Urban Environments 07

YAY POSTER

2007-05-16T21:22:00.000-05:00

Here is my final poster.

NYC Internship

2007-05-01T11:33:00.000-05:00

The Council on the Environment's Learn it Grow it Eat it Project will be hiring 2 project assistants for 7 weeks this summer to work in 2 community gardens in the Bronx supervising high school youth teams in the gardens and doing healthy eating outreach in the community.
The job announcement is copied below.

Summer Internship Available

Learn it, Grow it, Eat it Project Assistant Internship

Qualifications: College graduate or commensurate experience, willing to
work outdoors with teenagers, urban horticulture, experience and/or interest in urban gardening, interest or background in food, health and environmental issues especially healthy eating, food access and community organizing, computer proficient, Spanish a plus.

Job Description: The Council on the Environment of New York City (CENYC)
is a privately funded citizens' organization in the Office of the Mayor.
CENYC promotes environmental awareness and solutions to environmental problems. In Fall 2006 CENYC launched its “Learn it, Grow it, Eat it”
(LGE) project in five high schools and 2 community gardens in the Morrisania section of the South Bronx. The project encourages young people to take control of their health through nutrition education and improved food access in their schools and community. It has an in-school component that focuses on healthy eating and the environment, and a garden component where students learn to grow their own vegetables. This summer we are hiring 15 high school students from our program to maintain the community garden plots over the summer and to spread the word about healthy eating in the south Bronx.

Under the guidance and supervision of CENYC’s LGE team, project assistant interns will supervise five teenage interns in the community gardens and doing outreach and education in the community. Specifically, in the gardens they will help to plant, weed, water and harvest and other garden upkeep projects. In the community they will help the teens to organize education tables at farmers markets and other public spaces, disseminate information, and conduct surveys to identify healthy eating options in the neighborhood.

Project Assistants will also assist in evaluating the success of the project and the performance of the teen interns.

CENYC is an equal opportunity employer.

Schedule: Monday – Friday, 10-4PM,
July 5th to August 21st 2007,

To apply: Send cover letter and resume (e-mail preferred) by May
18, 2007 to:

Contact: Lenny Librizzi or David Saphire Council on the Environment of New York City (CENYC)
51 Chambers Street room 228
New York, New York 10007
212-788-7927 / 7930 phone
212-788-7913 fax
llibrizzi@cenyc.org
saphd@yahoo.com

Salary: $18/hour

Bloomberg Draws a Blueprint for a Greener City

2007-04-25T10:14:00.000-05:00

see full article here

Garden Mosaics in society

2007-04-24T15:10:00.000-05:00

Digital Era? No Educator Left Behind!

This poster was very interesting and illustrative. It called my attention greatly, since I recall hearing about the Digital Divide in 1998, while I was in my home country, as I learned how some people have access to information, communication, and technology, while others don’t have access to that resource. Technology, today, is everywhere. This poster says that yes, you may have the access to technology, but you also have to have the right attitude and the skills to know how to take full advantage of technology.
I like the approach that this poster takes, as it relates the “digital divide” concept to Garden Mosaics, an international environmental education program targeted to youth which makes use of websites, DVD’s and Internet to decrease the digital divide. How often are Garden Mosaics implemented and what are the effects? Through interviews, observation, and analysis, the researchers studied the attitudes, the degree of access, and the skills of EE. Considering that Garden Mosaics are very beneficial to youth, those who used Garden Mosaics need to be more resourceful in sharing their knowledge with educators, and those who did not use Garden Mosaics showed interest, after discovering how beneficial Garden Mosaics may be. Garden Mosaics need more implementation and application.

Exploring Agriculturally-Based Environmental Learning in Southern Africa

This study explores the role of agriculture towards environmental learning. I noticed that South Africa, Malawi and Zambia take a different approach than USA. South Africa, Zambia, and Malawi use promotion of sustainable agriculture to implement agriculture into schools and education, but USA uses a different approach: Garden Mosaics. However, what was found was that no matter how different the agriculture and environmental learning may be in different countries, he results overlap. There is always sharing of knowledge and skills, learning, and evidence of action and change. What are the effects on society of the different approaches?

4/24/07 Readings...

2007-04-24T12:39:00.001-05:00

Garden Mosaics: Neighborhood Exploration, Gardener Story, & Action Project in South Africa

I liked this article very much because of the level of detail that was obviously put into planning these activities. It also gave me a clearer understanding of Garden Mosaics. Students got a hands-on experience and had the oppportunity to discover/explore their neighborhoods.
The article addressed how Garden Mosaics can be used as a tool to connect youths with elder gardeners to learn about the connections between science, people, culture, and
plants. It also stated that this is a way of improving neighborhoods. It was especially interesting to learn that in South Africa, community gardens often were located on
school grounds because this provided security, water, and land.
Cornell Students implemented three programs there: Neighborhood Exploration, Gardener’s Story and an Action Project.
The Neighborhood Exploration created an opportunity for students to see the way the land was used in their community. It allowed the learners to create physical images and then see if there were features missing or common within their community. It also allowed students to find places in their neighborhood where they could obtain fresh food, learn new things, play soccer or netball, and talk with friends. Students were prompted to take photos and collect symbolic items from each place.
The final process for the students was to place the symbols on their maps and create a key.

Gardener’s Story
Participants developed an oral history and took photographs illustrating a gardener's planting practices and “planting tips,” and the connections between those practices and the gardener’s culture. I was struck by what an incomparable educational resource/opportunity the Gardener’s Story could be for students hearing it and visitors reading it.
The Gardener Story is another great way for the learners to discover their community, this time through the eyes of elder gardeners. It provides an opportunity for learners to connect with elders and important community members.

Action Project
Youth applied what they learnt during their earlier investigations and conducted an Action Project to benefit the gardeners and their community. I felt this part was the most worthwhile for the students because now this is their chance to give back to their neighborhood.

Digital Era: No Educator left Behind!

This poster was very helpful especially in terms of my research project. I was impressed with the study and also the results. The study sought to answer two questions:
1) How do urban educators’ computer access skills, and attitudes, influence their implementation of EE programs?
2) How do NYC community educators use the Garden Mosiacs digital resources?

The researchers interviewed 8 community educators from different NYC community organizations and after-school programs.

They found that educators attitudes towards digital technologies may limit the use of computers in EE programs. Also, computer access and skills were not found to be limiting factors.
Most educators did not use the Garden Mosaics digital resources because they were unaware of its purpose or did not have time.
In conclusion, the study found that Urban educators need to do a better job illustrating to educators how useful digital technology can be.

I thought this was a neat study overall and that anything that can help the movement is good.

Posters

2007-04-24T12:02:00.000-05:00

The two posters that I like best were titled “Exploring Agriculturally Based Environmental Learning in Southern Africa” and “Digital Era? No Educator Left Behind!” The first of these posters discusses a study performed to determine what effects agriculturally based community and school learning has had in Malawi, Zambia, South Africa and the United States. In order to do this, researchers used a variety of methods including interviews, journals, data logs, photographs, and their own observations to gather information. In the end, they found that while they did not have a large number of recourses and were not always able to foster school community links, change and action did occur. By the end of their study, they could see a visible change for the better coming out of what they did.
The second poster I examined was based in New York and concerned whether or not the limited technological resources of some urban schools is an issue in fostering this form of learning in the youths that they teach. Through interviews with educators, observations and analysis researchers found that although limited technological resources and skills were not a problem educators chose not to use certain technologies when teaching their students. It all came down to educators’ attitudes towards these new technologies. Many were not yet sure of them. Like all new things, perhaps they simply need more time to get adjusted to it. In the mean time, one wonders if this will negatively affect their students. While this will most likely not be their student’s last chance to be exposed to such technology, the earlier and more often they are exposed the better their skills will be. Then their community and indeed this entire country can benefit.

Poster Analyzation

2007-04-24T09:27:00.000-05:00

I liked the poster for "Cost Effectiveness". It was colorful, well organized, easy to read, anevery topic in its own place making finding information easy and fast. Bullet points played a prime part and there were plenty of pictures, graphs and tables to even out the weriting. Bold titles made it easy to find exactly the information that the reader is looking for.

EE in Local and Exotic Contexts was also a good poster. I liked how it had clear anactive and colorful pictures dispersed equally throughout the pster. The different aspects of information: intro, local contexts v. exotic, findings, methods, next steops were all clearly defined. However I don't like the harsh red that is ues for the entire poster. It makes it more intimidating and harder to read. The paragraphs donet look too dense but they could be made less intimidating.

2007-04-24T01:18:00.000-05:00

I looked at two posters about the Garden Mosaics program.

The first was "The Impact of the Internet Forum on Dissemination of EE Programs". I like this poster because it is a detailed account of the steps taken place to start the forum. I also like how it sparks discussion and gives a good place for people to discuss various issues. Internet forums are good becaue they are a convinent way for people to continually participate in a discussion.

I also looked at the poster "Environmental Education in Local and Exotic Contexts: Youth Forge Broader Communities for Learning". I like this poster because it is gives a little insight into how youth get interested in the environment. This is a big issue now. At the moment there is no shortage of people becoming interested in the environment and persuing enviromental careeres, but the need for people interested in environmental issues is rising, and it is good to know how people become interested in these critical issues.

Reading 4/23/2007

2007-04-23T19:49:00.000-05:00

I am so glad that we had a chance to view the presentations on the website. After seeing the powerpoint presentations such as the exploring ag-based environmental learning in southern Africa. I like the way the poster broke down each area that the researchers engaged in. For example, the poster categorized the methods, preliminary findings, and countries explored. I liked the use of geometric shapes and colors. Another presentation, Cost effectiveness educator training,gave us insight on how to organize our presentation in a different way than the others. This one had charts and information divided into columns. Both were informative and eye catching. I also enjoyed the pictures and content of the other presentations on the website.

Resilience

2007-04-17T19:14:00.001-05:00

Resilience Article
The article investigates the resilience in communities and the effects that community gardening and civic ecology can have on cities. I thought it was interesting that the definition of resiliencein ecology can be applied in the same way to cities. Diversity provides functional redudancy, which says that if one species is lost to the ecosystem, another with similar functions can replace the lost species and keep the ecosystem stable. This same property can be applied to cities where different ethnic, religious groups, community memebers, NGOs, and government officials can all contribute to management of a resource and if group declines, the resource can still be managed properly. The paper states that resilience can be built through nurturing diversity, self-organization, adaptive learning, and positive feedback loops which will allow a city or community to respond to disasters. The researchers argue that urban community greening promotes these necessary qualities in communities. Civic ecology should be used to build resilience through allowing and teaching people to learn, act and organize. They must become accustomed and accepting of change.

2 Articles on Garden Mosaics website

2007-04-17T18:55:00.000-05:00

Garden Mosaics Neighborhood Exploration, Gardener Story, & Action Project in South Africa—Jamila Walida Simon
Researchers worked in Durban, South Africa to adapt Garden Mosaics for community gardens in two different schools. In contrast to the U.S., where community gardens are located in neighborhoods, African community gardens are located on school grounds because they provide security, water and land. The paper focuses on adapting learning activities from U.S. gardens to those in Africa. In the U.S., students begin by learning about their surrounding neighborhood and where fresh food and gathering places are found. However, in South Africa, neighborhood was found to be a western term. The program may be different because of this cultural difference and the lack of access to internet. Next in the U.S. students learn gardeners’ planting practices. This project provides the opportunity to connect with elders and learn about the connections with culture. In South Africa, the children had to be reassured that they were not being disrespectful to their elders by asking questions. Finally in the U.S., students use i.m.science investigations to conduct an Action Project working with gardeners and benefiting the community. In South African schools, the project is similar. The students discuss the collage from the Neighborhood Exploration and the interviews with gardeners. This discuss allows the students to identify issues that need to be addressed in the garden. They analyze what can be done and what materials are needed and carry out the project.

Examining agriculturally-based environmental learning in southern Africa—Marianne Krasny
The poster examines the role of agriculturally-based school-community links in facilitating environmental learning and action in Malawi, Zambia, South African and the U.S. In South Africa, there are Eco-Schools in which the curriculum promotes sustainable environmental management and there are Health Promoting Schools in which food gardens and healthy school environments are used to teach students. In Malawi and Zambia, an organization called Farmers of the Future uses agroforestry in the school curriculum and there is community-based organization to adopt sustainable agriculture and improve social and economic conditions. In the U.S., Garden Mosaics can be equated to these organizations in Africa because it uses community gardens to teach science, multicultural learning, and community action while providing mentoring. Overall, the study found that the three school communities had some roles in common such as being sources of knowledge and skills, providing environmental learning, showing evidence of action and change, sharing knowledge and skills, and promoting incentives for agricultural activities. In addition, the communities’ resources were often limited, there was donor insensitivity, and a culture of dependency. After the study, questions raised were about the connection between environmental understanding and sustainable agriculture practices and ethics. Another question was about the role of school-community links between cultural patterns and sustainable practices.

Resilience and such...

2007-04-17T13:42:00.000-05:00

Tidball and Krasny Article

This paper confronts the issue of how we can use the ideas and innovations created by diverse city dwellers to address the risks cities face. "Communities lacking resilience are at high risk of shifting into a different, often undesirable state when disaster strikes. Restoring a community to its previous state can be complex, expensive, and sometimes even impossible. Thus, developing tools, strategies, and policies to build resilience before disaster strikes is essential". I wholeheartedly agree.

I also agree that diversity is the key element in resilience and to retaining functional and structural controls in the face of disturbance. Biological diversity provides functional redundancy, so that if one species declines other species providing the same ecosystem services will step up. I also think this helps with shifting the way people think from disaster relief to identifying what is missing in a crisis to identifying the strengths, skills, and resources that are already in place within communities to continue to function.

Community and Forestry Impacts and the World Trade Center Collapse

This is based on an ecological assessment performed 48 hours after the collapse of the World Trade Center. The writer sees it as an opportunity to learn from the effects of the destruction on September 11, 2001 and hopes it will allow us to better understand the role of the landscape in assisting affected communities to recover and heal.

The reading also dealt with NYC oasis which is an open accessible space information system for New York City. Essentially a database to access open spaces in NYC. I found this to be enlightening. The powerpoint also dealt with the impacts of 9/11 on the surrounding neighborhoods and vegetation. Interestingly enough, there was found to be no permanent damage to air quality.

I found this especially noteworthy:
Due to 9/11:
Heavy deposits (2-4 inches) of cement dust and large accumulations of paper in two block radius from epicenter.
•Samples of the cement dust deposits collected showed elevated levels of lime (calcium oxide--from gypsum board), lead, fiberglass, glass and asbestos (1-2%).
•Elevated pH levels in park and street pit soil samples.
.Particulate accumulations dissipated rapidly outside of the four block radius but significant deposits (1/4 inch-1/2 inch) were detected at 8 block and 12 block intervals (largely along easterly and northerly arteries leading out of impact zone).
•Several mature London Plane Trees uprooted on the perimeter block surrounding ground zero.
•Potentially higher levels of PCBs in ground cover.
•Stress to newly planted parkland and street trees.

