Responding to Climate Change: Localism and Traditional Neighborhood Development
Articles - Community

by: Dustin Heron Urbanskystream

It seems to be a rather automatic response in this country today to look to technological innovation for silver-bullet-solutions to global climate change.  From hydrogen to fusion, advocates of various energy technologies promise to finally have the solution to the climate crisis.  Unfortunately one of the unspoken premises of this response to the climate change of our planet is the belief that we should not have to change much about the American way of life in order to address the problem; if we can just come up with enough low-carbon energy sources, the economy can keep expanding and growing without any major disruptions. While alternative energy is an essential facet of the shift to a more sustainable world, we must realize that the nature of the climate crisis demands that webike shift many of the fundamental patterns of our way of life.

The debate over fuel efficiency standards for automobiles is an excellent example of the difficulty we seem to have with responding to climate change on a systemic level.  Just as large an issue in the public debate should be development patterns in the U.S. and the way in which they dictate how much Americans drive to begin with.  Don’t get me wrong, hybrids are a wonderful thing—my wife Katie and I own a Prius.  But the fact that we drive far less living and working in South Main than the average American living in sprawl is a factor just as important in reducing our gasoline consumption as the fact that we drive a hybrid.  In fact, experts estimate that shifting 60 percent of new growth to compact development by 2030 would beNewUrban equivalent to a 28 percent increase in American vehicles’ fuel efficiency.  If we are serious as a country about responding responsibly to global warming, we must look beyond constant technological innovation as the sole solution.  It was, after all, the invention of the automobile which led to our sprawling development patterns; technology can be an ally or a foe.  In the case of growth, what is needed is actually a return to the traditional development patterns whichveggies build communities around the human, not the automobile.

But New Urbanism really is only the beginning.  I like to say that a traditional neighborhood development—the buildings and infrastructure that make up the physical environment of a neighborhood like South Main—is equivalent to a computer’s hardware.  It serves as the foundation for a certain range of lifestyle patterns—commuting to work on foot, for example.  But as with a computer,JackJake what actually happens within a TND is largely a function of the software—the people, businesses, and community that dwell within the physical space of the neighborhood.  Thus, while New Urban neighborhoods have a number of inherent environmental benefits—like reduced fuel consumption by residents—simply by virtue of their physical design, equally important is the community that develops within a TND and the type of activities it pursues.

Within South Main, we are developing a community committed on many levels to minimizing our environmental impact.  A central aspect of that commitment revolves not around a new technology, but is based upon an age old way of life—localism.  As fossil fuel supplies dwindle and oil prices continue to rise, strong local economies that provide most of the goods and services needed by residents will become not just a responsible option but a necessity.  At some point, for example, shipping our food thousands of miles will no longer make economic sense for the consumer or the supplier.  Until that time arrives, however, those of us in the local food movement can play an essential role in developing and supporting local farms and food economies.  The more that we do this now, the less painful the transition to localized food economies will be.  

In Buena Vista, a grassroots local food movement is rising to the challenge and growing rapidly.  Weathervane Farms and Colorado Grown, located on the property of the proposed New Urbanist Cottonwood Meadows development, raise and sell eggs, grass-fed lamb and beef, milk, and a variety of fruits and vegetables; they also sell a variety of other foods from within Colorado.  Erin’s Organics, located adjacent to Mt. Princeton Hot Springs, is a year-round source of organic greens and other vegetables from a greenhouse warmed with carbon-free geothermal heat. These are just a few examples of local food suppliers.  Supporting these local growers both reduces the fossil fuels burned to transport our food and nurtures tighter bonds between community members.

It is an inspiration to be a part of a community truly coming alive in its response to the ecological emergency which confronts us.  As the logic of localization becomes evermore compelling, we have an opportunity to cultivate a vibrant local culture rooted in a renewed appreciation of what the land immediately surrounding us has to offer.  And by choosing to live in urban environments like downtown Buena Vista, we are helping to preserve and tread more lightly on that land.  

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