Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Modern American Culture, Walking and Economics
We can no longer continue to protect our economy in spite of our environment. This reality is slowing emerging as American car manufacturers have consistently made cuts to their workforce and production over the past year. The government should follow suit with self-imposed mandates. Funding for personal vehicle transportation infrastructure should be cut. It should be shifted to more sustainable options, namely returning American city streets to pedestrians. Realities are tough to face, but our current system of transportation, and quite frankly our current system of commerce, is quickly becoming primitive in an emerging sustainable worldview. I hope these stories from my personal journey towards a sustainable model of transportation provide insight into overcoming barriers to walking.
Modern Mobility; Personal Human Factors
Perceived Personal Reasons for Driving
- Increased Safety
- Increased Comfort
- Increased Reliability
- Increased Privacy
- Increased Efficiency
- Decrease in Safety
- Decrease in Holistic Health
- Depletion of Natural Resources
- Increased Introversion & Disconnection from Environment
- Undesirable Activity
- Uncomfortable Weather
- Intrusion of Others
- Loss of Valuable Time
- Enhanced Sociability
- Enhanced Environmental Connection
- Enhanced Health
Monday, May 4, 2009
Walking, an Evolution
So what has all this walking done? It has reminded me that humans were given the power of personal mobility because we like to move around, or perhaps we were designed to move around. Of course many people walk throughout the day, around their house, at work, in stores, and perhaps even across the street to get some coffee, but the majority of us are still driving everywhere we go. What is the purpose of driving for our daily needs, or perceived needs? The society we live in has come rely on vehicles to propel people and things throughout space and time so that our lives can be more comfortable. All this comfort is exactly what got us to relying on our cars.
Mobility then stands for more than moving from one place to another as means of transportation but rather, has come to include social mobility. We view our modern mobility as advancement on an earlier state of social culture, where we walked. However, all good things do come to an end, and our comfort is quickly diminishing with the depletion of natural resources to propel and create our cars.
The sustainable lifestyle has entered American culture and all anyone can seem to think about is how we can transform our cars to rely on other energy sources. What about walking?
The total cost of our transportation-dependent culture only begins with fuel. The cost of producing the vehicles themselves, the infrastructure that the vehicles ride on, and the numerous services that support those vehicles should also be included. But I’m not just talking about monetary cost; I’m concerned with total cost. The cost to our environment, and again its not just about burning fossile fuels. Well not only the fuels the vehicles themselves burn, but also the fuels to transport the fuels, to build the roadways and to build the vehicles themselves. The raw materials to build all of the vehicles and the roadways that have not been properly designed to be recyclable, not to mention many of the recycling processes are also inefficient. The entire system of transportation seems to be working against us, and for what? Pineapples in January?
If humanity plans to truly undergo a sustainable paradigm shift, we have to consider why we have created the transportation that exists today and discover why we need to change that model. Growing and consuming local produce is only a start. Think about everything else we have, most of it was not designed, sourced, built, delivered, and consumed without modern transportation. How will we continue to live modern lives without this transportation?
Mobility then stands for more than moving from one place to another as means of transportation but rather, has come to include social mobility. We view our modern mobility as advancement on an earlier state of social culture, where we walked. However, all good things do come to an end, and our comfort is quickly diminishing with the depletion of natural resources to propel and create our cars.
The sustainable lifestyle has entered American culture and all anyone can seem to think about is how we can transform our cars to rely on other energy sources. What about walking?
The total cost of our transportation-dependent culture only begins with fuel. The cost of producing the vehicles themselves, the infrastructure that the vehicles ride on, and the numerous services that support those vehicles should also be included. But I’m not just talking about monetary cost; I’m concerned with total cost. The cost to our environment, and again its not just about burning fossile fuels. Well not only the fuels the vehicles themselves burn, but also the fuels to transport the fuels, to build the roadways and to build the vehicles themselves. The raw materials to build all of the vehicles and the roadways that have not been properly designed to be recyclable, not to mention many of the recycling processes are also inefficient. The entire system of transportation seems to be working against us, and for what? Pineapples in January?
If humanity plans to truly undergo a sustainable paradigm shift, we have to consider why we have created the transportation that exists today and discover why we need to change that model. Growing and consuming local produce is only a start. Think about everything else we have, most of it was not designed, sourced, built, delivered, and consumed without modern transportation. How will we continue to live modern lives without this transportation?