Resilience: ability to recover readily from illness, depresion, adversity, or the like.

2007-04-17T11:34:00.000-05:00

Plan: a scheme or method of acting, doing, proceeding, making, etc., developed in advance.
Organization: a structure through which individuals cooperate systematically to conduct business.
Adaptive Leaning: learning where a system programs itself by adjusting weights or strengths until it produces the desired output.
Feedback: the return of information about the result of a process or activity; an evaluative response.
Among many other details, what attracted me about the first article were the many examples about how resilience is necessary if a communities and/or city affected by catastrophic events want to recover. This article was informative and touched on coming up with a plan for rebuilding and recovery, on organization, adaptive learning, and feedback. These are concepts of resilience.
One success story is New York, an example of how the concept of resilience was and is still being applied. After the 9/11 event, New York City has shown resilience by performing a plan for rebuilding the destructed site/a preliminary assessment of the situation and what can be done to prevail: resilience. Initiative has been shown through tree planting, EPA tests on air quality, and future plans for reconstruction. This also shows organization. On the other hand, the feedback and adaptive learning role is fulfilled since this initiative to rebuild NYC also has the purpose of providing relief to rescue and recovery workers and to build a sense of community and strengthening society.

2007-04-17T01:38:00.000-05:00

First of all, I figured out computers and was able to find the article from last week. I really like that they did research into different cultures and how they garden. I liked the sentiment that much of what is in the latino gardens is more practical than it is a "garden". It benefits those who use the garden much more than anyone on the outside. i think that these types of things in gardens are essential to the idea of a community garden. people should be able to do whatever to their garden so that they can enjoy it the most. if they can appreciate it and really feel a par of it then something has been accomplished.

on this week's article,
I like the idea of increasing resiliance with community greening. I do feel, however that resiliance cannot be looked at so generally. If there is a tragedy, gardening may help people get through the tough times, but there are a lot of factors that affect this asside from the "overall resiliance of the city". the type of tragedy has a great effect on how people handle it. In the case of September 11, it was more of a "we can get through this, we are a strong city, nation, etc." in the case of Katrina, however, it was a natural disaster. there is no way to say "we will stand up to whoever did this to us" because there is no "who". It is possible that greening can help the affected area get through hard times, but I do believe that each situation in each different area must be looked at differently.

Making Scientific posters

2007-04-16T21:15:00.000-05:00

http://www.ncsu.edu/project/posters/documents/QuickReferenceV2.pdf

This website is a quick guide to making effective scientific posters--very short (ony two slides) and is a good example beacuse it gets its point across

Reduce! Reuse! FREEcycle!!

2007-04-16T17:04:00.001-05:00

http://freecycle.org/

check it out!

Resilience

2007-04-16T12:17:00.000-05:00

The resilience article was very informative on the benefits greening can bring to cities. The article showed that a plan has to be in place such natural disasters happen so cities can be more resilient.I found it interesting that community greening was not only advocated in the U.S. and that it is an international issue for human well being.I find that community greening would be a good way to empower people of other nations instead of having people as "planners" come in an do projects for third world nations.

resilience

2007-04-15T23:42:00.000-05:00

The Krasny-Tidball piece is very representative of the ideas that we have studied thus far in this class, and even in my other classes. I think that the most interesting idea in this paper is the idea that cities are in fact no different from any other ecosystem, they too need diversity to thrive. After studying the history of Johannesburg for my Global Cities class, I have become very sensitive to ideas regarding land use and segregation. The horrible decline, inhumane inequalities and the huge gap between the rich and the poor that existed and continue to exist in Johannesburg seem to be the natural outcomes of homogenous land use planning.
Just to play devil’s advocate, I would like to push against resilience and the use of this word in the paper. To me, words like inequality and resilience have duel meanings because our understanding of them has become entrenched with social connotations. For example, inequality is a word that economists use to describe a social factor that can actually spur the economy. And yet, when we think about inequality, we automatically think of exploitation or oppression. The same goes for the word community, as we discussed in class. Resilience, in this paper especially, seems to have a very positive connotation. But what happens when structures of control that are negative are resilient? Would that imply overall non-resilience because of the uneven capacity to adapt? This arguement could go on and on, like we did in class over the word community...

on another note, i really enjoyed the references to planning and community building. I was able to connect ideas mentioned in my planning classes, like participatory planning ect.

For those of you making posters...

2007-04-11T09:41:00.000-05:00

here is an excellent resource.

http://www.cmer.wsu.edu/~yonge/ce465/poster.pdf

toilets and green design

2007-04-11T07:19:00.000-05:00

yay for green building and design!

Old Toilets Never Die
Filed under: Recycling, Water conservation, Building and renovation, Green building
08:46 am - April 11, 2007

They just take up landfill space. So do old tubs and sinks. But keeping an old toilet in your house, simply to conserve landfill space, could prove to be a bane on the world's water supply, since old models can use up to 8 gallons per flush whereas some of the newest use as little as 1.3.

What to do, then, with those mile-high piles of inefficient toilets? Well, use them to cover your kitchen counter, of course. EnviroGlas, pioneers in the world of recycled glass tiles and countertops, has recently introduced EnviroMODE, a porcelain terrazzo comprised of ground up bathroom fixtures.

Terrazzo surfaces are made up of an aggregate (about 80 percent) suspended in some sort of resin (20 percent). With traditional terrazzo, the aggregate is usually marble, which comes from quarries that blight scenic landscapes across the U.S. EnviroMODE, on the other hand, proves to be an aesthetic boon, ridding the nation's landfills of valuable porcelain and preventing trash dumps from becoming sinks for our sinks.

Fortunately, the world is...ahem...flush with cast-off fixtures, says Patty Bates-Ballard, director of communications and training at EnviroGlas. They've been sourcing their porcelain from municipal recycling programs and from pre-consumer products that don't meet manufacturer's standards. But still, she says, "We get calls at least once a week from people saying, 'I've got a bunch of toilets, and I want get rid of them."

EnviroMODE is suitable for countertops and floors, ranging from $50 to $90 per square foot for countertop applications and $20 to $30 per square foot for floor and wall tiles. While the epoxy resin is petroleum-based, it meets LEED standards for no-VOC emissions and actually contains a small amount of rapidly-renewable coconut oil. For more info, see www.enviromode.com or www.enviroglasproducts.com. And yes, the porcelain is thoroughly cleaned.

Photos courtesy of EnviroGlas and Jason Woelfel.

© The Green Guide, 2006

Resliance

2007-04-10T14:59:00.000-05:00

I thought Krasny and Tidball's paper was very informative. Their discussion on Resliance (abilitiy to change , self organization capability, ability to build and improve; vs. biological resiliance: ability to remain stable if a species dies out, or other catastrophe happens) explained away a little of my confusion on the topic. I liked how they discussed the different ways to make a community more perseverant under pressure - this seems like incredibly important knowledge in this time of constant fear of some sort of catastrophe happening to large cities, and especially after 9/11 and New Orleans flooding. The mention of how greenery can create human capital by luring people in to garden, which then creates financial and physical capital, and finally social capital, really struck me. Their arguements also had broad connections to world issues: instead of just sending money, people should reassess the good contributors to resiliance that are already in the community. This will help prevention of later catastrophes and help the community recooperate more successfully then just giving money, if the community finds a way to work within itself, and to foster community cooperation.

2007-04-10T14:49:00.000-05:00

I found an article in the Community Greening Review book that I really liked called "New York City's Green Oasis Gets a Holywood Makeover". I like this article because it show how people can accomplish things when they stand up for what they believe in. The articl describes a garden on 8th street between Ave B and Ave C. Steven Speilberg wanted to do a movie on the street but did not like the fact that there was a garden, it ruined the setting. He wanted to destroy the garden for the movie, but the community opposed its destruction. They compromised by letting the film crew cover up the garden, causing minimal damage, and in return the garden was compensated greatly. They were able to get liability insuance, to build a new gazebo, and funding for a party in the garden to spread the word about the community gardening cause.

On another note, I could not find the Tanaka and Krasny Article. Once I figure out where it is, I will post about it. I am sure it is right infront of my nose, so...yeah.

Tanaka and Krasny Article

2007-04-10T14:22:00.000-05:00

I found the Tanaka and Krasny article very informative and interesting. One of the reasons I choose to write a reflection on it was because I found parallels between their study and my term project. The article contained some helpful background on the community greening movement.
The purpose of the study was to determine the role Latino community gardens play in community development, open space, and civic agriculture. Interviews were conducted with community gardeners and with staff from non profit agencies. The study found that in addition to the gardens being sites for production of conventional and ethnic vegetables and herbs, the gardens host numerous social, educational, and cultural events, including neighborhood and church gatherings, holiday parties, children s activities, school tours, concerts, health fairs, and voter registration drives. The gardens also offered a way of maintaining Puerto Rican farming practices. In some cases, the gardens also served to promote community activism.

The article also reiterated that urban spaces such as parks and gardens provide a variety of benefits. Yet, community gardens are different from parks in that they are “community-managed open spaces.” The concept of civic agriculture introduced in the article was also very interesting. It offers a way to support community businesses as well as to supply food to poor people. At Latino community gardens, nature education is taught and agricultural literacy is instilled in young people from within a community. I found it interesting that Latino community gardens were so poorly studied. Intuitively though, I knew that they were more likely to occur in really poor areas. The study also illuminated the role of community gardens in providing leadership and landscape design. Since Latino communities are mostly immigrant filled and poor the gardens were predominately places for cultural interaction. The most important point the article made was that these garden are mainly areas of community development where people interact and to a lesser degree places where food is grown. Also, a large majority of the food grown in these gardens is given away instead of sold.

2007-04-10T00:41:00.000-05:00

This is such an entertaining book! It has a lot of very interesting articles. I could spend the whole weekend reading it over and over again. If I only had that type of weekend in which time was not a constraint!! The part that attracted me the most was the section about The World in the Garden, but more specifically, I read the article titled Celebrating Cultural Diversity. In this article, I though that community gardens not only represent community, but also diversity. “Almost everyone comes from somewhere else.” The case is that many people move from rural places into town. I thought it was very interesting how Schimberg, the author of this article, pointed out that farming is many peoples way of life in rural environments. But by coming to the city, they keep a connection between the past and the future through community gardens.
For the Managing section, I read the “poem” titled Planning Ahead. I though that it was very interesting how education changes the way people see nature. One may sow a seed, plant a tree, but what makes the difference, or if one wants to plan way ahead, education is the best option and investment.
For the transformation part, I read the article titled Transforming angel. It is very inspiring how one initiative can motivate and encourage others to do and repeat a same positive action. Overall, this book is a gem. It provides a lot of stores about community greening in a very entertaining way, since many of the articles happened in real life.

For Tomorrow...an opportunity!

2007-04-09T19:25:00.000-05:00

We will be fortunate to have Dr. Barbara Bedford, of the Department of Natural Resources, Cornell, as our guest in class tomorrow. I know this is short notice, but you may want to do some quick reading on wetlands, her area of specialty, and take advantage of an opportunity to learn about wetland function, wetland science, and even pick her brain about urban wetlands! Dr. Bedford is an award winning wetlands ecologist.

Here are some useful links to "study up."

EPA WETLANDS SITE

URBAN WETLANDS FACT SHEET

EVALUATING URBAN WETLAND RESTORATION

America Community Greening Review

2007-04-09T16:53:00.000-05:00

I really like this book. It had very personal, humanistic stories about community gardens focusing on different areas such as the benefits, history, art and compost, managing gardens, and community garden movements around the world. I wish I had time to read the entire book, but I looked over most of it and the points of particular interest to me were the World section and the Transformation section. The article I reviewed was called "Southeast Asian Gardeners: Teaching fish to swim" (149). It talked about the similarities of Thai villagers to North American citizens. The stereotype is that all Asians know how to farm and grow vegetables. Also, gardening in the tropics, you would expect that they could farm all year round because there are 365 frost-free days. However, Thai villagers are reluctant to farm; only plant during the cool season; and do not use intensive practices. Looking at the culture, some of these things can be explained by the fact that rice is the primary crop and food and vegetables are merely used to add flavor and color. There are 3 seasons: cool, rainy, and hot. During the rainy seasons, the vegetables rot from too much rain; and during the hot season there is not enough water and it is too hot for many crops. The only viable season to plant is during the cool season. There is little motivation for Thai villagers to grow their own vegetables. They view farming as a low status activity and wish to rise about their roots into a higher class and income level. The women would rather spend more time shopping and socializing than gardening. The families aim to be wealthy enough to buy their own food, so they do not want to resort to a lower status by growing food. Despite these oppositions to growing food, the article comments on the benefits. Nutritional education programs improve diets. Growing food saves money and can also produce some income. Intensive gardening saves labor, water, and soil fertility. In conclusion, inspiring people in Southeast Asia to grow their own food faces similar problems as people in North America. Successful extension of these practices depends on understanding attitudes, motivations, and sources of resistance as well as developing communication techniques between the people and the educators.

I also read about the success story of Seeds of Survival (SOS) in Ethiopia. It was inspiring to know that agricultural techniques that preserve the world's agricultural diversity and build food security can exist and even out-yield techniques of the Green Revolution that use single varieties of seeds. SOS showed that using diverse seeds can yield 10-15% more produce that even Green Revolution techniques. The article related this success story to community gardens by promoting the growth of heirloom varieties, buying seed stock from small companies, and educating people about the movement.

I looked through the Transformation section because I love the random, reused art pieces that are found in community gardens. The creatures made out of old bottles that we saw on top of the fence of a garden in NYC were really cool. In the book, there were lots of ideas for reusing unwanted items. I liked the bottle tree. The use of bathtubs and car tires for planting gives personality to the garden. Even the fence can be crafted using reused wood or other materials and made into a work of art.

2007-04-07T02:34:00.000-05:00

2007-04-03T14:12:00.000-05:00

FOR YOUR RESEARCH PROJECTS

2007-03-29T11:51:00.000-05:00

Here is a great link to many studies on the benefits of urban green... perhaps useful in your literature reviews.

http://www.projectevergreen.com/resources/index.html

Also, don't forget that there is a vast literature review at the back of your syllabus.

Finally, the following sites may also be of use:

Krasny & Tidball Civic Ecology

Tidball Green Security

Alt Break Reflection

2007-03-28T20:22:00.000-05:00

I joined this class to learn something new, and I have not been disappointed! From urban wild life in Central Park, Community gardens, to environmental injustices in Harlem, so much of what I experienced over Spring Break was new to me. It never occurred to me that there would be so many species of birds in a city, that the trees lining the streets of Manhattan have to go through such a struggle to survive, that the community garden movement did so much for the people, or that such blatant wrongdoings were being perpetrated against the citizens of Harlem. Not only have I discovered things that I did not know but I also have been inspired to ask myself a different set of questions.

