Well said Katie. Tony Del Plato On Mon, May 12, 2008 at 8:41 AM, Katie Quinn-Jacobs <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Thanks for voicing the opposition so tactfully and courageously, Marlo. > I'm afraid I won't manage quite as well... > > I'd be dead in a month if I lived in "high density" housing with no way > out. Period. During the course of this discussion thread I actually > tried to imagine myself attempting such a thing and I kept coming back > to the same question: "But what would I do with myself?" I'd be exiled > from everything I understand, everything I rely on to give my life > meaning. As a person who grew up in a dairy and apple farm community, I > simply wouldn't know what to do with my days. Living through the > transitions of a post peak oil/climate disrupted/economically > impoverished world seems much more palatable on my 80 acres located 5 > miles from the Commons - which is why I'm here. It's still > walking/biking distance from the city and my family will be able to > raise most of its own food and network with others choosing to do the > same in our low density sprawlish community. > > Talking this prospect over with my kids and husband at dinner visions of > sci-fi nightmares centered on people living cooped up in efficient > living circled round the table. Perhaps as George Franz suggests we are > all afflicted by American real estate brainwashing or an unjustified > earth-killing dose of American Individualism. Whatever. Personally, I > think attacking people where they live is a poor opening for a > discussion about the future. Giving people a reason/positive motivators > to reconstruct their lives that are tied to their well-being in terms of > better services, jobs, opportunities to work collectively (like > community gardens & kitchens) and security makes more sense. In some > important ways I have over the past 12 years seen this taking shape in > the City of Ithaca, but, of course, it is often derided as > "gentrification" and salvaging homes downtown still carries the stigma > of "single-family dwelling" with the proponents of shared walls. > > Acknowledging that the high density vision is not for everyone, nor is > it practical (Who's going to grow the food or supply the wood for the > high density crowd?) and that it is dependent on large systems running > responsibly would go a long way toward opening up this discussion. It > could be argued that it's easier to reduce your footprint and contribute > to the well-being of your local community in a rural location, because > you and your neighbors have more control over your circumstances. In > any case, not everyone's spirit is attuned to becoming bike-riding > vegans living in 4 story housing or, conversely, living in the isolation > of a rural community growing rutabagas with your extended family on the > back acreage, however much "sense" either reality makes. Perhaps it is > the limitations of my 20th century upbringing coming to the fore, but I > still hold diversity as a key to our collective success when planning > for the future and am nervous about one-size-fits-all solutions > requiring "If only people would..." as a starting point. > > -- Katie Quinn-Jacobs > > > > Simon St.Laurent wrote: > > marlo capoccia wrote: > > > >> 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? > >> > > > > Even George's world will, I expect, need farmers and the villages and > > hamlets that support them. > > > > Unless, of course, I've missed something. (And of course, that's fewer > > people than currently live outside the city.) > > > > Thanks, > > Simon St.Laurent > > http://livingindryden.org/ > > _______________________________________________ > > 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 > > > > > > > > -- > _______________________________________________ > 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 > -- "The risk it takes to remain tight inside the bud is more painful than the risk it takes to blossom." Anais Nin _______________________________________________ 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
