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Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
The future of suburbs
It was with great interest that I read a recent article in the Toronto Star about a keynote address that stunned builders. American auther, public speaker and social critic James Howard Kunstler, outlined his vision for the not-so-distant future last weekend at the Canadian Home Builders' Association annual conference.
In it, he said; "The future will include a return to locally grown food, a resurgence of small cities and towns and an end to the days of "Happy Motoring" and the car-dependent society as world oil production declines."
I have believed this to be true for a long time and, in fact, back in 1990, my wife and I decided to "walk our talk". It was a difficult decision, at first, to move from the pristine new subdivision in Unionville with large homes, manicured lawns with pools in the backyard and friendly neighbours always ready to share a cocktail and some idle chatter. However, after numerous glasses of wine one evening, we tossed a coin and in a few weeks were making plans to move permanently to our cabin in Collingwood. It was all about moving to a place we cared about and enjoying a lifestyle that was not surrounded by suburbs, strip malls and mega parking lots populated with big box stores.
During the years that we have lived here, we have seen with increased evidence, what Mr Kunstler is talking about. I look at the popularity and success of such enterprises as our "100 Mile Market" which only sells meat and produce that can be obtained within a 100 miles of the store. I look at a butcher in Collingwood known as Blue Ridge Meats which is located directly across from Loblaws that is thriving. I see people picking up their canned or packaged goods from the large commercial outlet and walking across the street to get their locally grown, often organic meat even though it may cost a few percent more. I look at how the community gets involved with local politics, arts and education and health care. Another wonderful example of how people care about their community was recently evident in Haliburton. John Tory, the leader of the Conservative Party and in my opinion, one of the "nice guys" in politics, tried to get a seat in parliament by running in the safe conservative community of Halibuton. This was perceived to be such a shoe-in that the Liberals did not even bother to spend any time or resources in the area. The local Liberal candidate was a fellow by the name of Rick Johnson. I happen to know Rick. He and his talented and beautiful wife, Terri Crawford, are accomplished musicians and Toni Award nominees. They played at my son's wedding and have provided the live entertainment at our friend's private Elvis Weekend party for the past 10 years or so. Rick has been heavily involved in local politics and more specifically, as a trustee on the Board of Education. He and and his wife have also published numerous childrens' songs and educational materials. In summary, Rick and Terri were and are still, well loved and respected local members of the community and even if it meant voting against local political beliefs or terminating the carreer of a talented political leader such as John Tory, the voters' love and care for community came first. I don't believe this scenario could be replayed in a large, sprawling suburban community.
I hope Mr. Kunstler is right and the large, mass production builders are listening. The importance of small communities or as the province likes to call them, "settlement areas" is critical in terms of the sustainability of a healthy lifestyle for future generations and the weaning off of oil dependency.
In it, he said; "The future will include a return to locally grown food, a resurgence of small cities and towns and an end to the days of "Happy Motoring" and the car-dependent society as world oil production declines."
I have believed this to be true for a long time and, in fact, back in 1990, my wife and I decided to "walk our talk". It was a difficult decision, at first, to move from the pristine new subdivision in Unionville with large homes, manicured lawns with pools in the backyard and friendly neighbours always ready to share a cocktail and some idle chatter. However, after numerous glasses of wine one evening, we tossed a coin and in a few weeks were making plans to move permanently to our cabin in Collingwood. It was all about moving to a place we cared about and enjoying a lifestyle that was not surrounded by suburbs, strip malls and mega parking lots populated with big box stores.
During the years that we have lived here, we have seen with increased evidence, what Mr Kunstler is talking about. I look at the popularity and success of such enterprises as our "100 Mile Market" which only sells meat and produce that can be obtained within a 100 miles of the store. I look at a butcher in Collingwood known as Blue Ridge Meats which is located directly across from Loblaws that is thriving. I see people picking up their canned or packaged goods from the large commercial outlet and walking across the street to get their locally grown, often organic meat even though it may cost a few percent more. I look at how the community gets involved with local politics, arts and education and health care. Another wonderful example of how people care about their community was recently evident in Haliburton. John Tory, the leader of the Conservative Party and in my opinion, one of the "nice guys" in politics, tried to get a seat in parliament by running in the safe conservative community of Halibuton. This was perceived to be such a shoe-in that the Liberals did not even bother to spend any time or resources in the area. The local Liberal candidate was a fellow by the name of Rick Johnson. I happen to know Rick. He and his talented and beautiful wife, Terri Crawford, are accomplished musicians and Toni Award nominees. They played at my son's wedding and have provided the live entertainment at our friend's private Elvis Weekend party for the past 10 years or so. Rick has been heavily involved in local politics and more specifically, as a trustee on the Board of Education. He and and his wife have also published numerous childrens' songs and educational materials. In summary, Rick and Terri were and are still, well loved and respected local members of the community and even if it meant voting against local political beliefs or terminating the carreer of a talented political leader such as John Tory, the voters' love and care for community came first. I don't believe this scenario could be replayed in a large, sprawling suburban community.
I hope Mr. Kunstler is right and the large, mass production builders are listening. The importance of small communities or as the province likes to call them, "settlement areas" is critical in terms of the sustainability of a healthy lifestyle for future generations and the weaning off of oil dependency.
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