tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928622184607631910.post1505460626267025859..comments2023-10-22T01:56:21.243-07:00Comments on Where Do We Go from Here?: Even If I’m Unsure What to Call Myself, Urbanism is Environmentalism Dave Aldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04365271229524041881noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928622184607631910.post-20008030410065288172015-10-29T15:55:41.567-07:002015-10-29T15:55:41.567-07:00Raoena, thanks for the comments. I love Santa Cru...Raoena, thanks for the comments. I love Santa Cruz. (Parents-in-law in a Watsonville senior living home and sister-in-law in Aptos.)<br /><br />You pose a good question for which there isn't a good answer. I have two models I suggest, but neither is perfect. (1) A town with a well-defined urban limit and a bus system that easily delivers youths to urban fringe amenities, whether a complex of ballfields or a natural park with room to roam. (2) A beloved family cabin in the woods that can be reached on regular weekends by train and foot.<br /><br />Of course, we rarely provide either option.Dave Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04365271229524041881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928622184607631910.post-44980241714057309172015-10-29T09:57:22.915-07:002015-10-29T09:57:22.915-07:00Interesting article. I live with a certain amount ...Interesting article. I live with a certain amount of ongoing cognitive dissonance around urbanism, environmentalism and child-rearing. As a kid I grew up at the end of a dirt road and spent every weekend running around in the woods. It made my life (in a chaotic, alcoholic household) not just bearable, but good. More and more studies are showing that kids' mental health requires direct contact with clean (not littered or polluted) unpaved outdoor habitat. In other words, young primates need to spend time in nature in order to develop properly. <br /><br />As an adult I love living in a small city (Santa Cruz, CA) where I can ride my bike or walk to most of my daily errands and leisure activities. But when I had kids I realized they were not being served by living in town. The neighborhood park didn't cut it. There has been a withdrawal of children from urban outdoor spaces in favor of organized after-school activities and indoor video-gaming time. Despite my best efforts, my kids fit right into this pattern. They had no interest in going outside to play. Even when we went for weekend hikes they were totally checked out and spent the whole time talking about video games. For a variety of reasons I ended up homeschooling them, which allowed me to send them to an (expensive) once-per-week outdoor school that I drove them to. A long, gas-guzzling drive. But it worked...they developed awareness of and interest in the natural world, hand-eye skills...all things that I consider essential for any functioning adult. Things that I developed on my own, just by living in the country and spending time outside.<br /><br />The reality is, life is imperfect. We all do the best we can. But it's very hard to know what is the best way to live your life when children need to grow up in the country to be mentally healthy, and adults need to live in the city to be environmentally healthy. Ironically the most popular option, the suburban ranch-style house, serves nobody well. Raoenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09321567920931701370noreply@blogger.com