VI - Where did the Unions Go?
Jul18,2006 13:27 |
Hubris In
Business | Permalink
Have all the Unions given up? The are still alive and
well, but why are their battles no longer heard? They
have been the main defense against corporate hubris for
a very long time, e.g. there probably wouldn't have
been an instance of Walmart employees locked in
overnight. We know your there, let your voices get loud
again!
|
V - Developers & Urban Sprawl
Mar31,2006 19:50 |
Hubris In
Business | Permalink
It seems that an important issue has dropped of the
radar of most business / cultural / social / political
discussions: urban sprawl & developers that done
gone bad.
Developers have too many Countries, States & Municipalities in their pocket, and all to often are allowed to build with next to zero checks, or laws to restrain them. Yes there are zoning laws, but the labyrinth of cul-de-sac continues to expand, the concrete jungle continues to grow, and overall poor development prevails. For example: Santa Fe, New Mexico, though nestled at 7000 ft. at the base of the Rocky Mountains, is in a dry desert climate, it’s experiencing an exploding number of growth, yet, the only real check in Santa Fe’s waterless climate is that developers must retro-install one or two low-flow toilets (so you need to flush 5 more times & waste even more water) per new toilet. This is absurd. Or take Sarasota Florida: it’s the largest city in the U.S. in square miles - but not at all large in terms of population. Or take Phoenix Arizona: it’s temperature often soars 10 - 15 degrees higher than, e.g. Tucson. Why? Phoenix’s vast mass of concrete absorbs more of the sun’s heat, radiating it back for those cool 120 degree days, and generally hotter weather patterns.
This hubris does great violence to the land and to the building and maintaining of communities, and greatly favors the automobile, and oil industries.
It takes some work, but, using the European model (centralized, pockets of villages w/ street level shops, and everything accessible by mass transit or pedestrian travel) increases residential sense of community, community involvement, and conscious urban planning. The European model decreases dependancy on cars to access goods and services, and by default, dependancy on oil.
With greater consciousness in the planning and development of communities, more efficient and alternative construction methods are more easily utilized, e.g. adobe or straw-bail construction, passive-solar heating, use of grey-water, run-off water, etc. There will also be fewer demands on the native land: fewer disappearing watersheds, wetlands, farmland, etc.
Urban Sprawl’s Antihubirs: good urban planning and utilizing more efficient building methods and material. A great resource for alternative, more efficient building techniques is the books and the web site for the world’s top experts on straw-bail construction: Athena and Bill Steen at the Canelo Project (they also run an amazing Bed and Breakfast in a breathtaking location).
Developers have too many Countries, States & Municipalities in their pocket, and all to often are allowed to build with next to zero checks, or laws to restrain them. Yes there are zoning laws, but the labyrinth of cul-de-sac continues to expand, the concrete jungle continues to grow, and overall poor development prevails. For example: Santa Fe, New Mexico, though nestled at 7000 ft. at the base of the Rocky Mountains, is in a dry desert climate, it’s experiencing an exploding number of growth, yet, the only real check in Santa Fe’s waterless climate is that developers must retro-install one or two low-flow toilets (so you need to flush 5 more times & waste even more water) per new toilet. This is absurd. Or take Sarasota Florida: it’s the largest city in the U.S. in square miles - but not at all large in terms of population. Or take Phoenix Arizona: it’s temperature often soars 10 - 15 degrees higher than, e.g. Tucson. Why? Phoenix’s vast mass of concrete absorbs more of the sun’s heat, radiating it back for those cool 120 degree days, and generally hotter weather patterns.
This hubris does great violence to the land and to the building and maintaining of communities, and greatly favors the automobile, and oil industries.
It takes some work, but, using the European model (centralized, pockets of villages w/ street level shops, and everything accessible by mass transit or pedestrian travel) increases residential sense of community, community involvement, and conscious urban planning. The European model decreases dependancy on cars to access goods and services, and by default, dependancy on oil.
With greater consciousness in the planning and development of communities, more efficient and alternative construction methods are more easily utilized, e.g. adobe or straw-bail construction, passive-solar heating, use of grey-water, run-off water, etc. There will also be fewer demands on the native land: fewer disappearing watersheds, wetlands, farmland, etc.
Urban Sprawl’s Antihubirs: good urban planning and utilizing more efficient building methods and material. A great resource for alternative, more efficient building techniques is the books and the web site for the world’s top experts on straw-bail construction: Athena and Bill Steen at the Canelo Project (they also run an amazing Bed and Breakfast in a breathtaking location).