Grist has a post that discusses the issues of the modern city, what is currently being done, and what can be done to curb these horrid conditions. Here's an excerpt:
The world’s cities are facing unprecedented challenges. In Mexico City, Tehran, Kolkata, Bangkok, Beijing, and hundreds of other cities, the air is no longer safe to breathe. In some cities the air is so polluted that breathing is equivalent to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. Respiratory illnesses are rampant. In many places, the number of hours commuters spend sitting in traffic-congested streets and highways climbs higher each year, raising frustration levels. ??In response to these conditions, we are seeing the emergence of a new urbanism, a planning philosophy that environmentalist Francesca Lyman says “seeks to revive the traditional city planning of an era when cities were designed around human beings instead of automobiles.”
\n
Maybe the time for traditional urbanism has come to an end. Maybe cities should focus less on industrialization and commercial development in favor of making themselves more habitable for their greatest resource: their inhabitants. And if that means more parks and less parking lots, why not?
Photo (cc) flickr user david55king
Share on Facebook