The portion of the break that I found myself reflecting on the most was the time we spent with the organization WE ACT. The information that they gave us left me wondering what sorts of environmental injustices were going on in my own neighborhood and if any organizations were attempting to correct them. At home, we have days when the news actually gives smog reports warning people with asthma problems to take caution. I am starting to wonder if anything can be done about this at a community level. Maybe we can do more than just carpool.

Reflection Blog

2007-03-27T18:55:00.000-05:00

How peaceful urban environments can be in any weather! They seem to provide an unexpected escape from the everyday stress and constant noise of the city. They allow for self-expression and creativity. Looking at the community gardens, I aw how each one was unique to its surroundings. The gardens change with the community. The community and surrounding neighborhood create the garden from nothing and make it what we see today. For example, Open Road had a mosque and a school next door. These organizations contributed a lot to the community and made the garden unique, with its greenhouse, murals, and playground. I also loved the tower and 6th St. and Avenue B. The tower probably sprung from someone’s idea to use objects and junk and others added to it. I see community gardens as a group art project. Everyone has something to offer. Even in Central Park, the park would be nothing without the people who come to enjoy it. It is very man-made and managed, but is important to the wildlife and human-enjoyment of the outdoors in the city. I love spring! I like the surprise of nature that can jump out at any time in the city. It’s like a constant game of I Spy; you just have to be willing to look.

Spring Break Trip

2007-03-26T23:36:00.000-05:00

Reflections in Central Park: 3/20/07

I've enjoyed the trip so far. I really liked hearing about Green Thumb yesterday. It is interesting to know how they got started, what they do, and what problems they have faced and are facing now. Today we wandered Central Park. I really like walking/wandering through places around Manhattan, especially the parks. I feel like I've taken a bunch of good pictures, and that makes me happy, but I am not sure if any of them will be really good for my project. I hope that in the next couple days we will go to more parks and places that I can get good pictures of art in parks and gardens. I don't like that my computer is being stupid and so I will have to go through the pics on the camera and delete the bad ones before seeing them on the computer. That never works out well, but I have taken SO MANY pictures that it is necessary.

I will post some pictures later on, but I have to go through and organize them first.

Alt Breaks

2007-03-26T19:01:00.000-05:00

Monday: Though it was a little disappointing to not be able to work in the gardens, it was a wonderful opportunity to meet Green Thumb to see how a government funded organization worked, and to see what its employees were like. We learned a lot about the role that Green Thumb plays with the city's community gardens, and its history with the movement. One of my favorite parts of the trip was actually the walk we took to view the closed gardens, seeing the creativity and diversity of each park was so inspiring and contemplative.
Tuesday: This day was frustrating for me because I felt like we didn't do much work, though of course this was no one's fault.
Wednesday: I really enjoyed learning about how city trees are taken care of, especially the tree identification that we were introduced to. I was not that bothered by the fact that we didn't do much pruning; I valued the learning I got out of it. The Central Park tour was nice because I hadn't realized there might be more natural-looking areas, a good example of the idea that even parks in the middle of the city can have a multitude of environments other than the pruned field look. The tracks exercise was quality, though I didn't really get a good sense of the wildlife in the park.
Thursday: A very fulfilling day. I enjoyed the walk to Harlem. The visit with WE ACT I thought was too short and I would have liked to understand more of what they do and how they operate, but nonetheless I learned a lot about the innovative actions they initiate. Working and seeing the community garden was a really essential thing - I can't imagine what it would have been like to have missed this part, to not have been able to talk to a member of the bottom rung of community garden "bureaucracy".
Friday: It seemed harder to connect the Solaire tour to what we were doing the rest of the week, but nonetheless I loved seeing the technology.

All in all, I look back on the week and am incredibly impressed by all that we did. I loved the fact that we were never really doing the same thing twice. We got a good look into all the levels of urban greenery, from the goverment sponsored groups, to the NGOs, to the business side, and community members, as well as a good background in the different ways that urban greenery REPRESENTS itself: parks, sidewalk trees, community gardens, business ventures, memorials.
I found this trip amazing on at least another 3 levels beyond simply the programmed activities, the reason for which should go mostly to our T.A. I learned so much about New York, its feel, the different areas, but also its people and cultures that I've never been so close to before. I'd barely ever considered working with the city before, but this experience makes me want to explore that option more. I also feel so inspired because all of the group members were so interested in the topic and so interesting to talk to, and I loved getting to know everyone a little better each day. Everything we did left me with so much to talk and think about.

Urban Environments Trip to NYC-Reflections

2007-03-26T16:57:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, our group (along with other ones) departed to NYC. We arrived at 4:30 pm, and went to the hotel. We relaxed. On Monday, the environmental adventure started. Topic: Community gardens. We went to GreenThumb, a large national community garden organization. We watched a video. By the end of the day, I concluded that soil is really “brown gold,” as the video pointed out. Many people rely on this natural resource. At GreenThumb, I also recall Edie Stone saying: “Community gardens are all about community…gardens are just incidences.” That same afternoon, while walking around downtown NYC, I noticed how community gardens come to represent a culture, its traditions, and unity through a common interest: gardening. I noticed how different gardens have their own style and personality, some of them being more attractive than others (in my opinion). One can see casitas, toys on top of metal fences all around the garden, and a lot of other ways to represent beliefs and a culture. These gardens took me back to my home country, when visiting the country sides and other rural areas. “These places,” I though, “are where people gather and build a common space together, each contributing with a piece of one’s belongings.” Community gardens are, indeed, about uniting people and communities needing to identify with each other, considering that many people are away from home. By the end of the day and during our discussion before going back to the hotel, I also reflected: How will NYC look in 20 years? The NYC green (almost paradisiac) picture that Akesh, at GreenThumb, showed us constantly came to my mind. Is it fair to call this expectation utopian? Is the Environment well and appropriately appreciated?
On Tuesday, the topic was Urban Wildlife, so we went to Central Park. We began by identifying different types of birds (by their sound and color of feathers) around the reservoir: Mallards, Canada Gooses, Buffleheads, Hooded Merganser, Pied-billed Grebe; Northern Cardinal, House Sparrow, Tufted Titmouse, American Robin, Coopers Hawk, Downy Woodpecker.
On Wednesday, the topic was Urban Forestry. We went to Trees NY, and discussed why trees were important. Some of the reasons are: Trees are habitat for wildlife, they provide shade, their beauty adds value to a property, they absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen, and because they are cool. We went around the downtown neighborhood and identified various types of trees, pruned some, and discussed the dangers that they face (such as being exposed to the asian long-horned beetle which feeds on fresh, not dead, wood). We had a group discussion which raised a question in my mind: Is it better to be an optimism, or a realist when taking environmentally tough decisions in the midst of adversity? It is ideal to be both, but many people tend to go one way or another. What am I?
On Thursday, the topic was Environmental Justice. We went to We Act, an Environmental Justice organization dedicated to build community power to fight environmental racism and improve environmental health, protection, and policy for communities of color. We discussed the problems that would emerge if Columbia University decided to expand over eight city blocks along the Manhattanville waterfront in West Harlem. Afterwards, we went to a community garden and worked a few hours picking up wood boards, and organizing the garden’s warehouse.
On Friday, the topic was Green Design, and we went to the Solaire. The Solaire, in Battery Park City, NYC, is a green design model, and Americas first environmentally advanced residential tower. “Fresher air, natural light, and fresher water… Live Healthy, Live Green.” The apartments are innovative, and the water is recycled; the Solaire has a green roof, and it is built up of natural materials for floor and wall designs. Afterwards, we went to the Irish memorial, where we concluded with the trip activities.
At about 12am on Saturday 24th March, I arrived home, in Ithaca, NY.
...My Environmental Conservation journey has just started!

ASSIGNMENT UPDATE

2007-03-26T16:47:00.000-05:00

Because we were unable to work in the community gardens in the Lower East Side on Monday due to weather, there is no Garden Mosaics assignment due.

Please be prepared to discuss in class your reflections on the ASB trip overall, as well as specific observations you want to point out. Don't forget to post your journal entries from Central Park.

See you tomorrow!

New York City!

2007-03-26T16:12:00.000-05:00

This spring break has been far different from many of the trips taken by my peers. I am glad that I was fortunate enough to be a part of this trip because it exposed me to a great deal of new experiences. Meeting the non-profits in NYC was awesome because they were each very unique in their goals but were all very interested in encouraging us to get involved. Green Thumb was really cool because they shared an interesting history and I really liked reading about the seminars they offer to community gardeners-- I really think that it is this type of sharing that will successfully make cities sustainable (as opposed to the commercialization seen at perhaps the Solaire). The open access to information and opportunities is what is really important for the success of cities, perhaps that is why the tree pruning was so frustrating--we did not feel like we had equal freedom to make a positive impact. Thursday was the most fascinating day for me. I really appreciated the walk to Harlem and seeing the differences in how the streets were used. Better still was hearing about WE ACT because they were very knowledgeable and seemed to have their long term goals in order. I would love to work with this kind of non-profit in the future, their work seems really exciting. Better still was being able to hang out and help out in the community garden. I loved the natural approach that was taken towards the garden because it really made it seem like you were in a fairy-tale. I was sad to hear that so much of the garden had been lost to development and now I regret not asking what they did to fight the development.

NYC Trip

2007-03-26T13:08:00.000-05:00

I am glad that I had the opportunity to participate in the urban environmental alternative spring break trip. Instead of blogging all of the experiences on the trip I rather reflect of the experience that touched me most. That was learning and being informed about environmental justice. We Act a Harlem community action group informed us of the wrongs and misdoings by Manhattan on the Harlem community. In addition, they face a continuing battle with Columbia University expansion into Harlem. We Act fought the city for a waterfront park that now will be separated from Harlem by the expansion of Columbia. The actions by the city and Columbia show a glass ceiling that faces minority populations. That is that minorities cannot live in nice areas and when they do gain access to such spaces the status quo tries to take it away from them. It saddens me that the Harlem community fought hard to have a waterfront park and that Columbia sees that the Harlem community could not possibly take care of have such a green space.I hope that the Harlem community can exercise their basic human right to green space and maintain their waterfront park and fight for their environmental rights.

Along the same lines as Solaire...

2007-03-15T16:31:00.000-05:00

Being healthy and green is bound to become a luxury. Just thought everyone would find this interesting.

The first certifiably green mansion
Earth-friendly no longer equals Space Age design. Welcome to EcoManor, built in Atlanta by Ted Turner's daughter. Fortune's Patricia Sellers takes the tour.
By Patricia Sellers, Fortune editor-at-large
March 14 2007: 12:48 PM EDT

(Fortune Magazine) -- From the outside, the Seydel family's new home looks like any old Tudor manse. Well, it's too tall for its quiet block. (Neighbors have complained.) But who would guess that this is the largest eco-friendly house in America? With its 27 photovoltaic panels on the roof, solar tubes that snake into interior rooms, geothermal heat pumps, and rainwater-collecting cisterns, this is, in fact, the first home over 5,000 square feet ever to be certified by the U.S. Green Building Council - and evidence of a new wave of eco-building that doesn't look like eco-building.

"Everybody has in their head a picture of an environmental home - usually some Space Age design," says homeowner Laura Turner Seydel, who moves into EcoManor in March. "We wanted to prove that it doesn't have to look odd."

EcoManor won LEED certification using innovations like geothermal systems, photovoltaic panels and soy-based insulation.

In the attic, cellulose insulation costs more - but is super efficient.

The Seydels at home: (from left) Vasser, John R., Laura Elizabeth and parents, Laura and Rutherford.

Make your house a green machine
Not everyone has the means (or the desire) to build an environmentally sound house from the ground up. But here are five ways to make your own manor more like EcoManor.
Roof:
Install photovoltaic panels, which convert sunlight into electric energy. The Seydels paid $34,000 for their 27 solar panels from One World Sustainable Energy Corp. oneworldsec.com
Lighting:
Solar tubes and skylights direct natural light into closets and interior rooms, and also block infrared heat and UV rays. The Seydels paid less than $2,500 for their Velux components. velux.com
Heat:
Make sure your water heater and plumbing systems are insulated. Or consider a "tankless" model, which can slice your bills dramatically. The Seydels went all out with underground electric pumps, which use the ground temperature to help heat or cool the house. Residential systems average $7,500 and reduce energy costs 30 to 60 percent.
Materials:
For floors, forgo traditional hardwood in favor of rapidly renewable alternatives like bamboo or cork. The Seydels also used Lyptus, from eucalyptus trees, for their cabinets.
Water:
Recycle your runoff: The average home sends more than 100,000 liters of usable water down the drain each year. Thanks to a local company called RainHarvest, the Seydels reuse rainwater and water from sinks and showers to flush toilets and irrigate their yard.

Seydel is also the daughter of Ted Turner - which gives you a clue to where her environmental drive comes from. While her billionaire daddy has practiced what he has preached by buying two million acres to preserve (he is America's largest individual landowner), Seydel thinks big on one tiny tract: a half-acre in Atlanta's highbrow Buckhead neighborhood.

She and her husband, Rutherford, an environmental lawyer, spent $1.5 million to construct EcoManor - some 10 percent extra for going green, estimates architect Bill Harrison. But he predicts that the Seydels' energy costs will be 80 to 90 percent below average for a like-sized Atlanta home.

EcoManor was born four years ago when Laura - who serves on more than a dozen nonprofit environmental boards - and Rutherford bought a shabby two-bedroom cottage behind their sprawling hilltop home. They had planned to turn it into a guesthouse.

But a few weeks after their purchase, a magnificent 200-year-old oak, whipped by a storm, fell and crushed the tiny house. Ted Turner is the one who, after touring the devastation with Rutherford, prodded the Seydels to tear it down and rebuild. "And when they started from scratch, they decided to go eco-friendly," Ted recalls.

Or more like eco-obsessive. Self-proclaimed environmental activists, the Seydels collect rainwater to fill their toilets - low-flush, dual-flow units from Japanese manufacturer Toto. ("Press button No. 1 when you go No. 1, and No. 2 when you go No. 2," instructs Laura, 45, as we tour the master bathroom, which is naturally lit via four solar tubes.) Meanwhile, used "gray" water from the Seydels' sinks and showers passes through filters and irrigates the lawn - which is drought-tolerant, of course.

Throughout the five-bedroom house (the Seydels have three children, 9, 11 and 14), the doors are wheat-core - yes, composed of wheat, and formaldehyde-free. In the first-floor study the wallpaper is recycled newspaper, though you'd never know it: It's an elegant-looking linen white.

The floors downstairs are made of fallen oak from Ted Turner's plantation, Avalon, in Florida. (Upstairs the floors are sustainable wood from Home Depot (Charts), and they don't look as nice.) In the attic the insulation is made of soy-based cellulose. "It's the most expensive but also the most efficient," says Rutherford, 43, as we explore EcoManor's 6,000-plus square feet.

