These days, I spend a lot of time thinking about cities and synergies. I believe that the very basic components of urban sustainability–and education about it–must be grounded in showing linkages between concurrent, parallel,and  symbiotic processes.  We can not talk about anything ecological without discussing the economic or equity component to it. Clearly I’m not the only one thinking about this stuff.

Resilience. via: http://maryjaneryan.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/resilience.jpg

SEED Magazine has an excellent article on urban resilience. Its header reads: Merging complex systems science and ecology, resilience scientists have broken new ground on understanding—and preserving—natural ecosystems. Now, as more and more people move into urban hubs, they are bringing this novel science to the city.

Discussing examples that range from the loss of wetlands around New Orleans–that ironically were destroyed during the construction of the levees as well as natural gas exploration–that ultimately helped contribute to the tragedy of Katrina’s effect, to the spoiling of 25 million liters of raw milk in Australia when natural gas power supply was knocked out, the article discusses the concept of resilience on an urban scale. And while of course there are parallels between ecosystem design and urban design, the fundamental basis of resilience is diversity, redundancy, and variety. These things are often seen as “inefficient” on an urban scale.

This might seem theory heavy to you, but it really was one of the most fascinating articles I have read in a long time. And real life applications–contemporary and existent–examples are used for every sub-heading. So, yes, while there are lofty concepts, the reality of our urban world is the basis for discussion.

And of course the question of climate change is never far removed. A brief excerpt reads:

“A key feature of complex adaptive systems is that they can settle into a number of different equilibria. A lake, for example, will stabilize in either an oxygen-rich, clear state or algae-dominated, murky one. A financial market can float on a housing bubble or settle into a basin of recession. Historically, we’ve tended to view the transition between such states as gradual. But there is increasing evidence that systems often don’t respond to change that way: The clear lake seems hardly affected by fertilizer runoff until a critical threshold is passed, at which point the water abruptly goes turbid.

Resilience science focuses on these sorts of tipping points. It looks at gradual stresses, such as climate change, as well as chance events—things like storms, fires, even stock market crashes—that can tip a system into another equilibrium state from which it is difficult, if not impossible, to recover. How much shock can a system absorb before it transforms into something fundamentally different? That, in a nutshell, is the essence of resilience.”

Take time to read this article. I promise you will be thinking about synergies afterward as well.

People talk about the tendency of contemporary America to be anti-intellectual. But what is perhaps more frightening is an anti-science tendency. Never mind that only 36% of Americans believe in climate change right about now. There is another whole subset of the population that believes in it even less–23% of white evangelical Protestants believe that there is “solid evidence” that the climate is changing.

Initially proponents of teaching creationism and intelligent design instead of evolutionary theory, the “fair representation of all theories” crew, now has climate change listed under its ranks as questionable science, that should not be taught in schools.

These are excerpts on the subject from an article in the NY Times.

In Kentucky, a bill recently introduced in the Legislature would encourage teachers to discuss “the advantages and disadvantages of scientific theories,” including “evolution, the origins of life, global warming and human cloning.”

In Louisiana, a law passed in 2008 says the state board of education may assist teachers in promoting “critical thinking” on all of those subjects.

Last year, the Texas Board of Education adopted language requiring that teachers present all sides of the evidence on evolution and global warming.

Oklahoma introduced a bill with similar goals in 2009, although it was not enacted.

In South Dakota, a resolution calling for the “balanced teaching of global warming in public schools” passed the Legislature this week. “Carbon dioxide is not a pollutant,” the resolution said, “but rather a highly beneficial ingredient for all plant life.”

We made it through February. Hooray! And while March can still be a month to savor and simultaneously curse the last days of winter, it is certainly time to start thinking about gardens. 

And we have some very ambitious friends who are imagining putting a small patch of concrete near NYC City Hall to good use.  DC’s most important lawn–perhaps the nations most important lawn– is gearing up to carry its 2nd season of fresh produce. This is the first time The White House has had a productive yard since Eleanor Roosevelt’s WWII victory garden graced the premises. At that time, 40% of America’s produce was grown on small plots that made up the victory garden movement. I can’t quite think of a parallel in today’s patriotism. But New Yorkers! Pay attention to this and sign yourself onto the movement.

