Finale- Sustainability

OK, so…

Here’s my finale…sans photos…as usual. But those will just have to be posted a little later, bear with me.

I realize my “Reclamation” and “Orange” pieces were really about urban decay. Nature and our concrete world are constantly at odds. Supposedly, it’s starting to ruin the environment and thoughts of the apocalypse are on the rise again. Like Y2K….

I’m a biology major and I’m not saying that global warming is a hoax. I just realize how the whole idea has fallen into the political sphere. And politicians are not scientists. But before our country breaks out into a panic, thinking the Earth will become the next “terrorist”, lets explore all of our options. OK?

Think of how fast the history of America is progressing. America has “evolved” much faster than any other country. Constantly adapting to changes. But how well are we adapting? There are some deleterious mutations out there. So no swimming in the gene pool, kiddies, it’s polluted. And now we, the people, have to manually fix this ourselves. Great, that’ll be easy. Why can’t this just naturally occur over time? Gosh! Supposedly time is running out…Ready, set, GO! Right?

But where do we run? We already fled our cities. At least, those of us that could leave. And now the urban landscape is in serious crisis. So what do we do? Do we keep getting further and further away until we live in the rural country where its supposedly safer? But people farm out there…and talk funny, WTF? OK, I’ll just encase myself in a giant SUV and spend half my life in the car getting from place to place and making sure my children’s lives are peachy-keen and my neighborhood is “exclusive”. Oh wait, that doesn’t work either. But the cities have… “them”. And “they” will hurt the children. (FYI…I’m referring to an amalgamation of irrational fears with “them”…make of it what you will)

I have news, guys. The American Dream with its white-picket teeth is dead. Yup. Actually, it was only ever in our imaginations anyway. But, as Americans, we’re too damn proud to look for another solution. Do you realize that the American Dream first arose in a time when the definition of a “mansion” was a house that is somehow starting to look pitifully small to a lot of people? Is bigger really better? That’s just more “stuff” to deal with if you ask me…So yeah, downsizing requires relinquishing some of our random “stuff”. But did you really use it anyway?

Now if only we could all live in proximity of each other. And by “all” I mean every race, social class, ethnicity, however people are “defined”. Hey look! A “black” person. For president! I think that, as a people, we’re ready to finally mix. Remember that mixing bowl theory? Still mostly a theory, guys. Screw the salad bowl, fondue is so much tastier than lettuce with stale white bread on top.

America needs to take a lesson from nature.

Consider this fact about ecosystems: When an organism dies, the decomposition of its body aids in putting nutrients back into the soil. This process keeps life sustainable. That’s the key word. Sustainable.

Now think about our cities. The buildings “die” and take up space. And of course they take what seems like eons to us to finally decompose. And why do these buildings die? Because they no longer have a “purpose” like an old industrial building. Well, now America’s post-industrial and these sites are our long lost cities.

Ever wonder what this constant idea of “demolish and rebuild” is doing to our culture? What is “American” culture? The whole country is homogenizing with these giant corporations in power. Like Wal-mart. Eventually everything will look exactly the same in terms of landscape with the exception of climate and geographical differences.

It only takes a few years for an area to go from “barren” to completely inhabited by people. Our native people didn’t live like that. They lived in harmony with the land instead of claiming ownership of small pieces of it and then abruptly tearing it apart. Generation after generation of Native Americans saw the same landscape as their forefathers. In the current American culture, every couple decades the landscape has changed almost entirely. Ever wonder where our nostalgic tendencies come from? Because hind-sight is 20/20 – For example, Shockoe Bottom used to have a creek running through it that was “filled in”. All that water had to go somewhere. That’s why Church Hill is unstable and tunnels collapse. Amazing.

The latest trend in urban planning is restoring these post-industrial buildings to usable space….usually residential. You literally walk where the previous generations walked. This could possibly be a generation in your own family. How cool is that?

Well, to some people it’s just not “fashionable”. I actually saw a historic renovation in Oregon Hill the other day with a sign that said “I’m gorgeous inside”. Am I sensing a parallel to my first series?? So yeah, the building may not look all perfect, ginormous, and brand spankin’ new. But look where that attitude got our economy and the housing market.

The final series of pictures I will post are from the construction of Rockett’s Landing and then an abandoned site near it that still has restorable buildings. Ever see those billboards along the interstate for Rockett’s Landing? They usually say “the suburbs have lost their luster”. Rockett’s Landing includes post-industrial renovation into high price condominiums with some of the best views of the city. Its decadent, I know. But these wealthy people will give their tax money to Richmond instead of a surrounding county. The best part, I think, is that the site lies just East of where the city seems to abruptly start ending. Why did expansion occur to the North, South, West but not East? Because the Eastside is “scary”. Time for CHANGE.

Now I’m going to let you in on a little secret of mine. I usually have to keep it to myself at VCU. Politically, I’m on the right side of the spectrum. Yup. I’m a conservative. Surprised? My point is that sustainability is something we should all be concerned with. It’s not an issue of “left” or “right”.

The Earth does not hate humanity. If anything, we have learned to hate the Earth. Human beings think they are just so damn brilliant. How could nature possibly know better? Especially if all life originated from one big chemical reaction that just refused to end. Oops, that was sarcasm. My bad.