While Laura thinks of EcoManor as the ultimate nontoxic environment (she evangelizes about hemp pillows, jute draperies, and natural cleaning products), Rutherford views their new home as a sort of energy toy. His favorite gizmo, in the kitchen, is a 15-inch monitor that measures and controls the family's energy costs per second - "down to a hundredth of a cent," Rutherford boasts. "If the kids have a party in the basement, I can tell how much the party cost." Predicts architect Harrison: "Five or ten years from now we'll be building homes that are totally self-sufficient in terms of energy usage."

The Seydels are pioneers in a growing movement. Currently there are 98 homes that are LEED-certified by the U.S. Green Building Council, but the group, which is based in Washington, D.C., expects some 5,000 to be certified in the coming year. (LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.)

Most LEED-certified homes are in the West and Northeast; EcoManor is the first in the Southeast. The movement is spreading to mass-market home development: Between 5 and 10 percent of new homes will probably be eco-friendly by 2010, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

Meanwhile, Rutherford wants to entice everyone, especially the luxury set, to go for LEED status. Currently LEED judges favor small homes in their rating system, which effectively penalizes rich folks who like to live large.

"That shouldn't be the case. People who can afford to build stately homes tend to adopt revolutionary technologies early. These are the people who can make a huge impact," says Rutherford, who is lobbying the Green Building Council to ease the restrictions. The council is considering it.

Meantime, the Seydels have already swayed one rich guy: Ted Turner. Even though Turner has given hundreds of millions of dollars to environmental causes, he confesses that he has paid scant attention to building green. (Why bother, since with 22 ranches and other properties, he says, "I don't spend more than a month each year at any one.")

Lately Turner has started using recyclable materials and nontoxic paints - and also has invested millions in a solar-energy startup. Says Laura: "We guilt-tripped him into it."

March 13th

2007-03-13T14:59:00.000-05:00

I found “The Greening of NYC, as Seen by A Designer,” to be a very informative article shattering the stereotype of New York as a concrete jungle. The presence of specialized schools incorporating the environment into their curriculum, gardens, parks and greenmarkets was a given to me. I recognize that New York is a very diverse place where one can find just about anything one is looking for. Nevertheless, the idea of locally grown produce sounded odd. This concept of agriculture within a large city amazes me even now.

The Solaire living Green is a wonderful example of how human beings can live in an environmentally friendly dwelling without suffering the loss of convince. This building seems almost unreal. It has everything a person could want without a cost to the environment. It is also a rational way of preparing for our future. All this proves is that we can change our ways when we actually make an attempt at it.

The article “Sustainable Urban Ecosystems” paints a very sad picture and then goes about mending it. Every problem that it mentions has a reasonable correction and a profound incentive to take action. Human beings have clearly altered the surroundings in urban areas; however, we do not have to be as destructive as we have been in the past. We have the education and the technology to change. Now all we need are people willing to make an effort. The mere presence of these three articles proves that those people do exist and that their numbers are growing. These articles give hope.

Tuesday March 13

2007-03-13T11:30:00.000-05:00

All Things Considered: This NPR report made a good complement to what we are learning about NYC. I have this idea in my mind of L.A. being all highway, in fact I don't know if I even realized there was a L.A. river! It's kind of amazing to think that this huge city has no park system - I think of my pretty small town at home which had tons of green space. Of course, the industrialization of a big city makes sense that green space would be tougher to have, and I can understand how green space in a city could be forgotten, but it's still amazing that L.A. hasn't one. The community residents are taking the situation into their own hands, and carving our green spaces along the river which I think is a beautiful thing.

The Solaire
This website actually impressed me because I was afraid its mention of environmental engineering was going to be vague. But actually it had many legitamite sounding things to say, not just the phrase ''naturally harvested wood" but it went into that they had a 500 mile resource transporation limit and that it was harvested from sustainably. It was interesting how most of the technology was well known - lots of Energy Star appliances, solar power, insulation - which makes it more believable. I did like their focus on rooftop irrigation, and the inbuilding water treatment system.

The Greening of NYC
I really enjoyed this article. Though the author did perhaps veer from the negative, she made sure to mention some issues that NYC has, for instance programs that have been cut. She gave a wonderful overview of everything that is going on in NYC for sustainability, lots of policy and programs that sound very creative and make me want to look them up (for instance, Transportation Alternatives, Recycle a Bicycle, NYC's Bicycle Blueprint, Big City Forest, the Gaia Institute). I know after reading this that NYC is putting forth a big effort to make the city more environmentally friendly. I especially liked the transporation part, because reducing automobiles would be a really beneficial thing for NYC to do for pollution, traffic, and they already have a great transit system. An fun, educated, lighthearted read, 4 thumbs up.

Slide

2007-03-13T10:51:00.003-05:00

March 13th reflections

2007-03-13T09:52:00.000-05:00

The Green Apple

In the first article I was surprised to learn that NYC is listed under sustainable cities. The author keeps making reference to the Green Apple instead of the Big Apple, I found this interesting. I think she has a valid point. NYC is such a mecca of fashion, culture and diversity, it is also one of the most visited places in the world. It stands to reason that it could also be the place that could be used to make a bold statement about sustainability. Whatever happens in NYC is largely imitated in the rest of the world therefore, what better international stage to have than NYC to take a stand for the environment. Also, as I read this article I am reminded of a story that a friend related to be about when he lived in NYC.
My friend is from a small town in Louisiana. He grew up walking to the garbage and throwing out the trash, basically doing his part to help the environment. When he become an adult he made the inevitable pilgrimage to NYC, fell in love with it and moved there indefinitely. My friend who we will call Bob, lived in one of the high rises where everyone in his building had the disgusting habit of throwing their trash out the window and into an alley adjacent to the building. He related to me his shock about having witnessed this phenomenon the first couple of times and then gradually he too started doing it because apparently it was the cool thing to do. I was stupefied to say the least. But this is an example of how people copy New Yorkers because they do not want to appear to be an outsider. Peer pressure is still rampant. NYC is perhaps the best place to use its influence and clout for the good of the environment and people are bound to sit up and take notice.
The rise of community gardens, private rooftop gardens are testaments to what a little peer pressure can do. NYC estuaries are cleaner and the fish are returning. Recycling is the highest for any American city with over 1 million people. NYC is also engaged in selling their recyclables now. However, the cut to the Sanitation Budget threatens progress. Education on ecology and the environment is being incorporated into the curriculum in schools and universities.
NYC’s environmental movement is trying to oust the private car. They want to emphasize that you do not need a car to live in NYC. This could also be applied/emphasized in other American cities. It is a bike friendly city.
The author purposely excludes the major environmental problems associated with NYC, which I think is prudent.

Sustainable Urban Environments

Majority of the people in the world prefer and do live in urbanized environments. Urban environments have upset the natural flow of the universe. They contribute to declining environmental quality. I really like these lines, “We have failed to realize the full potential of our green infrastructure because we have designed and managed landscapes as "pictures" rather than as functioning ecosystems. Sustainable urban ecosystems recognize the interconnection of natural resources, human resources, site design, building design, energy management, water supply, waste prevention, and facility maintenance and operation.” They encapsulate the urban environment dilemma.
The study seeks to reconnect people to sustainable environments because sustainable environments have many benefits for people and wildlife. The study also seeks to answer a number of valid questions. We do have to partner with nature instead of trying to conquer it. We have to find a balance between nature and people. That is the essence of sustainability and this class.

The Solaire

One word, “wow.” It almost seems to good to be true. Does this place even exist? The theme “Live Green” is complementary to the first article where the author kept making reference to the “Green Apple.” This site purports that this tower is the first of its kind in America and that it is supposedly environmentally advanced. How advanced is my question? I cannot help but be skeptical. The tower apparently provides more light, cleaner air (I remember someone making a joke about wanting to return to the fresh air of NYC once), fresher water and made from natural materials. It would be interesting to see this place and to ascertain what kind of scales they are using to define the benefits of this tower.
Maybe a little class road trip should be conducted to view this miracle, wink, wink.

2007-03-13T02:07:00.000-05:00

The general idea I got from the combination of articles is that New York City is one of the greenest cities, while other places, like Los Angeles, are greatly lacking as far as sustainability and green spaces goes. I really like that New York is able to be such a good place for sustainable practices and green spaces. There are lots of green spaces in New York that are available to most of the residents. The green markets mentioned in at least one of the articles are a very important part of the city. Even though produce sold at green markets is generally more expensive than those sold in the supermarket, most of it is organically and locally grown. And they are even a nice place to visit and be in when not shopping. I also like the idea of green buildings. I think that sustainable energy sources is one of the most pressing issues of our time and will greatly affect our future. If more and more of the things that we create use alternative fuel sources and are environmentally friendly in general, we will have that much less to worry about in the future. I don't know what the real problem is in LA, but I think that it needs to be, and can be, worked out in the near future. People jut need to be dedicated and put in an effort and things will happen. The biggest problem everywhere is that not enough people 1. believe that there is a problem. 2. care enough to do anything about it. or 3. Believe that we, as people, can do something to fix the problem. New York is a start, and hopefully the ideas and practices that are abundant in NY will proliferate around the country and world.

Innovation

2007-03-11T23:55:00.000-05:00

The Greening of NYC, as Seen by A Designer
This article talks about Sustainable Cities. My question is: How do you define “Sustainable City?” There is a transition from the Big Apple to the Green Apple, I noticed, when referring to NYC. So, NYC is an example of one of those model cities!! Among all its diverse cultural background and its richness of places and opportunities, some people still find a way to make this place greener. The ecologically interesting places should not be unmentioned. NYC is a place where fascinating events take place, one of them being Earth Day in 1990. And the list of such marvels goes on……
This article talks about how innovative NYC is. The “I Love NYC” t-shirts now make sense to me. What is meant by Sustainable Cities, I ask again. These cities are what we call Sustainable Development hot spots, or places were economy is in harmony with the environment. This article talks about how, because “we” are the world’s top producers, we are compensating that luxury/need/fact with recycling and how to effectively manage waste. On the other hand, there is an academic interest: NYU with its Environmental Management courses and Columbia with its Industrial Ecology projects. Overall, NYC is very healthy. It is a place where walking to go to work is commonplace, and where nature is appreciated in the middle of civilization. And the innovation is like the energizer Bunny…it keeps going and going and going……The Green Apple is indeed an industrial paradise!

Public Architecture and Design-Creating Community The Politics of Open Space Design
Parks are popular social centers in many urban environments. I recall last year reading about Frederick Law Olmstead. After studying in Yale, he traveled to China, and then came back to USA. Olmstead was an ecological visionary and an innovator. Did he or his successors have something to do with the designing of Cornell? This is what I read in “wikipedia” regarding Olmstead contribution to Cornell:
For example, in one of the earliest plans, Frederick Law Olmsted, the designer of Central Park, outlined a "grand terrace" overlooking Cayuga Lake.[19] Because the terrace plan was dropped, McGraw Hall appears to face the wrong direction, facing the Slope rather than the Arts Quad.
This article talks about LA, and how it needs parks. Olmstead will be revived, and his transcendental ideas will be applied to LA, a place with a lot of natural beauty.

The Solaire, Live Green
The theme this week is innovation. A blink of the future. What’s to be trendy: water will be recycled, buildings will have rooftop gardens. Think and live green! Sustainability at its apex! Great ideas, now lets get to business….how much does it cost to live this dream? …because, unless one has the Big Green Dollar to make it a reality, this is only really fantastic for the rest of the population. How can this become accessible to all, and is this possible? Somehow!?!

Really long comments....

2007-03-11T19:01:00.000-05:00

The Greening of NYC
This article attemps to highligh the sustainable aspects of NYC and I think it does a good job when it comes to describing all of the eco-tourism sites to be visited. I was surprised by all of the places and stores that the author listed. Only in New York would there be an eco-department store! All of the sustainable clothing stores and green buildings sound fascinating and prosperous, but I argue that there is always more to be done. The author supports the idea that NYC is a “Sustainable City” by listing all of the green efforts taking place such as the Earth Day Celebration in 1990 and the environmental schools. I question his examples because they seem to be outdated. The Earth Day celebration was 5 years ago, why was there not one every year? Also, he talked about the recycling efforts made in NYC. If you have been to NYC, I don’t think you will see a major effort any where within the city to offer recycling. He says currently (in 1995) NYC recycles 15% of the garbage and a mandate was passed to recycle 40%. Has this goal been met today? All I can say is that when I was in NYC, I did not see any efforts to increase recycling around the city. This would take some major organization, but it can be done. The city just needs someone who cares to take jcharge. He also mentioned some green projects being looked into such as composting, repair centers, and BYOB. What has happened to these efforts? If this article was written in 1995, then why have we not seen major improvements in these areas in NYC by 2007??

NPR
The Los Angeles River would flood, and so they sought advice about it from Olmstead. He suggested not to build houses near the river, but to build a parkway as a flood control device. I think this is a good idea and I like that people interested in their community are getting involved in building parks and planting around the river. Local governments are letting community input be a part of the design process when landscaping and gardening around the river. The building of the parkways can affect the community as well as government groups’ ideas, such as the Army Corps of Engineers. The project seems very positive and beneficial to the atmosphere of the communities as well as contributing to learning and teamwork.

The Solaire
This apartment complex looks beautiful and spacious. I think it is a great idea to build energy efficient residence building, since so many apartments are inefficient in heating, electric, and insulation and will not change because of the relationships between the landlords and the tenants. I’m sure it would be very expensive to live in these buildings and it is definitely not geared toward the lower class. I think in addition to building new energy efficient buildings, the city should focus on improving the older very inefficient buildings. People end up paying way too much for their heating and electricity simply because their old building systems or the appliances that are supplied with their apartments. I think that these issues should be addressed. In the Solaire, I love the idea of the rooftop gardens and the irrigation set up to water these gardens.

Sustainable Urban Ecosystems
This paper discussed many interesting topics and provided many great research questions about many different aspects of urban ecosystems. They talked about subjects such as identifying and designing methods, analyzing costs, researching people and implementing projects. Of particular interest to me were the impacts of urban environments on people. I was intersted in questions like “What demographic, scientific, economic, and religious trends are most likely to shape urban dwellers attitudes towards nature and their behaviors impacting landscapes? What are the positive impacts of community-based green projects on small groups and organizations that participate?”

Readings 3/13/07

2007-03-11T15:37:00.000-05:00

The Greening of NYC, as Seen by A Designer

This article covered the view of greening by a designer. It was interesting how it started by addressing the diversity of NYC and how the people all a responsibility to improve the city. He talks about how designers use recyclables in design. It was interesting to learn that NYC has over 200 eco-friendly locations. Even though the article didn't mention the problems in NYC you could see that through the information provided that their is a lot that can be done and continued to make NYC a more ecological sustainable city.

