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permaculture - [permaculture] smart growth vs permaculture

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  • From: Rain Tenaqiya <raincascadia@yahoo.com>
  • To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [permaculture] smart growth vs permaculture
  • Date: Tue, 19 Oct 2004 11:51:24 -0700 (PDT)

Here in Ukiah, California, there is a debate going on about how the town is
allowed to grow. Given that water is limited, it is questionable whether any
increase in population should be allowed without corresponding conservation
measures. But mainly, the debate is about whether the town should increase
its density, or whether new housing should be built on an expanding
perimeter. 'Smart growth' is a term used to describe conscious planning that
increases density, but also integrates many functions and actually increases
the quality of life for the inhabitants. Mixed use, with offices and
businesses downstairs and housing upstairs, integrated with parks and public
facilities, is becoming more common and makes a lot of sense. There is less
driving, in theory, because one can work, shop, and play right next to your
home.

The problem, some say, is that once fossil fuels run out, dense urban areas
will be unable to provide for their own needs. Also, even though people can
theoretically live next to their workplaces, people rarely choose to do so.
So it's a mixed bag. These people advocate building new homes on the edge of
town, where people can grow their own food, capture their own water, and
harvest their own energy. But, as Toby mentioned, people rarely do this
either.

So as long as we are using fossil fuels, it seems that smarth growth is a
good idea for those that are not into being self-reliant. For those who are
into self-reliance, living on the edge of town, or in town with a large lot,
or in an ecovillage that you seldom leave, is a good idea. Since moving to a
town from the country, I , like Toby, have also been driving less- and I am
still growing the same amount of food.

The fact is that the vast majority of people, even farmers, buy most of their
food, use fossil fuels for energy, and drive their cars like crazy. Since
the food farmers grow contains way less energy than the fossil fuels that it
took to grow it, we might as well all just live in city boxes and eat oil.
That is basically what we are doing anyway.

Rain




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