Not sure where you got this list from, but it sure reminds me of the early days of communism. You know, living in a commune and all that. Trouble is, communism only looks good on paper but is pretty lousy in practice. Reality is, the very computer and networking equipment and software you are using to share your views are the products of human beings who were at one point little children who had to be raised and educated at great expenditures and sacrifices by their parents. It's all nice and good to theorize about the environmental impact of having children, but the truth is that we humans must reproduce in order to evolve, hopefully to a better state of being. In my opinion, the closest thing we have to environmental heroes are monastic monks whose carbon footprints are about as small as humanly possible. Until you and/or your 'environmentally conscious' friends join them in renouncing all worldly comfort, count yourself amongst the sanctimonious crowd you so deride. BTW, I have some first hand experience living in a communist society. I'm no wide-eyed liberal.
You may want to research sustainable development and the city planning and design measure being enacted all over the world. They utilize some of the things in that list to create a healthier and reduced impact environment with major benefits to the economy. It has nothing to do with communism. You may find these publications insightful. #1 State of the World 2007 - Our Urban Future http://www.worldwatch.org/brain/images/pubs/sow/lg/2007.jpg An Urbanizing World (Buy, More Info) Providing Clean Water and Sanitation (Buy, More Info) Farming the Cities (Buy, More Info) Greening Urban Transportation (Buy, More Info) Energizing Cities (Buy, More Info) Reducing Natural Disaster Risk in Cities (Buy, More Info) Charting a New Course for Urban Public Health (Buy, More Info) Strengthening Local Economies (Buy, More Info) Fighting Poverty and Injustice in Cities (Buy, More Info) #2 State of the World 2008: Innovations for a Sustainable Economy
F8L, thanks for the links. I understand what you're getting at. Here in Dallas, there's a whole new city built from scratch based on this type of urban planning. It's not as successful as its founders had hoped, but it was a good effort. Dallas itself started out as a real commune back in the 1800's, as a matter of fact. My point to Tweev was simply to remind him that there's a difference between theory and practice. And that idealism has to be tempered by realism in order for it to be practical and useful for the mass. Before criticizing others, it's prudent to assess one's own behaviour and attitudes. That's all.
I agree mate! Part of the limited sucess of such planning in the U.S. is the attitude of those subject to such design plans. The typical "western" mentaility does not mesh well with this type of development but those who are used to limited space or living in close quarters take readily to compact urban environments. There is much sucess in places like Sweden, Japan, Brasil and other north-western EU nations. I love the countryside but knowing living there on 2acres of land is not sustainable I would happily move to the city is such a development were available. I generally hate big cities so take that as an example of my interest in these new designs.