Sustainable Urban Ecosystem

This article started off detailing the problems in urban environments. From the redirection of ground water and increased need for air-conditioning that causes air pollution. Then in the next part of the article the author expresses urban areas as "pictures" instead of ecosystems.I also liked that the article included possible research questions associated with the material presented.

The Solaire Living Green

I don't know about this concept. It seems a little too Utopian for me. I question all the amenities and improved use of resources the company claims. It says its an equal housing opportunity building but the cost of living there is not listed and it seems to me it would be pretty pricey.I would like to visit it though.

Public Architecture and Design-Creating Community
The Politics of Open Space Design

I am not surprised by the problems that stand in the way of improving green spaces in L.A. since we had an earlier reading on L.A. and from common knowledge about L.A. From the cities layout to political tie-ups. I think it will have to come from the people to advocate for green spaces.

2007-03-10T15:11:00.000-05:00

The Greening of NYC as seen by a designer:
This presentation was very interesting. Towards the end it seemed more like a bus tour guiding us through the city, but I enjoyed his talk about garbage and recycling in the city. He mentioned a lot of great places that we could visit during our trip, lets go see the National Audubon Society building!
As a planning student, I have to call attention to his mention of Bryant Park and other BIDs within the city. A Business Improvement District is an area that is given special care and maintenance with money pooled from local businesses in the area. While this seems like a great strategy for greening up the city, it often kicks out the natives. Bryant Park used to be known as a place for drug dealers and bums in the '80's but when it became a BID, the park became privately patrolled. While the removal of drug dealers seems like a great thing, BIDs do not eliminate the problem, they just push them elsewhere. This is problematic and short-sighted, not to mention the fact that it is yet another design flaw that does not serve the community in which it resides.

Sustainable Urban Ecosystems:
This website was clear in laying out its goals and outlining research ideas. I especially enjoyed reading about composting to reduce the % of waste that ends up in land fills.

NPR All things considered:
Los Angeles is known as a problematic city to planners and planning students. The design of the city seems to be the most fundamental problems. The city was founded around the idea of the great American Dream of single family households in suburbs. As a result, settlement in the city resulted in racial segregation in suburbs in LA, traffic congestion, and environmental degradation. The army corps of engineers seemed to have "solved" flooding problems in the same ways everywhere, by simply cementing it over and channelizing it. Pocket parks seem like a good idea for fighting for getting more green space, but they do not seem like great places to actually spend time because of their close proximity to the highways.

The solaire: I am really excited that there is interest in living in a sustainable apartment building. However, this brings back into play the idea that you got to have the green to live green. Why is sustainable living not an equal access issue?

NYC-CCE Internship Opportunity

2007-03-09T09:49:00.000-05:00

Cornell University Cooperative Extension – New York City

Urban Environment Program Area

Internship Description

Internship Position Title: Urban Environment Intern

Term of Appointment: Part-time or Full-time, Start date: flexible

Duties: Urban Environment Program Area seeks an intern(s) to provide support for informal, community-based education programs and related activities. Responsibilities may include program planning and promotion, recruitment of participants and organization partners, logistics planning, and program delivery with local audiences, using an array of communication and outreach strategies. Intern(s) will conduct other communications and administrative support tasks, as needed and assigned. Urban Environment programs include:

· “Garden Mosaics and Urban Agriculture” project in Brooklyn, Lower Manhattan, and the Bronx, working with community-based organizations to deliver horticultural and environmental science learning experiences, in farmers’ markets and community gardens;

· An emerging initiative focused on outdoor education and adventure experiences, which will encourage and facilitate urban youths’ engagement with the outdoors in and around NYC;

· “Urban Silviculture,” an integrated research and education project that investigates the relationship between trees and air quality and engages young adults in field-based data collection in the South Bronx;

· “Celebrate Urban Birds,” a collaborative effort between CUCE-NYC and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology that aims to involve the public in activities related to urban birds and the importance of habitat in urban environments;

Required Skills and Qualifications:

• Excellent communication skills (verbal and written). Spanish language skills desirable. Strong computer literacy and organizational skills.

• Academic background in the sciences, environmental studies and/or education;

understanding of and willingness to work in urban communities with diverse populations; ability to work collaboratively with others as well as take initiative and work independently.

• College junior, senior or graduate preferred; graduate students will also be considered.

Contact: Lisa Babcock at llb28@cornell.edu; 212-340-2956

Transforming Cities

2007-03-08T16:30:00.000-05:00

I really enjoyed the article about transforming cities. The major problem in cities is that they are overpopulated. Historically, cities have always been the centers for industrialization and rarely made to cater to the people that dwell in them. This article hopes to change all that. What I got from it is that yes, cities are for industrialization and other things but it does not have to be exclusive to this. Cities are for people and not the the other way around basically. People can have their cities and still have them be areas of sustainability, where natural resources are protected and conserved. Also, cities can be places where communities are fostered. Cities continue to grow and so do the problems associated with them. But the situation is not hopeless if we all work together.

My slide basically highlights the things about this article that stood out to me.

2007-03-06T18:46:00.000-05:00

Reflecting on the history and the current state of community gardening

2007-03-06T11:04:00.000-05:00

Reading Lawson's chapter on the emergence of the contemporary urban gardening movement raises many issues for the current state of community gardening in urban spaces.

Since community gardening rose during a period of national urban deterioration, the challenge today is that urban areas have been transformed into playgrounds of real estate developers. If gardens are such vital resources to poor and delapitated areas where youth can get out of the daily drama of poverty and violence, then what does the current trends of gentrification mean for the youth of today?

If there are no more vacant lots, and those that do exist are being coveted for the right moment to construct a new loft for the young urban professional, than how do we push to transform the ecology of the city with the grassroots community gardening of the past?

Maybe the fight has moved out of the inner city and to the exurbs where the urban poor are now moving. Maybe the farmers who are losing their land to the development of strip malls are the natural allies of the exurban poor who have become alienated by the lack of community fostered by environments based on private vehicular transportation.

2007-03-06T03:39:00.000-05:00

I don't know if this is what you were going for, but it is my interpretation of the assignment, and what could go on one slide.

The Three Parts of Social Transformation

2007-03-05T20:26:00.000-05:00

Voila!

2007-03-05T15:29:00.000-05:00

2007-03-04T18:20:00.000-05:00

I tried to make my power point less wordy and more based on an image, but I hope it did not come out looking too juvenile. (sorry) I love the idea of Garden Mosaics and I think it has so many opportunities to teach children in a variety of different subjects and involve them in the outdoors. I think it introduces kids to positive role models and shows them aspects of nature that they would not normally encounter living in an urban setting. While I was reading the article, I had a mental image of a child exploring his or her neighborhood as if it were an exciting maze. They encounter the beautiful aspects of nature as well as their welcoming neighbors and learn to interact with others along their journey. I hope that gardening in elementary schools becomes a nation-wide curriculum.

Apuntes Urban Environments 2.27.07

2007-03-03T00:24:00.000-05:00

Gotham Fishtales discussion:

-confusion, where were they fishing? Foreign fish; Hudson river tidal’; don’t realize near mouth, saltwater ecology too, eels, exotic species
-eating contaminated fish, repercussions for fetuses, disadvantaged fishermen/women
-certain ethnicities supplement heavily diets, more toxins
Wealthier, fly-fishing, more for entertainment
Patrol for size of fish v. do individuals actually impact over industry catch
- communication of toxicity doesn’t get to enough people
- ¾ money on Rainbow & Brown Trout, ¼ money into regular game fish
- Cleanliness of water?
- Idea of Sterile City, people surprised that there are fish, nature
- Old train to reef, justification: can’t afford structure for reef, environmental issues, research, company had to sanitize (dredged, destroyed original reef)

Our Role in Nature
Argument: are we irrelevant (even though we straighten the Mississip, nature more powerful)
“Tragedy of the Commons” issue, finite resources
Why should we care?
Economic benefits of green space, emotional benefit

Discussion on Scientific Articles:
Issues w/ not enough scientific,
Argument against green space?
Greening as community empowerment rather than natural resources argument
Horticultural Therapy
Enough green space, but actually need to get out in it
But what if there are danger issues; different factors
Social interaction outside is benefiting, not purely greenery’s effect
We are wedded to infrastructure of soc. Issues
Greening- one of easiest ways to improve commty
Grupo 2: philosophical debate: value systems, relationship bet. Wealthy & green space,
Girls & self confidence, diff bet boys w/ how they play, encouraged to play outside
Surrounded by technology
What is important v. other cultures w/different values – could a new Yorker in Kenya survive?
Why is the tree there? Wealth initiates it or does green initiate wealth?

Victorian cities & gardening > resistance movement, women control food

-your dedicated notetaker

Things To Do And Eat In NYC

2007-03-01T21:40:00.000-05:00

There are a couple things that I you guys should take a look at.

1. Aroma Kitchen and Wine Bar is an awesome resturant. We can go there on Monday night, if you guys want. The room we would have is the "Farmhouse Room" (see website). It will probably cost $50 per person (including tax and tip) if everyone orders an appetizer and an entre. The room we would have is the "Farmhouse Room" (see website). It is a lot of money that peopel may not be willing to spend, so if you don't want to go, say so. You would not have to pay for dinner on Sunday night, however, cause my family wants to cook, so it could be like paying for Sunday's meal and Monday's meal. I need to know by this Saturday, March 3, if we still want to keep the reservation. You can tell me if this is something that you want to happen when we go bowling. Check out the website.

http://www.aromanyc.com/

2. There are some other resturants that I know of that should not be as expensive, but are still good.

Kefi - A really good Greek resturant on the Upper West Side
http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/kefi/index.html
http://events.nytimes.com/2007/02/28/dining/reviews/28unde.html?ref=dining

A Salt & Battery for fish and chips - West Village and East Village Good & Very cheap.
http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/a_salt_and_battery01/index.html

Pam Thai food at 49th & Ninth This is a great, really cheap place that is likely to have room for us.
http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/pam-real-thai-food/index.html

Spice - Near Union Square, has really good vegetarian options. For lunch, I believe you can get a free appetizer when you order an entre. (I think that there are others around the city as well.)
http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/spice01/
http://www.spicenyc.net/university.html#

Republic (Thai) - Union Square
http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/republic/index.html

Ollies Noodle Shop - This one is on the upper west side, but there are others in various locations.
http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/olliesnoodleshop03/index.html

The City Bakery - Closes at 7:00, but is a good place for a lunch or an early dinner. Really good food and pastry.
http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/city_bakery/index.html

All of these are good places that we could eat, and since there are a lot of us, we should probably make reservations so that we know that somewhere will have room for us. It is very easy to have long waits for resturants in Manhattan, and with this many people it is very possible that we might not get a table at all.

3. NOT resturant options.

People wanted a commedy type thing. Upright Citizens Brigade is a really good improve/sketch commedy group in Manhattan
http://nymag.com/listings/bar/upright-citizens-brigade-theatre01/

On Fridays from 4-8pm the Museum of Modern Art is pay what you wish. Other days, they have a student rate of $12. A very important aspect of the urban environment. See especially the sculpture garden.

The NY Philharmonic has $12 student tickets, all you have to do is show up with a student ID. I can get more informaton on this if people want.

NYC Option

2007-02-28T17:35:00.000-05:00

This is NOT REQUIRED!

I will be attending the NYC Grow Together on Saturday the 24th of March. If any of you plan to stay in the city over that weekend and would like to be a part of something like this, I highly recommend it. See below.

Children and "Back -to-Nature"--more context

2007-02-28T14:18:00.000-05:00

All of you raised great point, questions, and critiques reagrding last weeks readings...some of them dealing with"nature-deficit disorder" and related topics.

Here is a link to the latest book on the subject:
http://www.amazon.com/Last-Child-Woods-Children-Nature-Deficit/dp/1565125223/sr=8-1/qid=1172690519/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-2405519-2286242?ie=UTF8&s=books

...and below, more on the subject. Some of you will no doubt find this interesting and of use. Enjoy!

A back-to-nature movement to reconnect children with the outdoors is burgeoning nationwide"
- USA Today, Nov. 21, 2006

Children & Nature Movement Update

The grass roots Children and Nature Movement continues to grow and expand. Twenty-two regions have now launched or are considering launching a Children & Nature Campaign. From Louisville to Seattle, communities are coming together to raise awareness and map-out plans for action. Shifts in policy are also underway with several groups working together to propose children and nature amendments to the No Child Left Behind Act.Recent movement gatherings include the December conference on children and nature hosted by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and the C&NN planning session held in January to inform the drafting of a C&NN Action Guide for regional leaders and community collaboratives. C&NN Chairman, Rich Louv, continues to speak as author and a spokesman for the movement with over 20 speaking engagements in February and March alone. As the movement grows, so do the resources and support for movement leaders.

This month C&NN publishes two key tools for communicating the need, reasons, urgency and scientific foundations for taking action to re-connect children & nature: 1) a report listing the first of 20 premier research studies on the benefits of connecting children to nature, and 2) a selection of conference resources, including exclusive video excerpts, from the 2006 Dialogue on Children and Nature co-convened by the Conservation Fund, the National Conservation Training Center and Rich Louv. These resources will help provide scientific information, common language and a shared vision to support advocacy, innovation, and local leadership.Research ReportParents and grandparents, friends, family, teachers, physicians and concerned citizens-people want to do what is right and best for children. With that in mind, C&NN has set out to compile a premier set of research studies to help us all understand the connection between nature and the healthy development of children. The conclusion of these studies is clear: nature experience improves children's health, happiness, academic achievement, and general well being.[+] read more

Leadership Report and ResourcesC&NN publishes a Leadership Report on the National Dialogue on Children and Nature with video and PowerPoint presentations. View video excerpts or presentations by Secretary of the Interior, Dirk Kempthorne, Richard Louv, Larry Selzer, Stephen Kellert, Kathy Baughman McLeod, Charles Jordan and others as they speak out on the children and nature connection.[+] read more

The Three Articles

2007-02-27T15:05:00.000-05:00

I thought that the three articles articulated a reoccurring theme in the urban environmental discourse. That theme is that green spaces and nature in general provide us with more than just clean air but an overall improvement in our quality of life. The research that the Landscape and Human Health Laboratory is involved in showing that medicine is not the only resource in treating disorders such as ADD. Nature projects can keep the youth of the streets and instill values and discipline in them. Furthermore, the Center for Urban Horticulture emphasizes interaction with plants can have a beneficial psychological gain for those who chose to participate.

I am bad at titles...

2007-02-27T00:28:00.000-05:00

Urban Nature Benefits:
Psycho-Social Dimensions of People and Plants

I think that it is an interesting concept that people who experience more nature in their lives are happier, that they take less sick days, get more job satisfacton, and feel safer in natural places. I also feel like this article was a little one sided. It stated things like "studies have shown..." but was very vague on the actual content of the studies. It seems like there is more to happiness than just nature. Specifically, there are known psychological disorders that are associated with the winter time. Seasonal affective disorder is an accepted psychological disorder fairly common in this country. It is commonly treated not with trees and flowers, and getting peopel outside in the winter, but with bright light therapy. The use of full spectrum lamps, or "the happy lamp", as my roomate calls, it tends to bring peopel out of the "winter slumps" that frequently occur. Is it possible that the people with offices near windows are just responding to the natural light, as opposed to the green things that they see?

