sprawled out over prime habitat and we won't have to drive everywhere spewing GHGs.
I love the idea of having the "small town feel" in the big city. I come from a small town in rural MB, and that feeling is something I really miss now that I'm here. It makes you feel really good to know that other members of the community are looking out for you and care about what happens to you. It is also very handy to drive into town and find all the shops you need on one street. It definitely saves time and gas. Instead of spending time in the car stuck in traffic, you can spend it chatting with your neighbors on the sidewalk or in the grocery store. When I was young I used to get annoyed with my Mom because it would take her hours to shop...due to non-stop chatting! But now that I am older I miss it.
We also watched the movie "Save our Land, Save our Town" in class this week. It made me feel really sad! I was especially frustrated with the fact that in Chester County, Pennsylvania so many farmers are losing their farmland to urban sprawl...even as the population decreases and the inner cities rot. It would just make so much more sense to upgrade the buildings that are already there instead of wasting prime farmland. Especially since the world is already facing a food crisis with so many malnourished people in the world.
Inner city rot is such a huge problem, and a quote from the movie sums it up quite nicely. "Fear is deadly to a city." (or even an area of a city!) Many people don't even want to go downtown (much less live there!) because it has this stigma of danger, filled with unsavory characters around every corner. Even Winnipeg as a whole has a bad reputation for being unsafe. Whenever my Mom calls me and I am taking the bus in the evening, it is a 100% guarantee she will ask, "Teresa...is that really safe?"
But I believe that...
With proper planning, care and far-sightedness, cities can be built that are both beautiful, environmentally friendly, and truly community based.
We are aware of the issues associated with poor planning of our cities. Now we have an opportunity... LEARN from them. There is no reason to continue building cities with the same problems as all the ones we've built before!
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