Transportation and our Quality of Life
Minister of Transporation, Kathleen Wynne
Today I read some inspiring talk from the powers that be about transportation and I had to smile because that new urbanism philosophy of travel less and travel smartly is becoming more firmly entrenched in our modern thinking. Hallelujah.
Cutting down the amount of transportation we do by living and working in closer proximity to one another is one side of the new and improved transportation model. The other side of that model includes utilizing public transit when feasible, to reduce the overall level of toxic emissions.
We have a politician in my region that is so unlike any politician I have ever met that I’m going to have to call myself a fan pretty soon. After being one of the best Minister’s of Education we have had in a while, she was recently appointed our Minister of Transportation.
True to her tradition of understanding the key issues and the human component in the decisions that are made by government, she had this to say about the role of transportation in our lives (source: Toronto Star).
“If we don’t think about people who are living in poverty in rural communities…and think about how they can move around (to improve their circumstances) then we’re missing a huge social impact of transportation.”
She adds: “I have become acutely aware of the role that inadequate transportation networks play in inhibiting economic growth and reducing quality of life.”
Think about the transportation in your community and how it affects your quality of life. I know that since we moved closer to grocery shopping and parks, I’m much more inclined to walk and that has made me healthier and increased my love of my neighborhood.
I also like the knowing that I’m near to reliable public transit so that members in my family always have the means to get to work or a medical appointment, etc.
Life is so often about journeys. How we “journey” from A to B can have more impact on our lives than we ever imagined.
Pedestrian Day
Today as we were in town looking for a new dining room table, my husband reminded me that May 30 is “Pedestrian Day” in our community.
Now we have all kinds of “special days” but I was unfamiliar with that one. After all we live in a community that celebrates walkable spaces all year round.
But perhaps I’m too close to the issue. One of the reasons the new urbanism lifestyle has such a stronghold where we live is precisely because we talk about it so much.
I don’t mean the residents talk about it all the time, but rather those who champion this lifestyle make it their job to promote, promote, promote.
I can’t blame them, it doesn’t take much for tastes to change. For example I understand “golf communities” that were all the rage throughout the 1990′s and early part of the 2000′s are now very much “out of style.”
Perhaps the fall of Tiger Woods and the similarly bad behavior of Wall Street companies have together served to put a damper on golf given the close association of those two media headlines with the sport.
Of course that’s a huge assumption on my part (though it has me thinking…). Essentially my point is really just to say that we can never get too slack about something so important as the health, vitality and sustainability of our community life. Where we work, play and raise our families is core to our existence and our happiness.
What day are you going to make pedestrian day in your community (hint, hint)!
Celebrating Aging
"SURPRISE!!" My Dad with William after being greeted by the gang at the door.
I was really feeling a little strange about my Dad’s birthday this year. Normally I don’t think much about birthdays but this time I did.
He’s turning 70. We celebrated his birthday last weekend but he’ll actually be turning 70 tomorrow. I guess what I’m feeling is that he’s actually getting old.
I’ve never really thought of my parents as old because they have always been so active. They had my brother and I at a relatively young age (early 20′s) and they’ve always been into sports, their family and friends. Plus they are truly young at heart and that’s never more evident than when they are playing with/caring for their children – especially their grand kids.
In true new urbanism fashion, we chose to live in the community we’re in because it is close to my parents. We wanted to give our kids the opportunity to grow with the love, attention (and some nagging) that comes with having doting grandparents nearby.
So when it dawned on me that my Dad would be turning 70 I felt like a switch went off and that all of a sudden my little world had changed…I have aging parents that will need me in ways I hadn’t fully thought about.
This change also means that I’m aging….really aging. I’m my parents’ eldest so if my Dad is 70, I’m not too far behind. Maybe that’s the real reason for this anxiety.
Except I don’t really feel anxious about me. I’m a little closer to feeling sadness rather than anxiety. The 30-year old father I see through my “mind’s eye” is truly past that age and closer to a phase of life I’m not sure I’m ready to accept.
