Course Reflection

Sustainable Communities. What is a sustainable community exactly? Well, we took a total of four months to attempt to answer that question. And what I've learned is that there is no standard, run-of-the-mill answer. It's not just a LEED certification a several buildings. It's also about complete charretts and incorporating community input into a building project.  It's not encouraging only about increasing awareness of eating and buying local foods, its about enhancing the local community through any and all avenues. It's not simply about increasing public transportation in areas, but how can you do so by transforming existing infrastructure such as the old GM plant in Indianapolis? The concept of sustainable communities is multi-faceted and even as I believed I was a well informed citizen, I have only began to scratch the surface of what a sustainable community really is.

Throughout all my blog posts, I have always brought up how the weekly conversation has connected back to where I grew up in New York City. I believe it's completely natural to relate what you've learned to what you know, and what better way to express my opinions than through a blog. The best example of sustainable nyc communities was during the 2003 Northeast blackout. Similar to my Hurricane Sandy post, I see the best communities come together at times of tragedy. The blackout provide neighborhoods all around the northeast the opportunity to live in a world with no electricity. No TVs. No internet. No video games. Everyone was outside. Kids were inventing games to play with that simply involved chalk. Tons of people chatting with one another. Laughing at jokes. Just talking. I met neighbors that I've never met before, because for once, everyone was outside. There was no reason to stay indoors because all the fun was outside. 

Walkers on the Brooklyn Bride during the 2003 Northeast Blackout

And it wasn't just entertainment. I've never eaten so many apples than I did those 2 days. Nothing sounded better than just eating food that is meant to be eaten as is. Apples tasted the same with electricity and without electricity, and I liked apples. Yes, food went to waste as refrigerators stopped keeping foods cold, and probably less than healthy meals were eaten (ramen, anyone?), but this blackout only lasted for 2 days. For two days, nyc lived a different life. A more sustainable life. And I was glad for that, even if it took a blackout to do this.

So how can we increase sustainability in an area without a widespread power outage? Without a hurricane? Now that's a good question. Low hanging fruit may not always be the best option, but what happens when all the low-hanging fruit is accomplished? At some point, there will be diminishing returns and no one will want to strive for any fruit. So what should we do? Ask me at the beginning of the semester, and I would have shrugged and struggled to come up with the ideal answer. Now, I will still shrug (and read the above article) but at least now I know there is no ideal answer. We can all do our parts, with our own personal projects. I may not have taken cars and buses off the road with my biking, but I improved my health along the way. In the future, I may actually choose to ride my bike throughout a city, then to purchase another car to congest the streets. Personal projects form other members of the class has motivated me to start other personal projects. Can I start a no-waste diet? Should I get my LEED accreditation? Learn about the professions of others- broaden your horizon. Why not learn about bee-keeping? Dr. Suess said it the best: "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go"

Utilize the many resources
already available

Multiple things from the class stuck out and wil stick with me. One of those things include the idea that sustainability is not an end product; there is no perfect sustainability. Many people say nyc is sustainable, compared to the rest of the nation, but I grew up in the city, so it's my only baseline. And baselines represent the bottom- the city can still grow from there. I see lights on in empty buildings. Cars and taxis still take up every single intersection in the downtown area, although now over 5,000 taxis are hybrids (but even that can change as well). The list can go on and on. Why are our many many roofs still black? Why is the Whole Foods always more crowded than the Farmer's Market across the street, even during the harvesting seasons? Even with a sustainable city, behaviors are difficult to change. Sure, I learned the subway system when I was 12 and would never think of driving anywhere, but the story changes when it comes to composting. There is no reason why my family does not compost- we just don't. Let's change that mentality of 'well, we don't do it because... well we just don't'. Make it a social norm. Find rewards. Because yes, I take the subway but no, I don't compost. And if I study these things and I can't be the impetus to change behaviors in my own life, how can I expect others to do the same?

Finally, I'm going to end on my thoughts on the Majora Carter TED talk about Greening the Ghetto. TED talks are no doubt great ways to appreciate what others in the field have to say (and make for great parodies), but Majora's idea that 'green is the new black' stuck with me. I believe Majora was able to connect with people in the south bronx and develop this idea of 'greening the ghetto' because she was in their shoes. She grew up and experienced the south bronx. She saw her neighborhood transforming into something she didn't like, thus took the reins to change it into something she did like. The world will change drastically within our generation and while not all of us like the idea of being tasked with changing nature back to...well nature, that's what we have to do. Just like Majora, we are living in a world that is transforming into a very scary future, and it will be up to us to move it back to its right course. 