A Walk with Catie and Jake, Fascinating Cars
Saturday mornings, Ah! The time when cartoons used to occupy my attention for hours, when it’s sunny, breezy, and Mom is cleaning the house. If I'm lucky, a trip to the park. This of course is not how my Saturday’s usually happen now. Typically I sleep in, trying to ignore my grogginess from lack of sleep and my social outing from the previous night. This Saturday morning, however, I planned a walk with my friend Jake and his girlfriend Catie. I’ll admit I was a little groggy but the fresh air and morning sun (along with a bike ride to meet them) soon got me going.
We set off for the Tea Garden, a Bubble Tea hot-spot near uptown, as I explained my walking project to Catie. We soon got to the topic of cars. Jake is somewhat of a car enthusiast. The question arose, aside from transporting people, "what is it about cars that people like so much?" Jake began by describing ‘the drive.’ The experience that all 16 year old's anticipate since childhood, as cars are practically one of the first toys marketed towards children. Not that the car companies would be conditioning this wonderment for their own propagation…
The drive, Jake explained, is like moving your body in a way that would not be possible otherwise. The feel of the seat enveloping your body as you propel yourself forward is exhilarating! Not to mention, aside from buildings, cars are the largest man-made object people own. Naturally we will personify it and become attached. This led the discussion into car design. Cars have personalities, the lines, shapes, colors, lights, and sounds all play into how a car, and by association it’s owner/driver, are perceived. Why do we need to compensate for our own personal vehicle, our body, with another? Because we can.
Jake feels that without a car he would be limited in his access to people and things. He is going to school out-of-state, as am I. So I can also relate to driving to escape. But we have planes and buses too. Again control comes up. You cannot be fully in-control of your transportation experience in a public vehicle - climate control, seat position, music. Of course this control is ultimately over privacy. Why don’t we like to be around other people? Because they are the unknown.
Yet we trust other people to be in control of their car, in the next lane traveling 70 miles per hour. So you would think that we would actually perceive cars to be less safe than walking, but we think of our neighborhood to be less safe, because inside of our car we can lock the doors. And because we rely on our cars we assume they are more reliable than walking, but they are not. Walking will improve your ability to walk. Driving does not improve your car’s ability to drive. We like to place the responsibility of transportation onto our cars; however, we are ultimately responsible for our cars. And the responsibility of a car is much more than the responsibility of walking.
So, we end our conversation with driving as an enjoyable sport. Whether or not we use cars to transport ourselves, Jake said that he would always want to be able to drive a car for the enjoyable experience. This is about the time we noticed a few new businesses, a florist and a bike reseller. Walking with Catie and Jake ultimately proved that walking too is enjoyable and can provide practical transportation. Walking can also help you discover new things that you may not have noticed inside of a car. We all enjoyed the new stores and plan to return to them again.
We set off for the Tea Garden, a Bubble Tea hot-spot near uptown, as I explained my walking project to Catie. We soon got to the topic of cars. Jake is somewhat of a car enthusiast. The question arose, aside from transporting people, "what is it about cars that people like so much?" Jake began by describing ‘the drive.’ The experience that all 16 year old's anticipate since childhood, as cars are practically one of the first toys marketed towards children. Not that the car companies would be conditioning this wonderment for their own propagation…
The drive, Jake explained, is like moving your body in a way that would not be possible otherwise. The feel of the seat enveloping your body as you propel yourself forward is exhilarating! Not to mention, aside from buildings, cars are the largest man-made object people own. Naturally we will personify it and become attached. This led the discussion into car design. Cars have personalities, the lines, shapes, colors, lights, and sounds all play into how a car, and by association it’s owner/driver, are perceived. Why do we need to compensate for our own personal vehicle, our body, with another? Because we can.
Jake feels that without a car he would be limited in his access to people and things. He is going to school out-of-state, as am I. So I can also relate to driving to escape. But we have planes and buses too. Again control comes up. You cannot be fully in-control of your transportation experience in a public vehicle - climate control, seat position, music. Of course this control is ultimately over privacy. Why don’t we like to be around other people? Because they are the unknown.
Yet we trust other people to be in control of their car, in the next lane traveling 70 miles per hour. So you would think that we would actually perceive cars to be less safe than walking, but we think of our neighborhood to be less safe, because inside of our car we can lock the doors. And because we rely on our cars we assume they are more reliable than walking, but they are not. Walking will improve your ability to walk. Driving does not improve your car’s ability to drive. We like to place the responsibility of transportation onto our cars; however, we are ultimately responsible for our cars. And the responsibility of a car is much more than the responsibility of walking.