From the NY Times Diner’s Journal:

But today, “The hope is that a vegetable garden can be planted in front of City Hall in time for a nice tomato harvest this summer,” said Daniel Bowman Simon, who is organizing a petition drive to hand over to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.

In a bad budget year, some things will always suffer.  And environmental services are often in the mix. A few weeks ago, there was talk of cutting funding to all state zoos and botanic gardens. And today, Governor David Paterson and state Parks Commissioner Carol Ash have released a list of 41 park and 14 historic sites that would close altogether, along with another 23 parks and one historic site that would experience “service reductions.”

This language is directly from the New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV). While the Institute for Sustainable Cities will not be formally taking a side on this issue, we tend to agree with the NYLCV that cutting parks is not good for social, economic, or ecological sustainability. So, I will simply paste the words of the NYLCV. You can  voice your opinion through them. Long live our parks! And every living thing that depends on them…

From the NYLCV:

Gov. David Paterson and state Parks Commissioner Carol Ash have released a list of 41 park and 14 historic sites that would close altogether, along with another 23 parks and one historic site that would experience “service reductions.”

By sheer numbers, Central New York would take the biggest hit, with eight state parks closed completely, followed by the Thousand Islands Region, at seven, the Finger Lakes Region, at six, and Long Island, at five.

The Saratoga-Capital Region, which will experience the complete closure of four state parks, also will suffer the most in terms of shuttered historic sites -five.  The Palisades Region ranks next, with four to close.

Along with total shutdown of facilities, the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation will, at various locations around the state, close swimming pools and swimming areas, eliminate classes, sports programs and cultural events, shorten seasons and/or close facilities a few days a week.

Click here for the complete list of proposed closures.

NYLCV strongly opposes the closures, as well as significant staff cuts at the Office of Parks, not least for economic reasons. According to a 2009 report, state parks and historic sites generate $1.9 billion annually in economic
activity statewide. Visitors from outside the community account for about 40% of that activity — visitors and money communities will lose if parks are forced to close.

Additionally, state parks and historic sites account for 20,000 non-park jobs statewide. These are longterm, sustainable jobs that will last as long as our state invests in its parks system. The investment in State Parks is a good one; for every dollar the state spends on parks, it gets back $5 dollars in economic activity.

NYLCV will be joining Parks & Trails NY on Wednesday, March 3, for a Parks Advocacy Day at the state Capitol. Please click here to join this historic effort.

During the MTA strike of 2005, people picked up random passengers and New Yorkers shared cabs with each other because it made sense. As soon as necessity for such activities dwindled and the MTA started (haggardly) running again, people stopped. It was kind of like when folks jammed into commuter trains and mass transit when gas prices were high. And as soon as they were (foolishly) low again, people stopped.

This week, a new era of common sense begins. Taxi sharing is back. The city is rolling out a plan on Friday to make certain cabs run like buses. They will have designated pick up stations with specific drop off regions. Those all happen to be on Park Ave right now, which I can’t quite make sense of. But I guess they had to start somewhere. From 6AM to 10AM during weekday rush hours, you will be able to utilize this service.

Stops are:

- W. 57th St. and Eighth Ave. with dropoffs allowed on Park Ave. between 57th St. until 42nd St.

- W.72nd St. and Columbus Ave. with dropoffs on Park Ave. from 72nd St. to 42nd St.

- E. 72nd St. and Third Ave. with dropoffs on Park Avenue from 72nd St. to 42nd St.

While this is only a very small slice of the city, it might be a good indication of how this could work on a larger scale. Crosstown traffic = painful experience. And the lack of underground transportation options (the 7 and S excluded) makes above ground situations intense. And half the time it seems that the majority of street traffic is taxis. So perhaps this will help alleviate some of that. Drivers will make more from less driving, which hopefully means they can eventually work less hours, which means fewer taxis on the road at once. And as far as passengers go, we save money and time, which are synonymous in this city. I am however curious about etiquette. I can just see the campaign for, “No cell phone usage in shared taxis!”

I am maybe getting ahead of myself here though. Let’s see how Friday goes.