Wearing his Birthday Hat & seated in front of Hannah's painting of Inverness (his favourite picture).
For that reason I titled this post “Celebrating Aging” to remind myself what living a rich life is really all about. It’s not about money or lavish material things. Rather it’s about having in your life people that care about you, that are there for you in good times and in bad, and that wouldn’t be anywhere else in the world on a Saturday afternoon if it meant missing you blow out a few candles.
Best of all they’d consider this opportunity to share a birthday celebration with you a blessing too precious to miss and a joy to remember…always.
Happy Birthday Dad!!
It’s About Time for 32 Million People
President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and senior staff, react in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, as the House passes the health care reform bill, March 21, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
—I have wonderful, comprehensive health care, as does my family and most of my friends. I know what it feels like to be sick and to receive the best care in the world without having to worry if I’ll be able to feed my family at the same time.
That’s why as a thinking, feeling human being I am torn up over the fact that people in this wealthy part of the world are going without health care.
Some hobble through, others lose their homes and sadly too many die because of inadequate health care in the richest nation on this planet.
32 million people without adequate health care coverage in the United States…until now.
Thank you President Obama.
Planning to Appreciate All We Have in 2010
Like many people, every so often I think about moving. Moving to a bigger house or a house with more bells and whistles. That line of thinking takes me down a number of paths.
To match my budget and preferences we’d have to either leave the community we love or take on a bigger mortgage or give up some other comfort I’ve grown to love.
Sure I would love to have a new kitchen with a center island or a bigger master bedroom or a large 2nd floor laundry room…I could go on and on. But ultimately the kids tell me they’re happy right where they are because this is the home where their childhood memories were made.
I value that reason and I also value another important reason. Our community. We live in a town that celebrates it’s historic past and embraces green living and the principles of new urbanism. I know that I can grow old in this community knowing that infrastructures are in place to protect the physical beauty and social environment of where we live.
Just now I was listening to folks on the television discussing their new years’ resolutions to live healthier and I thought this is the year I start walking again. I love walking in our community – whether it’s through our town streets or in the Conservation park 5 minutes from our home.
So every time I start searching for where the grass might be greener, I stop to ask myself if that new “must have” is really greener? What is it that I already have in my own home and community that has contributed to making my life and that of my family’s richer and more meaningful? Is it worth giving up for something else that may or may not be better?
Appreciating what we have can be a hard task in this fast paced life we live in. There is so much out there on the Internet, on television, and in our social circles to drag attention away from what is important and what is giving us true happiness.
Instead of asking what new thing you’re going to do or adopt in 2010, I’d like to know what you plan to examine and embrace in your current life with fresh, appreciative eyes in 2010?
Eco-Friendly Tips for Your Household
Are you using reusable bags at the grocery store? Have you changed the bulbs in your home to energy efficient ones? Many of you are probably nodding in agreement and still others are “on their way there.” In many cases where we’re not as energy efficient as we’d like it has nothing to do with a lack of will, it is more about having the knowledge about some of the easy steps we can take to be more eco-friend.
I’m going to make your life a little easier with by offering up some small steps you can take to make big difference.
Use less water.
Saving water is all about small steps, here are a few that will help save big.
- Shut off the water while you brush your teeth
- Take showers that are a minute or two shorter
- Only flush the toilet when you need to
- Only run full loads of laundry and dishes
- Buy from sustainable producers. These are farmers, ranchers, and other producers that use techniques that pollute less and use less water. You can do some research online or ask at your local organic market to find these products.
Use less energy.
If you don’t have the money to buy a hybrid car or convert your house to solar power, you can make a big difference with small changes.
- Buy energy efficient appliances. They may be more expensive, but make up for the increased cost in lower energy bills.
- Unplug chargers when you’re not using them. Cell phone and other chargers use up powers even if there’s nothing attached to them.
- Put devices with remotes, like T.V.s, VCRs, and stereos, on a power strip and turn it off when you’re not using them. These devices use a lot of power to run the remote receiver even when the device is off.
