If not suburbs, then what?

Only concrete alternatives will cajole people out of the suburbs 4

Often, the first step to helping people make better choices is showing them that there are choices.

One of the biggest and most important -- albeit frequently overlooked -- steps toward combating global warming, improving public health, reducing air pollution, and restoring a sense of community and fellow-feeling to American life is changing the structure of our communities.

Right now, conventional wisdom is that the choice is between suburbs -- big houses, plenty of privacy and safety, big, cheap retail readily available -- and tight, cramped, dangerous, dirty living in a city, with corner stores the only source of provisions. This perception is off, but it's not that far off. There are still too few concrete examples of dense, safe, mixed-use walkable communities with all the conveniences of the suburbs.

So, forthwith, Dave's Two-Step Plan for Cleaner, Safer Communities:

1. Show people the costs of the suburbs. A pair of just-released studies show that people in less-walkable, less-dense areas (read: suburbs) are more likely to suffer from obesity and air pollution. Don't demonize people for living in suburbia. Don't mock or deride them. Just make the consequences of the choice as clear and widely known as possible. Make the invisible visible.

2. More importantly: Find better communities. If you can't find them, design and build them. Talk about them. Publicize them. And -- are you listening, all you enviros? -- if at all possible, live in them. Right now, it's difficult: difficult to find them, to afford living there, to get a nearby job, etc. But we can't very well browbeat other people to abandon the suburbs if we don't. Only a steady and rising tide of demand will cause more such communities to develop. People will only abandon unhealthy ways of living when they can see and touch and visualize healthy ways of living. Real, viable alternatives do more than any amount of debate or persuasion. (Exhibit A: The Prius)

Is your living situation healthy and energy-efficient? Do you know of walkable communities in your area? Tell us about them in comments.

David Roberts is staff writer for Grist. You can follow his Twitter feed at twitter.com/drgrist.

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  1. Icelander Posted 9:23 am
    25 Jan 2006

    I've found a happy mediumI live in Lancaster, PA, what I think is the best little city in the world. We've got a great downtown with lots of independent shops, lots of entertainment and culture and even a minor league baseball team, all within walking distance of my house. And we've got pretty good public transportation. There's even an excellent farmer's market downtown. A lot of the food, particularly in the summer, is grown locally on the farms that surround our city, many of which are Amish and therefore grown with very little fossil fuels. We're also going to join a local farming co-op that employs developmentally disabled individuals.
    It's safe, relatively spacious (my 1200 sq. ft. townhome is as large as my parent's house) and there's plenty of nice neighbors. I walk to work, and soon my wife will, too. We also live within walking distance of an Amtrak station that provides regular commuter service to Philadelphia and Harrisburg, meaning that I could find a job in either of these cities and commute via train. (Which, as all good treehuggers know, is more efficient than a car. And with a monthly Amtrak pass, a great deal cheaper.)
    As for energy efficiency, we're spending less on heat (natural gas), hot water, and electricity than we did while we were living in an apartment in college. And that was four years ago! Having neighbors on both sides and mature trees around our home makes heating and cooling our home much easier. We're even blessed with a large, flat area with plenty of southern exposure on our roof that I hope will one day hold solar collectors for electricity or hot water.
    The only things I'd change are making parking easier and adding bike lanes to the major streets to make commuting by bike easier and safer.

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  2. greenlagirl's avatar

    greenlagirl Posted 2:55 pm
    25 Jan 2006

    No, it is not.As an LA gal, I have my work cut out for me. But I'm also learning to rethink my expectations.
    For ex: I've never had a steady bar/ brunch spot/ dinner spot -- mainly cuz I haven't had to. Why go to one place over and over agan, when you can try a new spot each week?
    A few months ago, I decided I was gonna use my car less, hell or high water (for my social life). Interestingly, it's gotten easier for me -- Now my friends come to my area more often to (re)visit my fave restaurants in walking distance. It's their lil green deed for the day.
    Of course, it helps to have nice friends who feel they're helping out a psychotically green friend that's suddenly gone anti-automobile... -

    http://greenlagirl.com/

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  3. Clark Williams-Derry's avatar

    Clark Williams-Derry Posted 3:30 am
    26 Jan 2006

    Do your friends drive to visit you, greenlagirl?Sounds like you're doing great stuff--especially living in a place like L.A.  But (obviously enough) if your friends drive to your neighborhood, rather than you driving to theirs, I guess it's not much of a net gain.  
    That is -- you're doing your part, but the total system isn't.  Sigh...

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  4. Library Lady Posted 11:08 am
    02 Feb 2006

    Small Town LifeI live in the small town of Perris in Southern California (18 miles from Riverside and 70 miles from LA). This town has an increasing problem with urban sprawl, which I have been informed I have to accept (I don't, as acceptance is tantamount to approval), and I am always campaigning and complaining about it. However, I live in the oldest housing development in this town (built in 1960 to house the teachers at the new high school, which I graduated from in 1994 and now work for as a library clerk)--and this neighborhood has plentiful space in its yards, combined with smallish houses. There are kids playing outside year round, and I know many of my neighbors. There is a small shopping center two blocks from my house, plus a Mexican market another block away from that. I live only three miles from my work, so I don't have to drive far, and the area across the streets from the high school contains a dozen restaurants, two supermarkets, a Big Lots with wonderful prices, and a clothing shop that appeals to me. I don't do any any extra driving to go to the market--I either walk over from work or walk from home to one of the local businesses. There is a great hiking area around the block from my house, so I don't even have to drive to that. There's even a wonderful little mom and pop pharmacy within walking distance and along my route home from work. More people should walk here, but many people think it's too hard (the frequent whine of kids sent back to class for not having a pass), or they are addicted to their cars. Oh, yes, and I want my next car to be a Prius--just like my landlady's.

    Nature will always win, one way or another. The question is, how will it affect us? Think about it.

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