Personal Project Reflection

For those who haven’t been following along every step of the way, my personal project was to learn about bikes, and biking around Bloomington with the help of the community bike project. I had the grand ambition to volunteer at the project, learn how to build bikes, build a bike, ride it all around Bloomington, AND do this before the weather got cold and I chickened out and ride the bus. Like I said, it was a grand ambition, and about 3 weeks into the project, I realized that there was no way I can do everything. Following a conversation with Amber, I adopted her bike, fixed it up at the bike project, and rode that bike around town before the days grew colder. I’m sadden that I never learned how to build a bike from scratch, but even figuring out how to install and then actually do it took around 3 hours; I honestly don’t know if I would have enough time and energy to do every single bike part necessary. I had fun learning about specific bike parts, but that was already enough.

I was more excited about actually getting to bike around Bloomington, and having a bike to start out with felt great. Of course,  I managed to fall/ slip/ crash into everything humanly possible during those first few weeks but isn’t that always the case?  You learn by doing, and who hasn’t fallen off their bikes a few times when they first started?

The following is a video of me riding on my bike for the first time earlier in the semester. Notice the speed. 

Fast forward a few months. 

I spent Thanksgiving in Akon, OH and since it was a warm Thanksgiving morning (and the fact that I would eat my body weight in food that night), I went out for a bike ride on the Ohio and Erie Canal Township Trail. The trail goes for over 110 miles from New Philadelphia, OH to Lake Erie, but I only traveled about 6 miles out, and 12 miles in total. And I did it all in about ONE HOUR. Without falling into the canal or the ditch. Granted, I was one of two people wearing a helmet (the other was a 4-yr old boy), but I never felt so exhilarated to ride on an open road. Will be one of many experiences I have out on the road with my bike. 

Throughout the semester, my personal project morphed into something that I believed was more manageable. I felt my personal project goals became impossible the further into the semester I went, and the more I learned about biking in general. So I took a step back (took advantage of a shortcut) and re-evaluated my situation. Life is more or less the same thing. Don’t continue doing things if it’s just going to fail. Wake up world, using fossil fuel resources to run the planet isn’t going to cut it in the future. Stop driving us into a ditch (or side swipe a curb with a bike, in my case).  Okay, I know this isn’t easy- I AM going to graduate school to learn it isn’t easy- but let’s at least get more people to try.  Hell, I relied on two very skinny wheels to get me places, and if I can endure multiple fights with asphalt and concrete, the least people can do is try to better the Earth for future generations. 

Outside Experience: Farmer's Market

On a glorious thirty something degree morning, a few of us trekked out to the last outdoor farmer’s market of the year. With wooly mittens and tucked scarves, we came to the market to find the usual winter goodies: squash, kale, and tomatoes. However, seeing that it was the start of the Christmas season, the farmer’s market also had the usual fine Christmas fare: wreaths, cookies, fudge, and a warm fire. Carolers took to the stage singing Christmas tunes as shoppers went about their busy shopping, warming up their hands with cups of warm tea, coffee, or hot cocoa, and occasionally taking their mittens off to decorate a sugar cookie. I wasn’t nursing a warm cup of joe, but I did manage to stop and make a (somewhat) festive cookie with Lauren. And pet a reindeer!

Decorating cookies to get into the holiday spirt 

Take a break from pulling Santa's Sleigh

There are those who dislike the whole idea of Christmas. I get it. It's a holiday that thrives on the consumption of goods. But seeing how I didn't really grow up with Christmas, I enjoy the holiday season because of the Christmas spirit. Sure, it's like Valentine's Day: why is there only one day to show your love to a significant other- shouldn't that be the case everyday? And I agree with that sentiment- everyone should be happy and cheerful and grateful for their families on all days- not just the holidays. But people don't do that. The night before heading out to the Farmer's Market, I was downtown to see downtown light up the Christmas lights. There were people from all over huddled together to watch the lights turn on. I've never seen so many people. But that's the point. People come together when we give them a reason for it. Yes, most people NEED a reason to come together, but at least some reason to get together is better than no reason to come together. And what better way than to introduce Christmas shops AT the Farmer's Market FOR Small Business Saturday? People were ready to shop for their stomachs, and for their Christmas gifts, and it was all going to help out the local community. Even those who don't agree with Christmas buying and giving, should think that Small Business Saturday is the best of all evils. 

Those eggs look really,  really odd...