So, we end our conversation with driving as an enjoyable sport. Whether or not we use cars to transport ourselves, Jake said that he would always want to be able to drive a car for the enjoyable experience. This is about the time we noticed a few new businesses, a florist and a bike reseller. Walking with Catie and Jake ultimately proved that walking too is enjoyable and can provide practical transportation. Walking can also help you discover new things that you may not have noticed inside of a car. We all enjoyed the new stores and plan to return to them again.
A Walk With Lauren
My friend Lauren is one of the most dedicated walkers I know. Last winter she had to leave her car in Missouri and began walking everywhere she went. This included a 5:00am walk to work a few times a week. I wasn’t there with her then, (ha!) but Lauren and I took a walk the other afternoon. It was so damn windy; we cursed the weather, even though it was a drop in the hat compared to -20 degree mornings. I talked to Lauren about the times she choose to walk and the times she choose to drive, now that she has her car back.
She told me it often came down to time (no surprise). I find this is my number one barrier to walking. For her (and again myself) it seems to happen in the morning. When she wakes up a few minutes before class she has no choice but to drive or to be late (which will ruin your grade at MCAD). It’s just too easy to get into the car, especially when it’s cold (or raining). Interestingly, Lauren realized that she spends more time outside in the winter warming-up her car and clearing snow so she can drive, than she would spend if she simply walked. This of course led to the other things we do to have a car. Like pay for parking tickets, and towing fines, license renewal, taxes, insurance. Schedule oil changes, tire rotations, inspections, transmission flushes, filter replacements, and the list goes on. We also spend time cleaning the in and outside. This can all only be justified when you are spending a lot of time in your car, Right? Then, naturally, it becomes a large part of your life. If, like me you only ocasionally use your car, it seems like a hassle. Oh, and I didn’t even mention fuel.
Distance also seemed to be an important barrier for Lauren. Like when she drives past nearly ten grocery stores out to Whole Foods. It would be too difficult to carry all those bags, or perhaps just a salad from the salad bar, home. So how far is too far to walk? I guess it depends on how much time you have. I asked Lauren when she made a distinction between walking and biking, she said distance played a factor, but moreover just simply how she felt or what the weather was like. Sometimes it’s just too windy to bike. Otherwise, Lauren doesn’t mind walking; in fact she enjoys it.
She said it gives her time to think. I asked Lauren about her paths, why she would take one over the other. She said some days she feels like mixing it up. The walk she takes most often has the least amount of turns. This way she doesn’t have to think about where she is going and can fully enjoy the meditation time.
From here Lauren and I ranted about all things sustainable in our seemingly dismal culture, I will save this conversation for later.
She told me it often came down to time (no surprise). I find this is my number one barrier to walking. For her (and again myself) it seems to happen in the morning. When she wakes up a few minutes before class she has no choice but to drive or to be late (which will ruin your grade at MCAD). It’s just too easy to get into the car, especially when it’s cold (or raining). Interestingly, Lauren realized that she spends more time outside in the winter warming-up her car and clearing snow so she can drive, than she would spend if she simply walked. This of course led to the other things we do to have a car. Like pay for parking tickets, and towing fines, license renewal, taxes, insurance. Schedule oil changes, tire rotations, inspections, transmission flushes, filter replacements, and the list goes on. We also spend time cleaning the in and outside. This can all only be justified when you are spending a lot of time in your car, Right? Then, naturally, it becomes a large part of your life. If, like me you only ocasionally use your car, it seems like a hassle. Oh, and I didn’t even mention fuel.
Distance also seemed to be an important barrier for Lauren. Like when she drives past nearly ten grocery stores out to Whole Foods. It would be too difficult to carry all those bags, or perhaps just a salad from the salad bar, home. So how far is too far to walk? I guess it depends on how much time you have. I asked Lauren when she made a distinction between walking and biking, she said distance played a factor, but moreover just simply how she felt or what the weather was like. Sometimes it’s just too windy to bike. Otherwise, Lauren doesn’t mind walking; in fact she enjoys it.
She said it gives her time to think. I asked Lauren about her paths, why she would take one over the other. She said some days she feels like mixing it up. The walk she takes most often has the least amount of turns. This way she doesn’t have to think about where she is going and can fully enjoy the meditation time.
