Green Communities
Atlanta - This morning’s NPR Morning Edition told the story of an Atlanta family that has taken advantage of new community design to reduce their energy use and emissions. Atlantic station is just one of many new developments across the country that are oriented around alternate forms of transportation and convenience. In this sort of development, proximity to work, home, recreation and retail is the priority. One only has to walk minutes from bed to office, office to food aisle, and from dinner table to theater. Should one want to travel, most developments of this type are located on rapid transit lines that whisk residents to downtowns and airports. Most of these developments have so far been only as infill developments inside large cities, like Atlanta and Denver. However, small cities like Missoula are also ideal for green community design.
The Key Word is Small
Cities like Missoula, and the smaller towns that dot the landscape nearby, are like tiny islands of urban density surrounded by seas of wilderness. Realistically, if one wants to get from one island to another, or even within Missoula during certain times (night time and Sundays), the car is the only choice. Certainly there is limited regional bus service on Rimrock Trailways or Greyhound, but these services are not convenient for the commuter. What Missoula and surrounding communities lack in regional transit, they have as an asset in their size. Missoula is the size of a single, large Denver neighborhood. I know, I lived in one for two years, and my University/Washington Park neighborhood was remarkably Missoula-scale. This size makes it very easy to travel without a car compared to large, sprawling cities where one finds these new green communities.
In Stevensville, my residence is a three minute walk from the grocery store, ten minutes from the Olde Coffee Mill, two - ten minutes from most churches, ten minutes from the local Stevensville Playhouse, six minutes from the school, and a similar walking distance from every part of Stevensville’s business district. Sound familiar? The green community in Atlanta is not a new idea, but a reinvention of how towns, cities and neighborhoods were once built. Stevensville and Missoula, being small towns and cities, have the advantage of missing the large scale sprawl that most of America have fallen victim to. This means we have the ability to adapt our communities to be green far easier than Atlanta, Denver or any other sprawlopolis can.
We Have a Choice
We have the walkable, cyclable and busable size these new developments seek, but we are missing the necessary infrastructure. Stevensville is small enough to walk to every corner of it in less than fifteen minutes, but it lacks a non-car connection to nearby communities. Missoula has a decent bus system and trail system, but it could be more convenient. Combined with the smart move closer to one’s job, investment in alternative transport infrastructure will make Missoula and the surrounding towns model green communities. Think about this when we’re all pumping $4/gallon gas this summer, and imagine that money invested in better communities.
- Benjamin
April 1st, 2008 at 9:16 am
[…] Benjamin Courteau released a breaking post on Green Communities. See below for a quick excerpt: […]
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:13 pm
“Think about this when we’re all pumping $4/gallon gas this summer, and imagine that money invested in better communities.”
It’s depressing to think of where all of my gas money ends up. A good portion goes to put more profits into the hands of multi-national oil companies, much more to fund some regimes that don’t care for us very much, a few more cents to the refineries, some tax money to pave over more land for us to drive on … and only a smidgen goes to the local gas station owner (they earn most of their profits from convenience store purchases). This money is just flowing right out of our communities.