Landscape and Human Health Laboratory

I like this site a little better, cause it gives specific examples of how green spaces and things help people psychologically. I am still a little skeptical (as I tend to be) that there is not just a coincidence occuring here. Especially with the ADD example, I think a culture change has occured that is not being explored. Over the past few years people, including children, have been spending more time indoors playing videogames, watching tv, or various other physically inactive activities. There has also been an increase in ADD diagnosis. Children used to spend a lot more time just running around in general than they do now. When the children would get hyperactive, parents would just tell them to go outside and run around, now they are medicated. Peopel are now realizing that they can send their children outside to physically release that energy as opposed to putting them on ritalin, and are attributing it to the green things that are also outside. I am not saying that it is impossible that the natural things found outside are not helping peoples behavior, but I do believe that it is not as clear cut as the websites are making it out to be.

Social Science Research Project:
Forest Ecosystem Work and Youth Benefits

I like this article. I think that it is a good idea to foster a relationship between young people and the environment. People need to be aware of the world around them and how to take care of it so that it will be stabel and sustainable for years to come. This program also aims to get people more physically active, which is also a problem that should be confronted in our society. I like that this program, from what I could see, did not claim to provide psychological benefits based on proximity to green plants.

3 articles

2007-02-25T20:44:00.000-05:00

Social Benefits of Nature
I think this article has a fascinating argument for the benefits that nature has on people’s mental health. I do believe that workers exposed to a view of the outdoors would be more inclined to work. I would like to know more about the studies done, to be sure that they are accurate because the article does not explain them well. Nature can definitely impact a person’s attitude as well as the amount of stress one feels. I also thought it was interesting that the presence of trees and grass has been studied as a factor influencing family interactions. This is a new idea, but if nature can have an impact on stress and attitude, these things would also impact family interactions.

The research done at U of I on adults and children, with focus on crime, safety, violence, community, attention, self-control, learning, and a variety of other topics sounds very promising in promoting nature and benefiting people living in the city. I am especially interested to learn about this project because I lived in Champaign, IL for three years and considered going to college there. It is not surprising that playing outdoors can lessen the symptoms of ADHD. Not only is it physically healthy for the children, but it allows them to experience the world first-hand instead of from a TV screen. I thought it was interesting to point out the greener affected girls’ self-discipline and confidence, but was not significant to boys’ confidence. When I read about crime and green spaces, I thought that it must also be a factor of income and location. Reading further, the web site made some good arguments that greenery brings neighborhoods and communities outdoors more often, so crime is discouraged. This is also linked to a strong feeling of community. These are very good arguments to support the growth of trees, flowers, and other plants in cities, but we must also address the issue of cost. Will the city really invest in landscaping in poor neighborhoods that would put the plants at risk to vandalism?

Youth Benefits
This sounds like a promising study about the effects of outdoor community service in nature on youths. I think that when children and even adults volunteer in the environment, they learn to appreciate the world more. They develop their ecological identity, which the article says is the degree to which nature and the environment are integrated into one’s sense of self. People will learn to be more accepting and more giving, instead of acting selfish and focused on their own needs. Not only will they respect nature, but I think they will care for other people as well. Instead of choosing a career that makes money, they could be more inspired to do something beneficial for the world. I think it is great the study is looking into the effects of environmental volunteer work on children as individuals as well as America as a nation. A program promoting youth involvement outdoors would benefit the nation and could be a step towards changing our culture from a mostly sedentary way of life to an active lifestyle.

Urban Greenery

2007-02-24T23:01:00.000-05:00

Urban Nature Benefits: Psycho-Social Dimensions of People and Plants

This article arguments that in urban environments, plants not only improve the environment, but also beautify the scenes. This contributes to psychological as well as social benefits in society. This can be seen in cities like NYC, where life is hectic. Nature relaxes. Who could possibly know how many lives the Central Park in NYC has saved?

Landscape and Human Health Laboratory-University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

This study shows further proof that nature and green areas provide human health in a psychological way. As with the previous article on Urban Nature Benefits, urban areas with more green areas are perceived and observed to be safer and healthier.

Social Science Research Project: Forest Ecosystem Work and Youth Benefits

This article studies the impact that nature can have in youth and young adults. It is based on the argument that early encouragement provides authentic interest on ecology, and a positive impact on a person’s personality, future interests, and social role. This article also goes into psychometrics, which is the study of how people’s psychological/social reaction on different situations. It is argued that nowadays, it is regretful that society is becoming more sedentary and less inclined to eat healthy food since young age. Therefore, various cardiovascular and health illnesses are developing and affecting society. A change is necessary, this article says. A solution may be more interest and action on green market.

Introducing myself

2007-02-24T17:23:00.000-05:00

Dear Urban Environments Course Participants,

Mr Tidball has invited me to join in the Urban Environments 07 blog. I have looked over your comments and it looks as if you are doing some good thinking about cities and natural resources.

As chair of the Department of Natural Resources, I am very interested in your thoughts about ways our Department should be addressing urban natural resources issues. You are welcome to email me (mek2) or perhaps talk with Mr Tidball if you want to share thoughts as a class. I very much appreciate Mr Tidball assuming leadership on urban issues in Natural Resources by teaching this course, as well as your active participation in the class and in the ASB service-learning component.

I am hoping to join you for the Monday of spring break in NYC, and I will be talking with you about community gardens and Garden Mosaics on March 6. I look forward to meeting all of you.

Marianne Krasny

Website reflextions

2007-02-24T00:08:00.000-05:00

The CFR Washington website provided some interesting perspectives on the importance of trees based on various sociological and psychological studies. The study on office workers and the relationship between the ability to see greenery from their desks and their job satisfaction was pretty suspicious. The study concluded that people who could see green at work felt more relaxed at work and had less sick days. However, there may be another aspect of these people's lives that may affect these issues more than just being able to see the lawn. Generally, office workers that have windowed offices are the upper level employees. These people may have more experience (and thus better coping abilities), higher income ( more comfortable lifestyle) and have probably invested more time in their work (therefore seeing it as more challenging) than those desk workers that do not have office windows.
I hold the rest of the studies about the psychologically beneficial effects of trees in contempt for several reasons. First of all, these fun facts about trees are certainly interesting, but just because they provide the name of the person who conducted the study does not mean that these studies were conducted in a legitimate manner. Secondly, these reports do not give enough information about the methods of the experiments for the reader to judge for herself wheter to believe the findings. Who was asked if they felt less stress/endured less domestic violence/viewed tree-lined streets as safer? What was their economic background? Age? Sex? All these factors and more come into play when evaluating the significance of trees in peoples lives and these details were left out of these reports.
Planning has historically made wealthier areas more beautiful (generally with artful building and landscape design). The studies that talk about reduced domestic violence, reduced stress and reduced feelings of insecurity of areas with many trees seems suspiciously tied to the planning of the area and the type of people that live in those places. More time and effort are put into an area where it is perceived that people and businesses will invest their money. So, if the neighborhoods looked more dangerous because of their lack of trees, perhaps that was because they were indeed less invested in. In my opinion, environment plays a huge role in shaping the opinions of people. Other studies have shown that people brought up in economically disadvantaged families generally suffer from higher stress, poor education opportunities, and as a result of these desperate conditions, more crime. It seems as though the presence of trees is a physical manifestation of the amount of money in the area (both from individual families and from the government). So, while planting more trees in areas that are lacking certainly wouldn't hurt, more trees will not necessarily solve the problems affecting people which are due to greater and more varied causes ( mainly pertaining to economic status).

The Landscape and Human Health Laboratory website seemed to understand the presence of trees in urban life from a more reasonable perspective. Their studies focused on impoverished inner-city adults and children, the elderly, and children with ADHD. This laboratory seemed more to look at whether improving the environment in which these groups lived would make a positive impact in their lives. In other words, whether the existence of urban forestry would improve the lives of these groups over those living with less greenery. There is recognition that it is not JUST the lack of trees in these people's lives that causes social distress.

Benefits of Nature

2007-02-20T08:28:00.000-05:00

Urban Nature Benefits

Once again I was struck by the extent to which trees, plants, flowers or just greenery improve our environment and affect the way we function and feel. Out of the entire article, one word really captivated me and that word was "restorative." This little word encapsulates so much concerning the relationship between nature and people.

I liked how the article provided examples of how nature improved the lives of people. For example, workers who had a view of nature from their work space had less illnesses compared to those who did not have a view. People with trees in their homes experienced reduced domestic conflict and less physcial abuse. I really liked the part about how schools with tended landscapes contributed to reduced feelings of fear and violence. I can attest to this.

Landscape and Human Health Laboratory

I found this laboratory site fascinating and also it's recent findings. Things such as:
Green activity reducing ADHD symptons ( I did not know this).
Views of trees from homes improve girls self-discipline, what about boys self-discipline, lol.
Trees boost concentration and the ability to cope ( duh)
The right residential landscaping can discourage crime. This one really surprised me and I started thinking what kind of landscape would attract a criminal? Would it be an unkempt landscape or would it be something that people took time and spent money beautifying? What does this say about people who take pride in their surroundings and enhancing it versus those who allow the landscape in which they live to be overgrown and obviously neglected?
Green residential landscaping strengthens communities. I liked this one also because it reminded me of the gardens article that we read last week.

Social Science Research Project

I liked this article especially since they told us upfront that there is no empirical data to support a lot of the findings regarding the perceived changes in young people after they have participated in nature-based programs. What I took away from this article was that young people benefit form nature-based work experiences and this got me very excited for our springbreak of service. Like the article I do believe that nature work programs are essential. The article talks about a pilot study that will be undertaken and seeks to address some very relevant questions. It is important to look at things like the impact of nature based programs on lifestyle and career choices of youths and also the ecological literacy aspect of things. I anticipate reading more about their findings.

2007-02-20T02:24:00.000-05:00

I am excited to watch the Gotham Fish Tails Movie. I was unaware that anything could actually live in the waters around New York City. I like the Urban Neighbors site a lot. I especially enjoy the sentiment of "It refutes the canard that pigeons, cockroaches, and rats are the city’s only local wild fauna." There are a lot of steriotypes about cities like New York, and Urban Neighbors is helping to change people's false impresions about wildilife in the city. The Wild Side of New York website is interesting caue it is a place where information about natural things in the city can be easily found. Many "wild" things in cities are hard to come by, or at least find out about, and the idea of this website is good cause interested people won't have to search forever.

Comments on Benefirts of Urban Trees and Trees as Capital Assets

2007-02-19T13:54:00.000-05:00

Comments on Benefits of Urban Trees:
This article outlines the importance of trees in cities. Trees are projected as indispensable to humankind, since they provide many benefits such as improving air quality, reducing storm water runoff and erosion, modifying local climates, conserving energy, being beneficial for the economy, creating a habitat for plants and animals, improving health, serving as screens, and promoting community. The question asked behind the scenes is: what would happen if trees were not present? How would our world be? Trees in this article are, as already mentioned before, portrayed as necessary to mankind. The United States Department of Agriculture relates trees with many aspects that make up a society (which are sometimes taken for granted) and that are necessary to keep a society working. For example, by stating that trees improve air quality, USDA concludes that if trees did not exist, we would have shorter life spans (if any) since everybody needs air to live, right! By stating that trees are beneficial for the economy, the USDA states that without trees, the economy would be less profitable, since trees add beauty and therefore, another reason why something, such as houses surrounded by trees, should be bought (one of the thresholds of economy). Finally, by stating that trees improve health it is being stated that if you keep trees around, you will be happier. And let’s not forget that trees promote community….indeed. Everyone likes to gather, once in a while, around or near trees. After declaring and proving how trees are necessary in every society, the USDA provides solutions on how “you” can promote urban tree conservation.

Comments on Trees as Capital Assets:
This article talks about green infrastructure. After pointing out that urban forest managers are aware of the importance of trees in urban areas, this article goes into some detail by talking about how economy, capital laws, investment, and governmental rules can work towards creating an urban and green infrastructure. It points out that these types of projects sometimes involve passing debts from generation to generation. The process may seem complicated for someone not familiar with the methods and how urban forestry management programs work, but in reality, it may become a simple process for someone with experience in this area. It is a matter of understanding how economy works, and how ones understanding of urban forestry can be applied to the political and economic rules.

Lost poster

2007-02-18T12:30:00.000-05:00

Hey guys, this is very off topic but I think I left a poster in class on Tuesday, has anyone seen it? It was a white tube of paper inside of a clear plastic bag. Please let me know it you have seen it around. thanks!

2007-02-17T23:53:00.000-05:00

These sites represented various organizations that are trying to better urban living conditions through increased interaction with greenery. The studies that correlated the benefits of greenery to less crime, greater concentration, less domestic violence, are understandable and very interesting. However I would have liked them to be a little more specific - the vagueness made it sound less credible. Overall the studies did make a lot of sense, because they all harkened back to nature's calming effect. I really value the work of organizations that seek to show nature to innercity children. Beyond establishing self confidence and leadership, these outings establish a relationships with outdoors. It is often the children who played in nature that grow up to care the most about the environment.

Reading for 2/20/2007

2007-02-17T21:40:00.000-05:00

The article about the benefits of urban tress explained the value of trees to humans and the urban environment. The article stated what seems to be common knowledge in general areas, like having trees on ones property increasing the value of that property and that trees play an integral part in local climate control. Furthermore, trees give us benefits in health that we usually look for in pill form. Such as reduced stress, more productive and happier life experiences. The article finishes with what we can do to protect and keep trees healthy in our urban environments.

The article on treating trees as capital assets expressed a very interesting approach to managing trees and thinking of trees in economic terms and benefits. As I read the article i felt that trees were not trees anymore, meaning that presenting trees in this form or language seemed to lessen the natural beauty of trees. It is as if trees have been removed from nature to the domain of bureaucratic expenditures. If this is the way to keep trees healthy and extend their longevity in urban environments they must become part of our systems and budgets to make that possible. It might sound sad and unnatural to speak of trees in this manner but its about having a process that ensures that trees be apart of urban environments.

2007-02-17T17:37:00.000-05:00

These two articles worked together very well to first, explain and describe some of the benefits of urban forestry, then to analyze how these benefits fit into the economics of the city. I thought that the "Benefits of Urban Trees" article explained many well-known benefits that trees offer in the urban environment. What was most interesting was the secondary and tertiary benefits trees offer. That is to say that trees not only provide a sense of place and natural cycling of air and water, but they can also serve as local recreation spaces. So not only are they trees reducing the cost of air conditioning and flood water management, they are reducing the cost of gas, costs to run a power plant, and, this article even suggests, cost of medicine for people with attention disorders and people in hospitals. The monetary values of these benefits are surely incalculable.

