The Environment and the Power of Cities
In prior posts on this blog I’ve referred to some of the world’s experts on new urbanism–experts who have each asserted that there are vital links between a city’s success or failure and the well-being of local and regional economies.
In this tough global economy, if we’re to create new jobs, protect our natural resources and provide thriving communities for our children and our small businesses, we need to invest in our cities.
The new urbanism mantra is thankfully becoming part of our main stream conversation. The media, citizens groups, corporate types and politicians are all acknowledging the impact and benefit of curbing urban sprawl (with higher density housing). More regions are willingly directing support for infrastructure development in support of healthier, attractive new urban communities and city centers where people can work, create and live.
When our cities our strengthened so our are futures – whether we reside in the city, suburbs or our rural communities.
The former popular and controversial mayor of London (U.K.), Ken Livingstone, said this recently to the Toronto Star (January 25, 2009):
The biggest 40 cities in the world have huge purchasing power and huge information exchange; together we can do more to stop climate change than all the major governments in the world. Now’s an ideal time to build new green industries around alternative energy sources.
Half the world’s population lives in cities. Cities produce 75 percent of carbon emissions. The upside to that is that it’s easier to make changes in cities. Twenty to 30 percent of emissions in cities come from cars and buses.
So if you are able to work from home in your own business or through a telecommuting arrangement with your employer – good for you as you’re contributing to the health of our communities.
If you chose to move your family to one of the hundreds of green-friendly new urbanism communities that have been newly built or redeveloped across the U.S., Canada and elsewhere over the last two decades – good for you as you’re not only helping to contribute to a healthier environment but you’re helping to influence a generation through your lifestyle and involvement in the community.
If you stepped outside of your rural area or remote suburb to visit a museum, or grab a bite to eat in an establishment in your nearby urban city – good for you as you’re helping to support one of the prime engines of our economy.
Your city is just that – it is yours, whether you live in it or 100 miles away. When our cities thrive we all do.
A Nation Coming of Age – The Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama
Around the country and around the world communities are buzzing with the kind of excitement that we don’t often get before a presidential inauguration.
Sure, in most instances the installation of a new president brings about some anticipation about what the new administration will do to affect your situation, but this time it’s different.
First of all, the world economic situation is so bad right now that in all honesty I don’t think anyone seriously believes that the man about to be inaugurated in a few hours will change it anytime soon.
I think instead it’s this man’s campaign mantra and the “man” himself that has us holding our breath with…hope.
Here is a man that was elected by people of all colors and even all political beliefs because of his competence and what he represented. Sure he represents “change” from the current administration, but I think more importantly he embodies the feeling, emotions, mindset and convictions of a nation that has come of age.
Who would have thought that the U.S. with its still-fresh scars of racial inequality and violence “could” not only elect but come together as a “community” of Americans to support and embrace the installation of a black man as its 44th president. It is hard believe that this is all taking place within the same century that saw blacks being denied the right to vote because of the color of their skin.
I’m overjoyed at this development not just for myself and the opportunity I have to witness this in my lifetime, but more so for our children. Our young people feel energized (I see it and I could cry). They feel hopeful and positive about our country’s leadership and about what they can do to change and protect our world and that is the best outcome of all.
Mr. Obama has come at the right time for us as a nation and as people who share and embrace a history and the future.
Show #17 – Testosterone Free Marketing
When it comes to assigning a price to the services or products you offer through your home-business, do you undercharge? Do you worry about relationships in business to the detriment of your own business success? If you’re nodding in agreement you are definitely not alone…according to marketing expert Denise Michaels this is in many cases a ‘female’ thing.
Denise elaborates on her thinking with her bestselling book Testosterone-Free Marketing: The Yin and Yang of Marketing for Women . Since the book’s publication there has been plenty of buzz about women’s attitudes and strategies when it comes to marketing and building a business. If this is the year you want to kick start your marketing strategy with focus and confidence, you’ll want to listen to this podcast and visit Denise’s website Mentoring With Denise.
Geography of a Crisis and Opportunity
UPDATE – February 6, 2009: Richard Florida’s report to the Ontario government is creating fear/anger/hope/buzz across Canada and the U.S. – serious questions are being raised about the future of manufacturing in this country. Read the report here.
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This morning I listened to American new urbanism guru Richard Florida (author of Rise of the Creative Class and Who’s Your City) talk about what makes a city and region successful.
He was asked to comment on how the large metropolis of Toronto (and it’s surrounding region) can find long-term economic success during this recession.
During his explanation Florida talked about how the future for much of our economy around North America is really about “mega regions” and that we ought to prepare ourselves to compete in this global economy not as lone towns or cities but as these larger geographic sections. “Mega regions” tap into the man power, resources and ideas of the outlying suburbs and towns that feed many of our most dynamic cities in the U.S. and Canada. According to Florida, vibrant cities like New York, London, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Toronto and Montreal will do relatively well in recessions because they have the capacity for re-invention. That capacity rests in each city’s creative roots–roots that can extend throughout the region.
