Key Concepts: Think Local, Think Alternative, THINK

Joan Bokaer’s powerpoint shown on the first day of class did well to illustrate the design principles discussed in Tim Beatley’s chapter on urban ecology. His discussion of the natural capital cities have which make designs like greenroofs, green walls, ecological living spaces, eco-bridges and other environmentally friendly designs possible were well illustrated in Joan’s powerpoint. This chapter offers some hope for American cities and even provides specific suggestions for modifications to our cities. Beatley draws from many other designers to describe how the city must be understood as a living environment for all species and therefore efforts must be made to make living in a city optimal for all species. Beatley also discusses the interaction between the design and the inhabitants of these cities. He mentioned that birds cannot tell that they are nesting on a tree that lives in and around a building and how children love the undulating floor of the winter garden space. The benefits of green roofs, both traditional and ecological, seem unlimited. The environmental, economical and social benefits of this type of urban design are what make these practices sustainable. Cities can evolve into sustainable places by taking slow but radical steps to metamorphose from what they are today. This is hopeful for the United States because our cities are heavily populated, polluted and in desperate need of restructuring. Small steps, like adding a green roof to an office building opens doors to the unlimited and imaginative design processes of creating sustainable cities.

The Chapter on urban environmental policy first described the current political philosophies involved in the conversation on the issues before it went on to discuss specific recommendations on making nature in the city. The primary issue addressed in this reading was that our interactions occur on a local level, regardless of the fact that our government is divided into local, state and federal governments. Many of the policy issues we see to day developed from ignoring this fact. As we become a more and more urbanized people, environmental issues are of greater concern. The authors use the regime theory to discuss the evolution of urbanization and its effect on environmental policy. Regime theory is part of a body of work “called urban political economy and is used to describe urban development policies in urban centers of North America.” They define an Urban Regime as the “informal arrangements by which public bodies and private interests function together in order to be able to make and carry out governing decisions.” Defining these two terms is the necessary link to describe subaltern counterpublics. Environmental policy has proven unsatisfactory thus far because the dominant politics support policies that act on a federal scale and are therefore not developed or implemented to truly sole local environmental issues. Subaltern counterpublics are the interactions that minority groups use to address their own issues and to create their own sense of community. The use of these terms aids the authors in arguing that environmental policies should be designed to address local environmental issues for and by the local community.

Tim Beatly’s chapter was an interesting read, but it seemed to start off vaguely. Furthermore, the design alternatives described were interesting but did were not always completely discussed. For example, I did not quite understand what eco bridges are. Do they function like a green throughway from one natural area to another or where they simply bridges necessary for urban function that had bee outfitted to cater to cyclists and pedestrians?

The chapter on urban environmental policies had some really interesting, progressive ideas, but seemed too focused on the differing philosophies on policy in general.

Each of these readings brought some new insights and supported many of the ideals already in circulation about sustainability. Each depend heavily on local decision makers using alternatives to the thoughtless capitalistic traditions this society holds so dear. Beatley’s chapter especially opened my eyes to specific modifications I can make to the house I live in to make it more sustainable. The urban policy analysis chapter challenged me to act on my beliefs, rather than just think radical thoughts and hope that the government will change. Overall, i believe that the argument for both authors is that people need to think about their role in society and in the ecosystem and draw from that role to make decisions.