This sentiment progresses nicely into the second article, “Trees as Capital Assets.” I am not sure if I understand completely the economic models presented in this article, but it seems to me that Dudley Hartel wanted to calculate the incalculable benefits that trees offer in order to increase their value in the eyes of local governments. It would make sense to provide a budget for the planting and maintenance of urban trees on state owned property. While the author of “Benefits of Urban Trees” would argue that tree planting and maintenance are community building activities and thus the responsibility lies within the community, this idea is rather vague. What does the phrase “the community” mean? Who is included? Is it just the residents of the area or does it include the government and its employees that do no necessarily live in the area? Hartel’s argument for monetary representation of the benefits that trees provide tries to assign some responsibility to the local government. The economic models for increased taxation seem like a good idea but may be seen negatively if not properly articulated. The idea of having a debt so that the future community also must pay for the trees seems like it would be unpopular and seems to view urban trees’ negative aspects far more than their positive aspects. The idea of making a place for urban forestry in the tax laws as assets that need to be protected is definitely a good one and I would like to understand better how to this all works.

Readings for 2/20/07

2007-02-16T22:26:00.000-05:00

Trees as Capital Assets
This article was very policy and business oriented. While I had never thought of the economic benefits of trees for urban environments, I find it disheartening that the value of trees must be calculated to allow for governments and officials to support their utilization. The article suggests that the beneficials services provided by trees could be taxable qualities. The benefits provided such as cooling clean air, flood control, and carbon sequestration could be assesed and added to a budget to support green infrastructure. I realize that it is important to account for these positive services because otherwise, the government would not support the use of trees in cities as much. The article says that government agencies, departments, and elected officials would support urban forestry budgets because the GASB 34 would show that they are beneficial and maintain the currect condition of infrastructure; however, what is the aethetic value of the tree? How can a price tag be put on beauty and comfort and happiness?
Benefits of Urban Trees
I thought this flyer was more sensitive to the aethetic and natural view of trees, but was also trying to convince people of economic reasons why they should support trees in urban environments. It talked of beauty, color, cover, and privacy that trees provide as well as other aspects that I had not considered. For example, I was interested to learn that trees can lower the temperature, lessen the force of storms, and reduce the heat-island effect in trees. I liked how it supported useful urban landscaping by suggesting the deliberate placement of certain kinds of trees on specific sides of the house to reduce energy usage. The flyer did a good job of increasing my interest in the subject and showing me that trees have many more uses and benefits than I thought.

2007-02-14T17:20:00.000-05:00

I thought the readings and lecture on urban trees was really interesting. I have always wondered how the trees lived in the little holes, and apperently the answer is "not very well". Most people don't realize that it is really difficult for the trees to grow in such a confined space. The solution, the soil developed at Cornell, doesn't seem very expensive and should be more widly used in places that want trees growing in the sidewalk or streets or other paved places. Most people in urban areas don't conciously appreciate the sidewalk trees, but there is most likely a subconcious affection for seeing nature in places where there is a lot of concrete and buildings. there should be more of an effort to plant trees and to help them grow as best they can.

More on trees...

2007-02-14T10:32:00.000-05:00

We will read a bit more on the social and economic values of trees in this course, but for those of you that heard something in Dr Bassuk's lecture that caught your interest, please be advised that she teaches a class called 'Creating the Urban Eden" Horticulture/Landscape Architecture(co-listed) 491 in the Fall and 492 in the spring.( 4 credits each semester T,R, 12:20-4:25) You need to take 491 before taking 492. She also teaches a woody plant ID course ,which is half of 491 and 492. It is called HORT 391in the fall and 392 in the spring.Fall, Hort 391( R, 12:20-4:25). Spring, Hort. 392( T.12:20-4:25).

Also, check the link on this blog to TREES NY to learn more about our partner in NYC.

NPR listenings

2007-02-13T16:08:00.000-05:00

Hawks in the City.

On hearing that the tenants of the co-op tore down the Red-tailed Hawks nest I was angry. When I learnt that an agreement was made between the co-op and the Audubon society I was happy. This story showcases that humans and animals/nature can coexist and that all it takes is a little bit of compromise and understanding.

Machetes and Marigolds

This is perhaps a disadvantage of community gardening. Since there is no structure someone is bound to think that they are the boss and then make things difficult for others. This shows that whenever you have a lot of people coming together there is bound to be some conflict. People have different temperaments and a variety of backgrounds that is bound to breed tension. Also, due to the success of community gardening, there was bound to be a high demand for additional plots.

Guerrilla gardening illustrates that people want their surroundings to be beautiful and planting flowers is a way of achieving this goal.

Defiant Gardens

These stories touched me. They were extremely poignant. I particularly liked the line "small pleasure must correct great tragedies." Planting gardens in the midst of war I feel illustrate the soldiers need to have control over something in their lives. It is also a way of cultivating life and beauty amidst all the death and devastation surrounding them. The soldiers are transcending the war. The gardens have a cathartic effect on them. It soothes their soul in the same way that music calms the soul.

What is means to be "Urban"

2007-02-13T14:08:00.000-05:00

pertaining to a city or town
www.idealcity.org.au/glossary.html

I do not like this definition. It is to elementary. This definition is to narrow and therefore leaves out to many critical factors.

Typically, a community or settlement with a population of 2,000 or more is considered urban. www.planetwire.org/glossarylist.php

This definition still leaves out a lot of the key factors of what is means to be urban.

Area is characterized by a substantially urbanized environment, although the background may have natural-appearing elements. Renewable resource modification and utilization practices are often used to enhance specific recreation activities. Vegetative cover is often exotic and manicured. Sights and sounds of humans are predominant onsite. Large numbers of users can be expected both onsite and in nearby areas. ...fwie.fw.vt.edu/rhgiles/appendices/glossr.htm

I like this definition. This definition is much more realistic and accounts for the complex factors involved when trying to explain what it means to be urban.

Readings for 2/13/07: Doing it Right From the Start and Gardening's Socioeconomic Impacts

2007-02-13T13:11:00.000-05:00

In my minds eye I combined both articles. I have to say that I found the article on the socioeconomic impacts of gardening to be a fantastic read. Both articles serve to encapsulate the importance of having plants/trees in nature. All of these things enhance the aesthetics of an area. Also, people need vegetables to enrich their bodies and people need trees to provide clean air.

The Patel article talks about the benefits of community gardening. It was very enlightening for me since I come from a place where an idea such as this would be laughed at. All of the points presented were brilliant. Community gardening is a way of breaking down the social, racial and ethnic barriers that divide us. It can also improve health, diet and overall well-being. Most importantly I like the point the author makes about community gardening saving money. This is a huge incentive to get people to participate in such an endeavor.

I also like the point the author makes about community gardening fostering self-sufficiency by providing a plot of land that someone who is landless can call their own for a time. I agree with him when he says that it is worthwhile to promote community gardening. I just have a hard time conceiving how an idea such as this works. I feel that despite all the benefits presented by the author there must be some disadvantages to community gardening yet I cannot come up with any at the moment.

The article about urban tree planting was very informative. It crystallizes the importance of taking various factors into consideration when making additions to nature. It also highlights that everything we put into nature has an affect, even though we may not see any obvious effect at the present time. Tree planting is a complex process and should not be entered into lightly. I know the reason why most trees planted in urban areas in the tropics are palms because palms are highly resistant to adverse weather conditions. When planting trees factors such as what effect that tree species will have on other tree species present should be considered in addition to the nutrient needs of the tree. Other questions to be considered are: What is the level of competition between the trees? Is the tree shade tolerant or will it require lots of sunlight? Is the planting area up to meeting the challenge posed by planting a tree there? Basically try to account for any and every possible outcome when planting trees in urban areas and making additions to nature in general because if something is to be done it is worth doing to the best of our ability the first time around.

Readings 2/13/2007

2007-02-13T10:34:00.000-05:00

Gardening's Socioeconomic Impacts

This article expressed a common theme in our class, that community gardens improve the quality of life of those directly and indirectly involved in community gardening. The connection between community gardening and neighborhood cohesion is very interesting but I think with any activity that takes a group to come together to complete can have the same effects. The article expressed many numerical figures that are questionable because we do not know what methods were used to conduct the statistics. I assume that it was a voluntary response survey of the people who took part in the community gardening. So I take the figures as a testament of their experiences not scientific findings. Furthermore, I find that the community gardening importance lies with the people that it effects. If this activity can improve the quality of life of individuals, deter juvenile delinquency, and increase urban green space, then these factors should motivate more people to take part in community gardening and make it an issue for local governments to take seriously.

Doing it Right from the Start

This article addressed the question that has been bothering me since the start of this class. That is are cities unnatural? Our class could not come to a conclusion on this question but this article gave some insight on the interaction between our man-made environments and nature. The article gives examples of towns planting trees for their aesthetic values. The townspeople did not take into consideration the factors that sustain trees and that the trees in urbanized environments face different factors than in their natural habitats. This showed that we must realize out effect on nature and that we will have to adjust our methods to coexist with nature.

Doing It Right From The Start & Gardening's Socioeconomic Impacts

2007-02-12T21:37:00.000-05:00

Doing it Right From The Start:
This article reminded me of my childhood, when I was in elementary school, back in Guatemala and Honduras. On several field trips, we went, as a class, to plant trees to urban and rural zones. Part of today’s ecological problem is deforestation. The alternative is reforestation. However, this does not always work that easily. Soil, like any product, has its expiration date; it gets depleted from natural minerals and nutrients if used very often and if not treated correctly to grow healthy crops. Therefore, before reforestation, soil must be treated so that trees can grow strong again. Therefore, deforestation may not be due to a lack of reforestation, but also due to a lack of appropriate and naturally rich land. See attached picture, concerning reforestation in USA. Also, if interested on further information on deforestation (and climate change) in the Amazon, our world lung, check this article online: http://www.sinoitaenvironment.org/ReadNewsex1.asp?NewsID=2460

Gardening’s Socioeconomic Impacts:
This article emphasized on the importance, in social and economic aspects, of gardening. It explained that gardening not only improves the environment, but it also served as a therapy for many people to get to know other people and to balance their lives socially. At the beginning of the article, the author shows that people have the will to garden, but they sometimes lack the land. It is important to encourage gardening at a massive level. Community gardening is one alternative. Encouragement, motivation, awareness, and enthusiasm of the present need of more natural areas in the middle of urban cities should also help on this good-natured task. New York City is a great example of an urban place where organized community gardening is on its way.

Urban Tree Planting

2007-02-12T17:58:00.000-05:00

I've wondered about urban tree planting for a while and this chapter worked to fill that gap of knowledge. I find intriguing the many considerations that have to be taken - water, nutrients, soil type - for optimal tree growth. I once wrote a report on fertility in tropical soils and so was excited to see that urban trees, trees all over the world and in different environments, have similar requirements. But it was even more interesting to see how the circumstances are different, that sidewalks can cause root damage and dehydration. I also liked how the chapter discussed the importance of picking the right tree for the area. Some trees are more pollution and drought resistant, and I've heard that is why one sees large numbers of the same sort of trees in downtowns.

The article on Gardening's Socioeconomic Impacts solidified the benefits of urban green that we have already discussed in class. I especially found it nice to see that diet improvement is a legitamite benefit. I've heard that vegetables are expensive and hard to come by in New York City, but it's nice to see that gardening offers a viable option for a healthier diet.

Reflection on Urban Gardening and Forestry

2007-02-12T16:22:00.000-05:00

Bassuk and Trowbridge address the urban ecological factors that affect urban trees. I cannot think of how many times I've seen poorly planted trees on a new development project or parking lot. I used to work for Friends of the Urban Forest in San Francisco, and I did street tree care. Improper planting and pruning resulted in numerous specimen deaths. Further, Friends of the Urban Forest went through many trial tree species to see what conditions would be ideal for their growth in San Francisco- a ecosystem that had very few trees before the Europeans arrived. Thus, many trees were limited by the clayey or sandy soils found in SF, as well as the cool temperatures and of course the neglect by the street scene.

Patel's article points out the importance of community gardening, and the countless positive socioeconomic affects a garden can provide. I fully agree, as my own experience in community gardens reflects the same sentiment.

NYC at Night!

2007-02-11T11:17:00.000-05:00

Start thinking of things to do in the evening. We have four nights to spend together as a group. We could do many things, such as attending concerts or eating at interesting restaurants. If you know of anything, let me know so we can create an evening schedule. Remember- we'll probably have time to go out from 6pm until Midnight, so some things won't be possible :(

-Tony

Nice Work Class

2007-02-08T14:02:00.000-05:00

Just a quick thanks and commendation to the entire class for a lively, thought-provoking discussion accompanied by evidence of having "done your homework." Each of you brought important perspectives to our growing understanding of the phenomena "urban."

Keep up the good work!

Further to our discussion in which various theories on Anarchy emerged, below, a pic and link that may be of interest to some of you.

Trees in the City, Gardens in the community

2007-02-08T13:56:00.000-05:00

I found the reading "Getting it right from the start" was very insightful and interesting. Trees and other plants ARE often an afterthought in urban design. Because of limited understanding of what a tree needs to grow, trees are often just plopped down in a patch of dirt and expected to grow a beautiful canopy. After reading this excerpt about what trees need, I am now very surprised at the number of trees that are able to grow in "urban" areas. It would seem that a city is the most dangerous place for a tree to grow. The soil could be compacted from construction of the surrounding buildings and sidewalk, and therefore the soil is unable to provide oxygen, nutrients or water flow to the trees roots. Another aspect is the amount of water. It would seem like there isn't much available water in the city because of the extensive storm drains. Also, during the winter, the sidewalks are often over-salted to prevent ice, but what happens when the ice melts? Doesn't the dissolved salt modify the soil for the tree?

Greenery in urban areas seems to create opportunities for a sense of community to develop. The online article on gardens and the interactions between the neighbors working in the garden seems to echo the points made in earlier readings. Gardens supplement diet, provide a community space, etc. I found it interesting to read the demographics of urban gardeners, but not all that surprising. Women in every culture have always had to provide for their family in some way or another. Modern society seems to further stress this with the prevalence of female-headed, single families. How do these women possible find the time and energy to work, take care of their kids, take care of their house, run errands AND garden? And yet, community gardening fits very well into the needs of a family. The garden offers opportunities for parents to meet fellow community members ( the parents of their children's friends, teachers, neighbors that often share the responsibility of overseeing children in the area), a place to call your own (an important thing if your financial status forces you to rent most of your things house, furniture, etc), and fresh produce that can either supplement your store bought food or can be sold to supplement your income.

City as a Thing and as a Process

2007-02-08T01:19:00.000-05:00

Sorry, I didn't happen to check if these are already in the suggested reading lists, but here ya go. If you are actually interested in reading these articles, or even an abstract that was written about it by student, please let me know and I will give it to you.

