I'm currently in Hoyt Arboretum in Portland. Here is a picture of a branch of the Monkey Puzzle tree. It's native to Chile. Coolness.
Location:SW Fischer Ln,Portland,United States
Saturday, May 15, 2010
The craziest damn pine tree ever
Here's an old post that was in my iPhone and I forgot to publish it. This is from April 25, 2010:
I'm currently in Hoyt Arboretum in Portland. Here is a picture of a branch of the Monkey Puzzle tree. It's native to Chile. Coolness.
I'm currently in Hoyt Arboretum in Portland. Here is a picture of a branch of the Monkey Puzzle tree. It's native to Chile. Coolness.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Tired
I am sorry for my couple readers that I have not been posting more consistently. The truth is that I've been surprised with how tiring this traveling has been. With driving at least every third day, there's not even enough time in each major city to see all of the friends that I had wanted to (apologies to people I know in Chicago and apologies in advance to people in Boston and New York).
So that's my excuse. I have a backlog of posts that I would like to put on here. Hopefully I'll have time soon. I hope you're doing well. And I'm doing pretty well aside from being a bit tired.
Also, right now I'm in Columbus. A surprisingly fun and cool city. Good restaurant and bar scene. If you have a chance to stop through, I recommend it.
So that's my excuse. I have a backlog of posts that I would like to put on here. Hopefully I'll have time soon. I hope you're doing well. And I'm doing pretty well aside from being a bit tired.
Also, right now I'm in Columbus. A surprisingly fun and cool city. Good restaurant and bar scene. If you have a chance to stop through, I recommend it.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Suburbs: They're Hurting Us
So I'm leaving Denver soon. I must say that the bulk of my stay here has been spent a little south of Denver in the suburbs. I like Denver a lot, but these suburbs... well, it's like the Southern California model taken to insane heights. Everything looks like it was constructed within the last decade or two and large arteries of asphalt connect nondescript housing complexes A, B, and C to nondescript shopping centers J, K, and L, and nondescript business parks X, Y, and Z. It stretches on for as far as I can see in some directions, and in others it simply buts up against nature, waiting for the next wave of construction to carry the tide of concrete out even further. Here are a couple pictures:
Oh how this system of development annoys me like a splinter under the fingernail! (Sorry, I think I channeled a 19th Century op-ed writer for a second.) First, it completely destroys any sense of community. There is no separation between the allegedly different municipalities and all of the same chains dominate the landscape everywhere. Additionally, independent businesses in these areas are all but impossible to grow. Rather, large chains dominate the landscape and sap dollars from the local population to send to corporate headquarters, rather than reinvesting in the community. Furthermore, you absolutely have to have a car. Although Denver does have a light-rail system, you need to drive to the closest station and the closest super market is likely to be several miles from where you live. Walking along the street and interacting with your neighbors doing the same is just about impossible here.
The worst part, though, is that suburbs like this usually serve to only insulate the inhabitants from the realities of the communities, cities, states, and country that they live in. Aside from the racial segregation that - in my experience - accompanies this kind of development model, you also have economic segregation. Feather River community is for families with a net income of X, Happy Deer community is for families with a net income of Y, and Golden Eagle community is for families with a net income of Z. Of course, low-income or homeless people are nowhere to be seen, leaving the inhabitants of these areas free to continue on in blissful ignorance of the stark realities of the outside world. "What income inequality? Everyone I know is doing pretty well!"
If I sound unduly upset regarding the disease of suburbia, it is only because I grew up a victim of it myself. Only after I lived in more racially and economically integrated communities did I realize just how wrong the perceptions of reality I developed in my youth were. And it's not that my parents and occasional teachers didn't try to tell me - from time to time - that there were other people and things outside the bounds of my home town. Rather, it was simply that the reality I dealt with on a daily basis inexorably cast its imprint on my mind. I find it rational to believe that the same phenomenon occurs with at least the majority of suburban residents. Does anyone reading this disagree? Please let me know.
Here's hoping that we soon recognize the social and cultural harm that the system of suburban sprawl inflicts on our country and, more importantly, the people living here.
------------
Note: I did not want to address the environmental impact of suburban sprawl here, as that is deserving of it's own post entirely.
______________________
Ed. note on 2010.05.04: I don't intend this column to be an indictment of the people who live in suburbs (aside from my observations regarding what might be labeled "suburb bias"), but rather an indictment of the practice of urban sprawl. People who live in the suburbs usually do so because the value offering is good (i.e. bigger home, better schools, less money). However, those benefits can be replicated in more urban settings (perhaps with the exception of bigger homes) and we should discourage urban sprawl because of the social and environmental costs.
Oh how this system of development annoys me like a splinter under the fingernail! (Sorry, I think I channeled a 19th Century op-ed writer for a second.) First, it completely destroys any sense of community. There is no separation between the allegedly different municipalities and all of the same chains dominate the landscape everywhere. Additionally, independent businesses in these areas are all but impossible to grow. Rather, large chains dominate the landscape and sap dollars from the local population to send to corporate headquarters, rather than reinvesting in the community. Furthermore, you absolutely have to have a car. Although Denver does have a light-rail system, you need to drive to the closest station and the closest super market is likely to be several miles from where you live. Walking along the street and interacting with your neighbors doing the same is just about impossible here.
The worst part, though, is that suburbs like this usually serve to only insulate the inhabitants from the realities of the communities, cities, states, and country that they live in. Aside from the racial segregation that - in my experience - accompanies this kind of development model, you also have economic segregation. Feather River community is for families with a net income of X, Happy Deer community is for families with a net income of Y, and Golden Eagle community is for families with a net income of Z. Of course, low-income or homeless people are nowhere to be seen, leaving the inhabitants of these areas free to continue on in blissful ignorance of the stark realities of the outside world. "What income inequality? Everyone I know is doing pretty well!"
If I sound unduly upset regarding the disease of suburbia, it is only because I grew up a victim of it myself. Only after I lived in more racially and economically integrated communities did I realize just how wrong the perceptions of reality I developed in my youth were. And it's not that my parents and occasional teachers didn't try to tell me - from time to time - that there were other people and things outside the bounds of my home town. Rather, it was simply that the reality I dealt with on a daily basis inexorably cast its imprint on my mind. I find it rational to believe that the same phenomenon occurs with at least the majority of suburban residents. Does anyone reading this disagree? Please let me know.
Here's hoping that we soon recognize the social and cultural harm that the system of suburban sprawl inflicts on our country and, more importantly, the people living here.
------------
Note: I did not want to address the environmental impact of suburban sprawl here, as that is deserving of it's own post entirely.
______________________
Ed. note on 2010.05.04: I don't intend this column to be an indictment of the people who live in suburbs (aside from my observations regarding what might be labeled "suburb bias"), but rather an indictment of the practice of urban sprawl. People who live in the suburbs usually do so because the value offering is good (i.e. bigger home, better schools, less money). However, those benefits can be replicated in more urban settings (perhaps with the exception of bigger homes) and we should discourage urban sprawl because of the social and environmental costs.
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