So if a region is, for example, heavily reliant on one of the threatened sectors in this economy, like the auto sector, Florida argues that such regions ought to look to the sectors that are actually growing and to the nature and strengths of the “human capital” in that region. What are the strengths, interests and priorities for the people that live there? How can their unique attributes contribute to a local economy that will be sustainable and profitable for that region?
Another good point he highlights is the way in which regions can invest in human capital and that is through training, education and the support of human enterprises/ideas/businesses. Florida would argue that decisions about where and how to invest resources in any economy have to be based on the reality of growth and decline in our country today. There is without doubt a decline in manufacturing jobs and there is definitely growth in the creative sectors – those industries that rely on the intellectual and creative input of workers.
Our auto sector has for so many decades defined our culture that it’s difficult (if not painful) to acknowledge its decline. I’m not really sure I could support a decision not to bail out the auto sector, yet that is the question or position Florida puts on the table. The bail out of the auto sector will total several billion dollars…what effect would it have on our future to direct those billions to investment in education, retraining and enterprises (small business) engaged in this new creative work?
The Internet, new media, art, literature, science and new technology are just some of the areas enabling thousands of people across the country to make a sustainable and even profitable living for their families while contributing to the overall well-being of their region’s economic health.
Difficult but important ideas and decisions for discussion and ultimate action.
To listen to Florida’s interview on CBC Metro Morning click here.
Our Kids are Practicing What They Preach
Thanks to an innovative “social web design site” called NetGenDesign I was introduced to a video that got me thinking in new ways about the generation that defines my children–the Millennials. The information shared wasn’t all that new but the video presentation really helped to drive home the message in ways that impressive authors and witty columnist hadn’t.
These kids, our children, will be inheriting the most debt of any generation before them along with some of the worst global issues ever.
Just as I was about to slump in resignation, guilt and sorrow about the legacy we’ve left our kids, the video shifted its focus to other realities. Come 2016 these Millennials will form the largest voting block in North America.
Collectively they are the most culturally diverse, volunteer oriented, anti-war focused, environmentally sensitive and technologically brilliant of any generation to date.
What I ultimately took from this video is that this generation that we’re raising will be uniquely ready for the challenges facing them.
It’s as if we created a generation specifically wired for the mess we left them.
Take a look a look at this video and see what you think:
Merry Christmas 2008
After days of snow, gray clouds, rain and….well more gray clouds, Christmas morning 2008 came with a burst of sunshine in my corner of the world.
Allelluia!
Of course there are many more reasons to “praise God” with an Allelluia this morning…it’s Christmas around the world! You don’t have to be a Christian to share or appreciate this spiritual warmth. Without question, on this day we are collectively as a global community raising our hearts in praise for the love and kindness that we say is in each of us (and more importantly DEMONSTRATE) because of the birth of Jesus.
This morning, after gathering with the kids to open presents, absorb coffee and partake in leftover baked apple-caramel pie, I crawled back up to bed to savor all the good feelings I had inside.
I thought about last night and how we enjoyed the company of family in our small, cozy living room. We laughed about events from the past and went over the funny things in our lives that are everyday occurrences but are such fun to share.
We played a podcast my 15 year old son had recorded about a year ago. He’s such a serious fellow…sharing with us his angst over society’s obsession with Hollywood celebrities even as such weighty subjects like human rights violations in Sudan demand our attention.
We agreed, felt disgusted at the times we’ve enjoyed Entertainment Tonight, then we ate.
We looked at a mini movie my daughter had created that manipulates some of the images she has created at Art school over the last few months. Money well spent!
Then we inhaled our dessert.
I can’t believe we got my mom a little tipsy this year. I decided to serve martinis and my mom is not a drinker. After having her first martini ever, her eyes shrank down to thin lines and permanent grin took over her face. That was bittersweet seeing her giggle with inebriation. A few years ago we thought we would lose her when she was in dire need of a kidney transplant and here she was lighting up our evening in excellent health. My eternal thanks to a special individual (who left this world suddenly) and his family who together, through their decision to make an organ donation, made it possible for my mother to live.
As I lay down for my second nap this Christmas morning I said to my husband that the best gift we have is this family–something that can’t be bought. Realizing this every once in a while gives you a healthy perspective on “wish lists.” There isn’t a “thing” that I wish for, rather I’m thankful for the healthy family that I have and I pray that all of us, in communities everywhere will have the opportunity to love and receive love throughout our lives.
Merry Christmas to you and may the peace, joy and blessings of that first Christmas morning sustain you throughout the year.
A Gift for You That Gives to Others
We’re now at a mere few days before Christmas. What gift could bring a smile to your face…right now?