Harvey, David.1997.”Contested Cities” Social Process and Spatial Form.” In N. Jewson and S. McGregor, Eds. Transforming Cities: Contested Governance and New Spatial Divisions. London, New York: Routledge. Pages 19-27.

Mumford, Lewis. "What is a City?" In R. LeGates and F.Stout. The City Reader, 2nd Edition. London, New York: Routledge. 2000. Pages 92-96

Urban environment notations

2007-02-06T15:16:00.000-05:00

City Bountiful and Nature and the City:

The link between times of human suffering, desperation and community gardens is astonishing to me. I have a better understanding on what Professor Tidball was stating in the last lecture on horticulture therapy for veterans of war and how it at least gave them a medium to relieve post-traumatic sress or any other aliment from war on them. City Bountiful highlighted the innate need thata all humans have to connect with nature that seems to be loss due to modern consumerism, which flourishes as a substitute for nature. Also breeds the conception of man v. nature or nature is here to supply our endless needs which cannot be fulfilled due to scarcity- the basic economic principle that constrains us. This notion is also touched upon in Nature and the City, where the ill effects of our behavior have manifested into health and environmental hazards in L.A. Nature and City compares and contrast the cities Toronto and L.A. Where urban environmentalism is carried out in distinctive ways and are characterized unique within each city. Urban environmentalism in L.A. is tied to social injustice and in Toronto it is tied to politics and the effort to keep Toronto the epicenter of Canada.

2007-02-06T01:56:00.000-05:00

So, after hours of fighting with the Microsoft applications on my computer, I got powerpoint to work.

NYC = FUN

2007-02-05T21:13:00.000-05:00

I got some ideas about places to visit in NYC:
Museums, statue of liberty, times square ( i know i am so original aren't i?)
and this i just heard about today, the Essex Street Market, its somewhere by wall street. Did someone already mention street markets? I heard about this one through Ken Reardon, a Prof in AAP who worked to keep Trump out and protect the market and the neighborhood's residents jobs there. Any one interested?

some thoughts on the readings:

Nature and the City seems like a really interesting book because of its focus on the value of city gardens despite corporate interests to develop these places. I was also drawn to the environmental justice and environmental racism that the introduction promises to discuss.

City Bountiful was interesting, but less gripping than Nature and the City. I found the readings a tad repetitive, but informative nonetheless. The idea of putting idle hands to work seemed like a good one. In Cleveland, my home city, there are a lot of brownfields and unemployed people. I kept thinking about the possibilities for city gardens would be in my city. I was also concerned about the classification of "organic" for the produce from city gardens. Though these plants aren't sprayed with chemicals per se, they are grown in a polluted city environment and I am concerned about how the toxins found in most cities could effect the nutritional value of the plants. I was also intrigued by the idea of hiring children to work in the gardens, and how it gave them pride and leadership skills while keeping them out of trouble.

2007-02-05T20:57:00.001-05:00

City Bountiful, Comments-
This section talks about gardens and how they have been implemented in various ways in our society. Gardens are important in every society. After all, we all depend on various types of grains, seeds, fruits, and other types of natural foods. Where does bread and other types of pasta come from? Gardens also provide food for animals such as cows, which produce milk. These are just a few among many examples why gardens are indispensable in society. Gardens, the natural food producers, are not to be taken for granted, just because today civilization has its benefits. Gardens also provide natural medicines for various types of serious or not so serious illnesses….God’s pharmacy? And for those who love to cook.......gardens is a MUST! Whether gardens helps humanity directly or indirectly, they must be present in as many places as possible. That is why I like the Central Park in NYC, because in the middle of civilization, there is a giant garden which is respected. Cornell is another example of a big garden in the midst of an intellectual paradise.

Nature and the City Comments, Comments-
This section deals with the battle between civilization and nature. It seems that sometimes, one or the other has to prevail. However, why not live together in harmony? I guess it is not that simple! It is a matter of space….while some people want to construct buildings, others want to continue appreciating the trees in that same spot.
This reading deals with the change our society is going through….a green revolution. I consider that today, people are more aware and conscious about the destruction of planet Earth. If we humans don’t act fast, we will destroy ourselves. If we as a civilization and society cannot come up with an alternative to live in harmony with nature, it seems that a choice will have to be made between a planet to live in, or technology and its benefits. This statement sounds dramatic, but it has its realistic side as well. Think about it. It’s time to act not as individuals, but instead, as a conscious, concerned, and responsible society.

What is Urban?

2007-02-05T20:08:00.000-05:00

So, Powerpoint doesn't like me and won't stay open for more than 30 seconds, so I will post this now, and hopefully I can put up a slide later, or bring one to class.

What is Urban?

Merriam-Webster (www.m-w.com) gives a very concise definition:

Main Entry: ur·ban
Pronunciation: '&r-b&n
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin urbanus, from urbs city
: of, relating to, characteristic of, or constituting a city

WordNet (http://wordnet.princeton.edu/), a lexical database run by Princeton, gives a very similar one:
-relating to or concerned with a city or densely populated area.
-located in or characteristic of a city or city life

Both of these definitions give a very dry sense of the word. They cover the technicalities of "urban" by discussing the idea of a city or large numbers of people, but there is a lot left out. I would prefer to give my own definition that encompasses these elements, but covers a whole lot more.

Urban: an area that is used by a large number of people. Many of these people reside in the urban area, usually in a relatively small space. Differences in class usually characterize urban areas, where parts of the city are inhabited by extremely wealthy people, while other sections are very poor. There are also many people who use the area that do not live in the city itself, but work in it. An urban area also has a lot going on at any given time. There is lots of entertainment an activity throughout the day and night. It is more than just a place, it is a way of life.

What is Urban?

2007-02-05T17:31:00.000-05:00

I had trouble loading my Powerpoint slides-- so here is what i got, except much less fancy:

•Encarta’s Definition: Of city, relating to or belonging to a city

Criticisms: this definition leads us to ask what is a city? exactly how big is a city?

when we say city do we mean the city limits or the metropolis which is the area that the city overflows its geographic/political limits

Answers.com’s definitions:
•Of, relating to, or located in a city.
•Characteristic of the city or city life.
•Relating to cities or intensively developed areas. Contrast with rural, which refers to sparsely developed areas, or Suburb, which is a moderately developed area.

•Criticisms:
•This definition seems more comprehensive than Encarta’s because it contrasts what is “urban” with what is “rural” and “suburban” thus giving us some context.

•My Definition:
•Of or relating/belonging to a diverse, densely populated area (one that has been modified by the activities of its inhabitants and is composed of both the built and the natural environment) in which people live and work

•Criticisms:
•There are far too many aspects of what is “urban” to enable us to truly define what urban is, but this definition provides some base-line characteristics

Urban?

2007-02-04T22:38:00.000-05:00

What is Urban?

1. Urban- relating to or concerned with a city or densely populated area; “urban sociology”; “urban development”
Source: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/urban
Comment: Too simplistic! Isn’t urban also a mentality and a way of life? People (or the amount of) are the reason why a place is called “urban.” Grade: 65%

2. Urban- Land occupied by buildings and related facilities used for residences, industrial sites, institutional sites, public highways, airports, and similar uses associated with towns and cities.
Source: techreg.sc.egov.usda.gov/NTE/TSPNTE2/def_glossary.html
Comment: This “urban” definition is closer to accuracy. I like how the definition mentions the different landscapes that compose an urban environment. Grade: 80%

3. Urban- The "urban" category includes those areas classified as being urbanized (having a population density of at least 1,000 persons per square mile and a total population of at least 50,000) as well as cities, villages, boroughs (except in Alaska and New York), towns (except in the six New England States, New York, and Wisconsin), and other designated census areas having 2,500 or more persons.
Source: www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fttn99/glossary.html
Comment: Voila! I like this definition more than the other two. It is more specific, by stating what amount of people makes a place urban. Sometimes, a long definition is not necessary. In this case, more is more. Grade: 96%

green buildings

2007-02-02T20:32:00.000-05:00

so, this is not related to the assignment, but it is something that i think people will be intersted in. these are places in NYC that are built green, or environmentally friendly or whatever the proper terminology is.

Hearst Tower
http://www.hearst.com/tower/facts/

Build A Green Bakery
http://openfordesign.msn.com/?id=3tech1_ericsteinman>1=8941
http://www.buildagreenbakery.com/

there is also an article from the NY Times from november about the green bakery and things, but I can't put the link up cause its on times select and you would have to pay for it. if you want i can bring copies of the article in for people, but i don't want to post a copy of it on this blog cause i don't want the NY Times to kill me for copyright stuff.

Defining Urban

2007-02-02T14:57:00.000-05:00

What is Urban?

2007-02-01T18:03:00.000-05:00

KGT's urban definition de jour--

URBAN - Relating to a city; but in a more general sense it signifies relating to houses. All servitudes are established either for the use of houses or for the use of lands. Those of the first kind are called urban servitudes, whether the buildings to which they are due be situated in the city or in the country. Those of the second kind are called rural servitudes. The principal kinds of urban servitudes are the following: the right of support; that of drip; that of drain, or of preventing the drain, that of view or of lights, or of preventing the view or lights from being obstructed: that of raising buildings or walls, or of preventing them from being raised that of passage and that of drawing water. from http://www.lectlaw.com/def2/u067.htm

2007-01-29T19:15:00.000-05:00

All of these NPR stories are about gardens or nature in places where they are not usually thought to be. Hawks living on the side of buildings, gardens in big cities, "illegal" gardents in public properties, and gardens through wars. I like how each one of these stories brigns nature to people who woldn't normally get to experience it. There is the theme of hope among all of these stories as well. The hawk story shows that even though there may be rich people who attempt to get rid of the natural things that can get in their way, there are people around to stand up for the environment and the things in it that can't do that for themselves. The guerrila gardeners in London also spread the idea of hope throughout the city. They plant flowers and other things in the various public lands to keep the natural areas looking lively. The absense of these "vandals" would leave the city with many poorly kept up patches of earth that woudl not inspire most people, and in some cases depress them. The wartime gardens have some of the same effect, but on a much larger scale. As oppsed to bringing an extra joy to people in their every day lives, they keep the hopeless going through life. They provide something to do, a source of food for those in need, and a little bit of life and color in places that are severly lacking. The community gardens were created with the intent of doing the same thing, but wihtout the war setting. In this case, the goal was not acheieved as well as in the other examples. The community gardens started out a good way for city dwelers to get in touch with nature, but have degraded into another way for people to be greedy. By one person walling off his garden, the disease spread and as it went degraded the spirit that the garden at one point had. One person's paranoia lead others to believe that there was a need for enclosure and the trust went away. The sense of community that the garden switched to a place to grow things and make sure that nobody else could benifit from it.

Assignment 1 - Defending Urban Green Space

2007-01-28T22:41:00.000-05:00

Hawks in the City: On the one hand I believe that if the hawks are making people happy then they should stay, but I am also not sure what I feel this situation means for hawks and nature in general. It is not natural for hawks to be living in a city environment - I wish that I knew more about how hawks live, and could know whether they might be adversely affected, but the food they must be eating (trash?) and the pollution, among innumerable other unnatural factors, is definately far from a wild environment. Even if the hawks are perfectly fine, I feel that their existance in an unnatural environment denigrates them in a way - it makes them a bit like pets who can be watched, etc. But on another level I support their precense if only because it serves to connect humans with nature. We have cooexisted with nature for millenia and a huge factor in determining whether people will care to conserve wild spaces depends on whether they have had any contact with the wild, and identify with it. A child who grows up watching tv indoors will not care about preserving a nearby marshland in her adulthood.

Machetes and Marigolds: I think community gardens are a beautiful thing. I love how they connect neighbors who otherwise might not talk, in an informal, fun atmostphere. They are relaxing and bonding. The community garden in the story does not fit my idea of a garden where everyone gardens TOGETHER - people have taken the idea of possession to a disturbing level by padlocking their vegetables and so have destroyed a beautiful idea.

Guerilla Gardeners: I don't know how severe the law against gardening on public property is, but I don't see anything wrong with taking ugly dead space and trying to improve it through plants. These people sound punky and rebellious and cool, working for what they believe in, and I support them. I want to make seed bombs too.

Defiant Gardens: This story is an excellant overview of the intense relationship that humans have had with growing things, gardens, for millenia. Gardens are relaxing, promote creativity, and provide food, and in the most stressful situations, particularly so, they cannot be abandoned.

reflections on assignment 1

2007-01-27T17:13:00.000-05:00

I'm not totally sure if the format for this blog is what was assigned, but the following are my reflections about the different articles:

Red Tail Hawk Blog

I was impressed with the organization of people who were upset about Pale Male’s nest being moved. Generally, when I think that with things of that nature, I’d assume that people would simply grumble about the inconsiderate nature of the administration’s decisions and go on with their own daily lives. I was shocked that an architect was hired to construct a nest for the hawks and I wondered if these birds would accept something humans designed for them. I would be interested to know if the birds have returned to the nest

Community Garden

This garden idea seems like a really good use of the land, but I would not like to be a part of such a violently protected gardening community. Tessa angers me as much as she angers her fellow gardeners. Something that comes up here is what role does the state administration play? Where are the lines that divide each individual’s private plot and the oversight of the government? Have the police come to the garden before Tessa arrived?

Gorilla Gardeners

If no one disrupts the gorilla gardeners, why do they not work during the day? I like the seed bombing idea.

Defiant gardens

Tending a garden seems like the most natural response when put in a situation beyond your own control, especially if your food is rationed to you. Gardening in the ghettos and internment camps made the most sense to me because these people were able to find joy by creating something beautiful and having control over your own interaction with the natural environment. Being able to provide for your family is something that must have been very important during these times of internment. Growing gardens while in combat seems slightly less natural of a decision. Though, as our wars are evolving so that soldiers are stationed for longer and longer, it begins to make sense that a soldier would want to invest himself/herself in the land he/she must see everyday.

Assignement- Defending Urban Green Space

2007-01-26T12:46:00.000-05:00

City dwellers sometimes exhibit intense protective behaviors and mount fierce defenses of their hard-to-come-by urban green spaces and natural environments, including those living things within them. For the first meeting of Urban Environments, we explore a few recent examples of urbanites struggling to resist forces of development and other pressures to ensure the presence of nature in the city. We might ask questions about what the underlying issues are in these cases, what forces are in tension with one another, and what role “community” played in the resolution of these cases.

Instructions
For the four cases, go to the links and listen to the NPR stories. Feel free to explore related stories. Be prepared to discuss in class. POST YOUR REFLECTIONS ON THE COURSE BLOG BEFORE NEXT CLASS.
http://cornellnr-ue-07.blogspot.com/

Case 1. Hawks in the City
First: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4213496
Second: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4229953
Third: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4244320

Case 2. Machetes and Marigolds
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1393857

Case 3. Guerrilla Gardeners and London
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5404229

Case 4. Defiant Gardens
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5435131