- Walk or ride your bike for short trips.
- Buy local products. It takes energy to transport food and other products across the country. Buying local not only supports your local economy, it helps them use less energy.
When it comes to saving energy and water, it’s a great idea to get the kids involved. You can even make it a game. Have them track how much water and electricity everyone is using. You can compete to see who uses the least water. You can often count on your kids to help keep you on track when given the task.
Reuse.
Most of us know the three R’s: reduce, reuse, recycle, but when we work on conserving, we often leave reuse out of the picture. While you can often find tips on how to reuse common products from other people, what you need most is creativity. With a little thought there are many items around your home that can be reused – toilet paper holders can be used to sow seeds for the vegetable patch. And old yogurt containers can be cut into strip to make plant labels. Old food jars can be refilled with homemade foods or can make great impromptu vases.
Use environmentally friendly products. When you go to the grocery store, you probably see more and more “natural” or “eco friendly” products every time. There are generally two big problems with these products: 1. Just because they’re more natural than regular products, doesn’t mean they’re entirely natural. 2, They’re often expensive.
If you want inexpensive, natural, safe products, why not just make them yourself. Vinegar is a great way to clean and disinfect glass and other surfaces. Need to remove stubborn stains? Just add some baking soda to your vinegar cleaner. Some quick searching online will lead you to hundreds of other natural safe home-made cleaning products.
I hope these steps help you on your journey to being more “green”.
All the best you,
Sharon
Job Security, New Urbanism and Competing Communities
Commercial space in the New Urban community of Highland Square (Akron, OH)
If we’ve learned anything from this global economic collapse it’s that the traditional indicators of security that we’ve grown accustomed to in many families-job for life, endless supply of cheap fuel, iron clad home equity values–are fleeting notions, at best.
But is that a bad thing?
If you have to move due to a new job or some life issues, then of course it can be catastrophic to lose equity in your home due to dropping home values in your area.
But outside of those “must move” exceptions, if we approach a home purchase as if it is an investment in a community we see supporting our lifestyles and values, then short-term blips in home values shouldn’t be too problematic – not if we’re there for the long-term.
Is the loss of job security all bad? Well, sure it’s nice to develop your expertise with one employer, but it is likely just as beneficial to develop your expertise in different work environments with different people. Look at the people that spent half their lives or more at automotive plants only to be let go during this financial meltdown. Most have skills that aren’t transferable to other industries or sectors. Now that is bad news.
When you are forced to change employers or when you choose to work in different sectors based on opportunity and interest you become more valuable as an employee and especially as an entrepreneur. Better yet – you become more valuable to your community.
One of the key factors companies consider before deciding to locate in a community is the skill and educational level of the people living there–their potential employee pool.
Hiring locally is a much better proposition for a company than having to recruit staff that have to rely on costly transit options and congested freeways to get to work. So the more skilled community residents become the more competitive our communities become. I see nothing wrong with having the mindset that we are competing with neighboring communities to attract companies that will hire locally.
Competition works if everyone is made to feel they have a role to play – young or old; rich or poor – all residents have a stake in the community’s well being and can contribute to making a community better in the eyes of locals and potential investors/new residents.
To give you an idea on how “residents” can take better control (or at least have some effective influence) on developments and on the way the community is marketed, take a look at the website created by the residents and small business owners of Highland Square (near Akron, Ohio). What I like is that they’ve used new media to share videos from recent town hall type meetings and they also have useful and timely information about commercial opportunities, homes for sale and activities and events in the community.
Obama Pushes Better Parenting, Education for America’s Future
I’ve just finished listening to President Barack Obama’s address at the NAACP’s 100th anniversary convention in New York. The address was delivered on July 16 and once again I have to thank YouTube for helping so many more of us to get the message from folks who really have something to say.
President Obama’s message, though targeted to African Americans, really spoke to all Americans. Education, engaged parenting and health care is the key to the U.S.’s journey back to leading nation status. America use to lead in the world in the number of college educated graduates. I don’t doubt that when that stat was current the U.S. also was the leader in the auto industry and scientific innovation.