How about one that offers up the words to those Christmas songs you can never seem to remember? Or how about a handy menu planner to get you through the next few days – that’s a winner in my book.
You are in luck. Christmas Gifts for Moms is something that a few of my peers over at Menu Planning Central have put together that has among many things a how to for decorating your own Gingerbread house.
Don’t spend a minute longer trudging through magazines and old recipe books trying to come up with some healthy, tasty and interesting menus for this week.
It’s free so enjoy your gift right now.
Cheers!
Snow Day and Prime Rib
Earlier this week as I was driving my son to his high school he asked me to switch on the radio to a news and current events station he will usually only listen to after much complaining/urging on my part.
I obliged and put on the station quietly patting myself on the back that my great parenting skills had resulted in my iPod teen finally taking a more wide-spread interest in current affairs.
Well that was a short-lived sentiment. It seems W only wanted to get the weather report so he could hear whether or not there would be snow day for schools. If you don’t have kids or if you’re blessed to live in a snow free region of the world, a snow day these days means “no school.”
Something has happened to the traditional hardiness of us northern folks. I remember walking to school with the snow somewhere near my waist. By the time I would arrive at school my thighs would be tired from lifting them so much!
Now when we get the slightest indication that there’ll be an accumulation of snow it’s like we have to alert the army to ensure we’ll be prepared.
Today my town has called a snow day. As early as yesterday morning, they were telling folks to work from home if at all possible. The front of my paper is all about the pending “snow fall.”
My husband, brave soul that he is, pulled on his boots and went off to work even as those threatening snowflakes, “threaten” to fall. I’ve got Nat King Cole crooning the “Christmas Song” on the stereo, my son is slumbering peacefully knowing that there is no school today.
I have one dilemma…I was told that a local and popular butcher is having an unbelievable sale on boned Prime Rib. Prime Rib is on my menu for Christmas Eve. If I don’t go and get it today, I’ll lose out on a good deal.
Since I’m no snow day chicken, I’m heading out to get my Prime Rib. Let’s hope the news continues to play up the scariness of a snow fall…more choice and selection for me at the meat shop!
The Joys of Urban Life
So often “urban” is likened to all that is gritty, crime ridden and conjested. Unfortunately that’s a label applied usually by those who have never lived in and enjoyed a thriving urban lifestyle.
New urbanism is one of those movements that reminds us of the gifts we already have – like the joy of conversation with a neighbor in a coffee shop; the smile of school kids running out of a bakery; the sketch of an artist chalking out his ideas on the sidewalk….
Sometimes we get so caught up in the problems associated with urban life that we forget the positive aspects that in so many instances outweigh the bad and if properly managed can help to address the problems that can plague cities – like poor housing conditions and crime.
One of the great things about our city is the commitment and passion that our residents have for the arts. You don’t have to have a degree in fine art to appreciate the excitement and beauty of something so fantastic like the re-opening of a great art gallery.
Sure it might help and I sincerely hope the art education we’re giving to our daughter will enhance her life in so many ways from the aesthetic appreciation of things to getting a job! But artistic expression and the mere pursuit of it in public settings and communities is a gift to everyone who has the opportunity to see and experience it.
Art for me shows a little of someone’s personality in a different form – one that I’m not use to. In our city we just reopened our art gallery and it’s not just the priceless works of art from centuries past and just last month that inspire you, but the re-design of the art gallery itself. You see this re-design is an artistic expression (maybe even a serenade) from the architect who is a native son of this city (Frank Gehry).
The picture featured in this post is the new “Galleria Italia” an open space that both features art and provides a sweet view of a street in our bohemian district where I got one of my first jobs after university – a gallery assistant in a tiny, lovely little gallery run by a woman about 3 years older than I was. It was a great experience.
And guess what? I knew nothing about art but loved everything about it 
Photo credit: AGO Photographer, Sean Weaver, 2008.
Holiday Sale for Shop Local Champions
Now you can include in your “shop local” list – New Urban Mom sponsors! Well that is if you’re buying for babies or toddlers in your circle of family and friends.
One of our site sponsors, Ambajam, is offering a 25% discount off of their ENTIRE collection (items already on sale are excluded).
So if you plan on lining up at your “local” or “regionally” owned business to support your local market that is FANTASTIC! If you are also planning on shopping online to get some of the best deals you can find from companies that support your favorite “live green, shop local” sites, then I hope you’ll take a look at the really lovely children’s wear that Ambajam is offering.
Designed to spark the curiosity and imagination of children through the use of textures, colors, shapes and patterns, Ambajam has received rave reviews in numerous parent magazines and “mommy” sites. From play gear to the most adorable blankets in the softest materials with engaging appliques, Ambajam really does offer something different and so cuddly in children’s clothing.
To get the 25% discount you’ll need to provide the following code: BF25.
The sale runs from November 28 to Sunday, November 30.
I’m Also Here…
