i'm feeling weary at just the thought of it, george. if population density isn't the reason for crime, then don't we have a great deal of other issues we need to be addressed and remedied before we can start increasing urban populations in the US?
the thing that got me was having all those kids penned up together. of course, that's not what you said, but again, things would have to be changed dramatically and a lot of attitudes toward education would need to be totally obliterated. i'm being contrary about this probably because i just can't imagine having limited access to rural living. aren't there tons of people like me who would feel terribly penned-in not being able to wake up in the middle of the night and walk in a field all alone with the moon? is that a figment of our imaginations or lack of experience? -marlo On May 11, 2008, at 6:51 PM, George Frantz wrote: > On Friday marlo capoccia <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > i have only been able to skim this discussion, but haven't noticed > any discussion about quality of life. does increasing urban density > affect crime rates? are there mental health issues? > > ...why is population density preferable? is it for reasons of > travel? > freeing land up for farming? > Marlo, > > One of the greatest triumphs of capitalism and real estate > maketing has the the creation and perpetuation of the myth that > increased residential density equals higher crime rates. It's that > ancient practice of circulating a lie long enough that it becomes a > fact in the minds of the population, or in the case of Americans, a > fear. In the US it has sold tens of millions of homes and cars, > gutted our cities and created the biggest social, economic and > environmental mess in history. > > There is no connection between typical urban density and crime > rates, or rate of mental illness. > > For starters, Toronto would not be consistently ranked as one of > the most livable cities in North America. In addition to be one of > the most livable cities, it is also the most densely populated city > north of Mexico. In fact it has a population density 2.5 times > greater than Chicago, one of our more infamous cities, crime-wise. > Toronto of course also has a great public transit system, and more > bike rack slots on one block of Queen Street than in the three > blocks of the Ithaca Commons. > > In fact just about any major city in the world outside the United > States has a population density of three, four or five or more > greater than that of our major cities, yet they also have crime > rates that are generally far lower than ours. > > There are many factors influencing crime rates, but population > density is rarely one of them. > > Of course in Ithaca we have a major perception problem when it > come to crime and crime rates, thanks to our local newspaper. > > Regardless of whether the crime happened in Cayuga Heights, > Enfield, Danby, Lansing, Varna, Ellis Hollow or Town of Ithaca, > because it occurred within the 14850 zip code the Ithaca Journal > more likley than not places the incident in Ithaca. Any criminal > living within the 14850 zip code automatically becomes a city of > Ithaca resident. > > As a result the city proper is unfairly labeled as a "high crime > area," when in fact crime rates, including violent crime rates, > are in some locations in Tompkins County significantly higher than > those in Ithaca proper. > > The level of population density that the Ithaca urban area needs > to attain in order to place 55,000 residents within easy walking, > biking or bus distance of everything, dramatically reduce our > dependency on the automobile, and to create a cleaner, safer and > more environmentally sustainable community is not that great. The > level of density needed to create a walkable, bikable, non-auto > dominated community is somewhere around 15 dwellings per acre on > average, or about 17,000 to 20,000 persons per square mile. This > can easily be achieve by simply folding the two- to three-story > traditional colonial townhouse architecture into the mix of > residential dwellings now in Ithaca. > > I'm not talking about everybody giving up their mortgage and > moving into high-rise apartment buildings. > > The townhouse is by far the most widely used residentail > architecture in the world. It was the predominant residential > architecture in colonial American, and can still be found in ultra- > high income neighborhoods in older American cities like Baltimore, > Philadelphia, Boston and Washington DC. > > In Lancaster, PA the townhouse survived through the Victorian era > and into the 20th century, in several different styles, before > being superseded by the single-family detached. > > I'm also not talking of revolution, here, but instead an > evolution.(Yes, I know we all have a personal secret list of places > around here we would love to torch, but...) > > Granted this may be taken as heresy, but there are a lot of homes > in Ithaca that are either structurally deteriorated or functionally > obsolete, and it would be better if they were simply replaced. The > notion that neighorhood is sacred also has to be discarded. The > character of the ideal American neighborhood character after all is > a very large contributor to environmental, economic and social > unsustainability in the US. It's if fact one of the major > obstacles to achieving any resemblance to sustainability. > > Demolishing homes and hauling the debris off to the landfill > however is not part of this proposition. Most of these older homes > can and should be "deconstructed," i.e. carefully dismantled and > their components recycled into the modern new (town) homes that > replace them. It's not rocket science, and deconstruction is one > of the rapidly growing "green" industries in the U.S. With the > cost of new building materials rising, recycling old lumber, etc., > will likely continue to become more attractive. > > George Frantz > > > P.S. Did I mantion too that six ICSD elementary schools, Boynton > and DeWitt and Ithaca High School would all fit within the 3 square > miles of a sustainable Ithaca, which would mean that almost the > entire school bus fleet goes "POOF!" too? > > > > > --------------------------------- > Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. > Try it now. > _______________________________________________ > For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County > area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ > > RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > [email protected] > http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org Marlo Capoccia Garden Gate www.gardengatedelivery.com _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