For more on the link between education, innovation and the strength of our economic future read my posts on another one of my new urbanism heroes, Richard Florida.
Education needs investment. Period. It will never end because that is the nature of education. As long as we have young people needing to learn, we’ll need to invest in education. So please will those people who have a BIG problem about the hundreds of millions being poured into education, please stop calling for the cease in investment and instead participate in discussions that will look at ways to utilize the investment effectively.
But it is not not just monetary investment that is needed but creative and intellectual investment to improve the way education in delivered. President Obama points out the importance of giving our kids a world-class education – they can not compete without it. I would think offering a world-class education to our children is within the capabilities of the most powerful nation on earth.
Maybe now with this President- a new urbanism advocate if ever there was one – we can take steps to REALLY chip away at the education problem.
For those with no children or those who are more so concerned about business opportunity, I hear you as I’m just as concerned. But we need smart people to employ in our businesses and good people in our communities to make our corporate initiatives thrive.
Without good schools to prepare our kids for college and a comprehensive health care system to keep us all working, healthy and SOLVENT, our communities and businesses will most definitely suffer – no matter if you live in the country or the city.
Here’s the link to the President’s address – it really is message for ALL of us.
Backyard Garden Could Turn you Into An Eco-Farmer
There’s a new wave of farming out there called SPIN–small plot intensive farming–and according to major newspapers it is growing in cities across North America.
New urbanism has generated a lot of attention around the notions of “buying local” and working locally in order to cut harmful emissions caused by transportation vehicles. Was it then any wonder that we’d eventually find a way to make farming an urban pursuit as well?
What is making SPIN popular is the relatively low start up cost. You can reap the benefits of growing your own food for consumption or sale without having to purchase acres of land. Of course your income will have some relation to the amount of land that you have available to cultivate.
But even so, according to the Toronto Star, urban SPIN movement leader, Wally Satzewich says that on a 1/2 acre of land an urban farmer can earn $50K. That’s not too shabby.
“The field is wide open because there is so much demand for local, ecologically grown food and so little supply,” explains Satzewich.
Well I’m excited about this SPIN movement because it’s sustainable, it’s affordable and will not only open up opportunity for more people to generate income from home–that’s good news in this tough economy–but it will also contribute to the supply of locally grown food and slowly but surely edge us further away from our heavy dependency on imported fruits and vegetables.
Time to go take an assessment of my garden tools…
The Community Garden Concept
Photo of Markham Community Garden Courtesy of www.lifecracy.com
Our neighborhood has homes situated on lots that are perfectly suitable for decent gardens. That’s why I was surprised at the popularity of the community garden.
I actually can’t confidently say I knew there was one. But yesterday my son spent his second visit there with a dear friend of our family who kindly invited him to join her. He LOVES it there.
The community garden in our neighborhood is made possible because of the generosity of a local family who have allowed access to a portion of their private property for this specific use.
The concept is really wonderful. Participants make a donation to the area’s local Food Network and contribute their time and available resources towards the maintenance of the garden and the purchase of supplies.
Relationships develop as participants meet their “plot neighbors” on visits and gradually learn more about each other. According to William a visit there is like witnessing a neighborhood busy about it’s business of socializing and working. Individuals dig about their plots, chatting about their interests and local events.
On William’s previous visit he met an older couple from England who captured his imagination with the brief glimpse of their personal history that they were kind enough to share with him.
I can’t recall if I’ve posted this before or not, but William plans to be a film maker. His wheels are spinning about the potential story that could come from this community garden with its cast of players – from the intriguing couple from England, to the “neighbours” from Sri Lanka.
William could easily tell from the easy conversations and the sense of complete contentment on the faces of these “gardeners” that the community garden serves more than one purpose; it’s a place for growing food and for nurturing relationships that help to strengthen our larger garden – our town.
What an apt definition for new urbanism.
I’m Also Here…
