"Smart" and "Green"

Well this being my nascent experience in the wide world of blogging, wanted to express my warm gratitude to all visiting my blogposts! 

Urban planning in US is going through a sea of change on either side of the turn of century. Growing smart and green initiatives capture all the headlines. What we all don’t perceive is the fact that these “smart” and “green” were already part and parcel of life before transportation networks took over the urban fabric. Although transportation related improvements was a trend-setting initiative during the 50’s and 60’s at the wake of extensive oil drilling and automakers political agenda but it had the roots of long-term negative effects. The subsequent oil embargo of early 70’s taught us some lessons but our fascination with automobiles and eventual tryst with destiny were already cast in stone. 

All the principles of compact planning with ample recreational and green spaces aka smart growth were present during and before the first half of the 20^th century. Going about daily life was very social as the tight-knit planning harnessed community feeling, safety and security. Office trips and grocery trips were a stone’s throw away, of course, with some exceptions. Some would say this was possible for the less population at that time but if one researches examples in New England area or for that matter in Europe this lifestyle has been there for ages irrespective of population shifts. People used to reuse and recycle without being said to do so. Nowadays everything seems “forced” as if the human evolution is towards being robots. Again there are so many issues that have changed our behaviors and habits but I would be the first to say that these “forced” changes are something we need at this crucial time when our mother Earth needs them the most.

We should all take a moment to think, even if it is for 5 minutes, within our 24-7 lifestyle how effectively we can contribute towards these behavioral changes which are essential in changing our urban pattern from a picture of sprawling suburbs (developer’s wrath and every person’s wish of a home that he/she couldn’t have afforded within the City), congested and choked cities towards a more compact, denser urban core, with opportunities for alternative transportation thereby resulting in pristine countryside. Let everyone breathe easy!

Stay tuned for more!