Taking a step back, I was impressed with the turnout of people at the Farmer's/ Holiday Market. Although it was a partly sunny day, the weather was also too cold for me to venture outdoors. So seeing families out and about, interacting with farmers also braving the cold weather, made me smile.  I try to make it to the farmer’s market at least twice a month (though failing miserably ever since school picked up), for it is my only chance to see life outside of IU.  College students tend to live in their perfectly happy bubble: going to classes, completing assignments, and hanging out with friends at the local college bar on the weekends. I was guilty of that my first two years in college. But once I saw the opportunity to branch out and actually connect with the community, I jumped at that chance in college, and have continued to do so now in graduate school. Some students get so caught up in being a student that they forget that they can be so much more than that. In addition to an IU student, I would like to think of myself as a Bloomington community member. And going to the farmer’s market is one way I can directly interact with people, and feel like I am a part of a greater community. I’ve written multiple blogs about the importance of community in sustainable communities, and this was my little way of walking the walk.

Reclaiming Local Economic Control…After a Disaster

 “There are few limits to what can be achieved when people work together for their mutual benefit” – Roseland and Soots,  State of the World 2007

Lower Manhattan without electricity
-New York Magazine

In the wake of talking about if Hurricane Sandy stimulated conversations about climate change, I think back to how New York City residents reacted to Hurricane Sandy. I am extremely grateful that none of my family and friends were hurt (although many displaced for a many days) when Sandy hit the city, but now I get to hear stories and see pictures of how the disaster has and will change the city and other affected areas. This week's reading on  rebuilding the local economy got me think how communities come together to rebuild their economies, especially after a diaster.    

Even through a simple guilty-pleasure feed, people are showing how New Yorkers pulled together at times of need. Similar pictures surfaced after 9/11. The city of New Orleans banded together after Hurricane Katrina. As Americans, we do a pretty good job at helping others when they need it the most.

But what does the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy have anything to do with the local economy? Plenty. NYC Comptroller, John Liu, predicted the aftermath of the storm is causing the city up to $200 million a day in lost economic activity. Just imagine the dollars lost simply from the closing of Wall Street.  How can the city pay for all the damage caused by Sandy? Is this a question that is worth asking here? I can’t argue that the city’s local economy is less than poor, and there are probably funds to help the city rebuild, but NYC is still $200 million shorter each day. Lost revenue from unopened shops and restaurants. Emergency contracts costs such as ambulettes, oxygen tanks, and ready to eat meals all costs money. Not exactly strengthening local economies. But is it?

Electronics charging through a portable generator
-USA Today

Free Tacos!

Local economies ins't simply growing financial capital. Roseland and Soots talk about improving other types of capital:  financial, natural, physical, economic, human, social, and cultural. After a diaster, I simply see rebuilding a community so these other capitals can grow as well. Social media became the main outlet for those in affected by the Hurricane to let their family and friends know they were okay. Facebook friends are still notifying me that their apartments are still without electricity and water. And without a doubt, someone will immediately offer their home, albeit no electricity or heat, but at least one can take a hot shower. I admire others who have extension cords hanging over their fence to offer electricity to those who need to charge their phones. Multiple restaurants were offering free meals to those who have no access to hot foods. A doctor even saw patients for free. Think about the $50-$100 extra energy bill these people would have to pay to charge strangers’ phones. Think about the additional $200 dollars restaurants may have  to expend to feed those who were hungry but without a stove to cook on. These acts of kindness aren’t exactly ones that help the local economy grow monetarily, but they directly build the local community.  Roseland and Soots talk about using community capital as a way of community economic development, and these acts were a sure way to use what little resources the city had immediately after Hurricane Sandy, and distribute it far and wide. Cities can’t have strong local economies without strong community interactions.  And when NYC can come together and provide basic needs, I call that a stronger city.

Before & After Sandy Shoreline in Brick, NJ

Neighborhoods and businesses located along the Jersey Shore also took a massive hit from Hurricane Sandy But will the state rebuild the ‘unthinkable wreck’ of the Jersey Shore, knowing fully well that extreme weather will be more likely in the future, and that the shore is perhaps one of the most vulnerable place in the state? Is it worth the time? Is it worth the money? One business couple plans to spend an estimated cost up to $600,000 to rebuild their business.  Other residents simply claims they has faith and that “we’re from Jersey. We’ll rebuild, and things will be good again.”  Of course, rebuilding will need to come with re-evaluations of zoning requirements, such as relocating homes further inland, but the Jersey Shore is expected to bounce back; this was not their tipping point.  

Those affected by Hurricane Sandy won’t give up on their neighborhoods and city.  This is what resilient communities are all about. And this is what I say improving local economies are all about.  Don’t give up on an area simply because it was battered by mother nature. Rebuild. Reconnect. Use the resources you already have. Be sustainable. Focus on the community. And then we can grow better from there.