From here Lauren and I ranted about all things sustainable in our seemingly dismal culture, I will save this conversation for later.
Walk to Work: Parking Garages, Skyways, Ear Buds
I have to admit, I walk to work quite often. It is the only place that I regularly walk. It is close and every time that I have to go to work I always allow my self plenty of time to get there. I do this because I can’t drive, it’s too expensive – nearly $20 each time I work. And since I’m walking to a part-time retail job, paying to park would be counter-productive. It takes me around 15 to 20 minutes to walk, depending on my stride. I nearly always walk straight down Third until I reach Ninth Street, where I enter the skyway via the Campbell Mithun Tower. Skyways are an interesting part of Minneapolis walking culture. A majority of people walk in the climate controlled and carpeted skyways versus on the exterior ground-level street.
The skyways have become the new street-front, with restaurants, shops, cafes, and banks, why would you walk anywhere else? This is especially true in the nearly seven-month-long Minnesota winter. The interesting thing about downtown and its skyways is that they are only busy during business hours. Any other time, when people are back home in the suburbs, they are nearly empty. Unfortunately downtown was built for corporate employees and not local urbanites. I attribute this lack of people to the parking garages and skyways. If most downtown workers walked to work they would have to live in the city. This would ultimately create a more diverse downtown.
However, I’m not sure that it would make people more social. Many people, like myself, pop in their ear buds and crank-up the iPod dial when they hit the streets. It’s like being in a car, your own personal space as you have defined it. A very specific element of control, control from the outside world, the other. If you can’t hear anyone you don’t have to respond to them, it makes you feel safer. Moreover it just makes everyone less social, and they are happy to drive home to the suburbs because they don’t feel connected to the city.
The skyways have become the new street-front, with restaurants, shops, cafes, and banks, why would you walk anywhere else? This is especially true in the nearly seven-month-long Minnesota winter. The interesting thing about downtown and its skyways is that they are only busy during business hours. Any other time, when people are back home in the suburbs, they are nearly empty. Unfortunately downtown was built for corporate employees and not local urbanites. I attribute this lack of people to the parking garages and skyways. If most downtown workers walked to work they would have to live in the city. This would ultimately create a more diverse downtown.
However, I’m not sure that it would make people more social. Many people, like myself, pop in their ear buds and crank-up the iPod dial when they hit the streets. It’s like being in a car, your own personal space as you have defined it. A very specific element of control, control from the outside world, the other. If you can’t hear anyone you don’t have to respond to them, it makes you feel safer. Moreover it just makes everyone less social, and they are happy to drive home to the suburbs because they don’t feel connected to the city.
A Walk With Suzy
The other afternoon I took a walk with my friend Suzy and her friend’s dog. I was really excited to take the dog for a walk, because it is something that I have rarely done in my life. I love dogs and dogs love walks. There is definitely something different about walking with a dog, opposed to walking with out one. Suzy lives in Kenwood, a historic neighborhood in Minneapolis with great homes and nice lawns, a far cry from the neighborhood south of MCAD, where Nick and I walked a few weeks ago.
This dog was enthusiastic about the walk and spent most of his time pulling the leash. In a chain-reaction he was pulling me. This was an influence on my desire to continue walking - A walking companion that doesn’t complain and is happy to be at your side. At one point, I couldn’t resist; I began running. I have dreamt of having a dog to run with. A motivating companion, one that isn’t human (so affected by mood). The dog did great, keeping up and seemed even happier to be running than walking. Almost magically, when we stopped running, he found a tennis ball, like a reward, and carried it the rest of the walk.
Meanwhile, Suzy and I walked for about two hours and had some interesting discussion. As we left Kenwood we entered the wooded public-use area behind the soaring hills and homes. The land was flat and the trails were converging, bikers and walkers abound. This is recreational territory, although I did see one guy biking in a suit. Here nearly everyone smiles at one another or even says hello. Many people were also walking their dogs, like a social event.
Suzy and I discussed how people living in Kenwood and similar affluent neighborhoods do value their homes, land and neighborhood. And it shows. Hardly any litter, no graffiti to be found, and buildings in disrepair were being remodeled. So why would someone living in Kenwood care about the perceptions of the exterior space in their collective neighborhood more than people living south of MCAD? Are they simply protecting their land value? I believe it is due to the dog walks, children playing, and gardens. People are spending time outside of their house, in their environment. They want to enjoy the time they spend outside.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
