Morning. The time of day that can be greatly affected by ones mood. This particular morning I was awoken by my roommate Cole, before my alarm. “Zach my car won’t start, I left the dome light on after I got home last night, can I borrow your car?” Half asleep, I asked if it was raining, remembering that it was suppose to rain that day. Cole said no, so I said yes. I thought to myself, this is perfect I need to walk for my project anyway. About a half hour later I got out of bed and proceeded to get ready for the day. Remembering that it might rain, I grabbed a coat and was out the door.
I put my ear buds in and with a few touches was immersed in Morcheeba. It was cloudy and around 45 degrees. My journey from home to school is six blocks long, I walk up one street, Third Avenue, from 19th to 25th. So immediately the task at hand, walking to school does not seem daunting. As I began to walk, I thought, nice, I’m actually walking to school. I have only walked to school a few times; now in my fourth semester. It was invigorating I could feel the blood pumping through my body as I became quite comfortable with the climate. As I passed houses, apartments, and Morrison Park, Minneapolis College of Art and Design was in sight. As luck would have it, it began to rain.
At first I was mad at Cole for needing my car, he should’ve been more responsible. After a few more steps I realized that I was actually mad at myself. Why do I dislike rain so much? I thought about how it is natural to be outside in the environment with the elements of the weather. It occurred to me that the coat that I had grabbed in case of rain was actually protecting me from feeling the rain, even though I didn’t really need the protection for survival.
Looking back, I made it to school on time and only slightly wet. I actually viewed the rain as a force invading my personal space. The rain and I are not opposing forces; we are both natural systems who coexist in the same environment. Through human invention, we have created abstract vehicles that enclose us off from the natural world. If Cole had not needed my car, I would have taken it. Since I didn’t drive a car that morning, I will no longer use rain as a barrier to walking.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Personal Mobility, A Short History
My mom says that I was an early walker, somewhere around the age of one. Although photographs and home movies have primarily formed my childhood memories, it seems that I was an active child. I have always resonated with my active imagination and was rarely interested in prolonged sedentary activities. This is still true today; sitting down to write these blog posts has been postponed by my fascination with the walks I continue to take.
I distinctly remember my first independent walks to friend’s houses and to the school bus stop in my neighborhood around age four or five. The journeys were long, in my young worldview, passing by aunt hills, worms after summer rains, and the house where my teacher lived are still full of stories.
My parents have always owned cars, one each. The majority of traveling in my daily life living with my parents was inside a car. I came to love cars, which prompted the delivery of a Power Wheel for Christmas – my first (electric) car. I spent quite a bit of time driving the miniature Jeep around, after a few years I was too big to be powered by the battery.
In the summer after second grade I had a bike wreck and scraped myself up pretty good. Getting back on my bike after recovering was difficult, but I have been riding a bike since childhood. I spent the majority of my free time riding it through the neighborhoods near my house with friends. Aside from trips to the convenience store and to friend’s houses I never used my bike for transportation, which seems odd now. I grew up in a very small town, where riding a bike would have been easy.
I particularly remember walking to school in the sixth and seventh grades, because it was located at the end of my neighborhood. I walked to school for two years and nearly a decade later I’m walking to school again.
At age 16 I got my first job and it was located about 12 blocks from my house. I remember considering the job the previous summer but turning it down because I could not yet drive independently. My mom suggested riding my bike, but it seemed foreign to me – to use my bike for transportation instead of recreation. Looking back, I think I was more concerned with my pending driver’s permit and its related driving associations. I felt I had earned the right to drive and did not want to use my bike.
From here I used my car exclusively to transport myself outside of my house, until I went to Missouri State University where I lived on campus my freshman year. I still had my car, but I did walk around campus. Sophomore year I moved off-campus, across town, and again became reliant on my car.
The summer before moving to Minneapolis I received a new car, so naturally I drove it everywhere. I soon learned, however, that parking downtown was not economically viable and relying on my roommate for rides was not self-sustaining. This realization, paired with sustainable education and my evolving worldview, prompted an emergence of walking, biking, and this blog.
I distinctly remember my first independent walks to friend’s houses and to the school bus stop in my neighborhood around age four or five. The journeys were long, in my young worldview, passing by aunt hills, worms after summer rains, and the house where my teacher lived are still full of stories.
My parents have always owned cars, one each. The majority of traveling in my daily life living with my parents was inside a car. I came to love cars, which prompted the delivery of a Power Wheel for Christmas – my first (electric) car. I spent quite a bit of time driving the miniature Jeep around, after a few years I was too big to be powered by the battery.
In the summer after second grade I had a bike wreck and scraped myself up pretty good. Getting back on my bike after recovering was difficult, but I have been riding a bike since childhood. I spent the majority of my free time riding it through the neighborhoods near my house with friends. Aside from trips to the convenience store and to friend’s houses I never used my bike for transportation, which seems odd now. I grew up in a very small town, where riding a bike would have been easy.
I particularly remember walking to school in the sixth and seventh grades, because it was located at the end of my neighborhood. I walked to school for two years and nearly a decade later I’m walking to school again.
At age 16 I got my first job and it was located about 12 blocks from my house. I remember considering the job the previous summer but turning it down because I could not yet drive independently. My mom suggested riding my bike, but it seemed foreign to me – to use my bike for transportation instead of recreation. Looking back, I think I was more concerned with my pending driver’s permit and its related driving associations. I felt I had earned the right to drive and did not want to use my bike.
From here I used my car exclusively to transport myself outside of my house, until I went to Missouri State University where I lived on campus my freshman year. I still had my car, but I did walk around campus. Sophomore year I moved off-campus, across town, and again became reliant on my car.
The summer before moving to Minneapolis I received a new car, so naturally I drove it everywhere. I soon learned, however, that parking downtown was not economically viable and relying on my roommate for rides was not self-sustaining. This realization, paired with sustainable education and my evolving worldview, prompted an emergence of walking, biking, and this blog.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Walk with Nick, Litter Culture
In an effort to step outside of my head and get multiple perspectives on walking, I have set walking dates with a few different friends. The first of which, I took with my friend Nick throughout the ten-block radius directly west and north of MCAD. The area is inner city Minneapolis, densely populated, and multicultural. We walked for nearly two hours and were able to notice many things about the built environment and its inhabitants. Primarily: they litter.
Most of the trash was collected against barriers like curbs, fences and walls. Each pile provided a snapshot into the daily culture of the people who live and travel through the neighborhoods. The dirtiest blocks were in private neighborhoods, which was surprising. I would have assumed that most people would want to keep the area in which they live cleanest. We surmised that either they don’t care, or the people traveling through were causing most of the trash. We also noticed that the blocks with the most litter were deserted of pedestrian traffic. So who is littering? Perhaps it is the people driving through in their cars.
As our eyes wandered from the ground towards the buildings around us, we began to notice the individual character of each of the buildings. Nick noted a pair of angel figure reliefs. We both agreed that noticing these little details is definitely something that doesn’t happen often in a car. Typically you are more concentrated on driving the car and trying not hitting other cars or pedestrians. As soon as we began to notice decorative details we also saw disrepair. Many of the buildings in the area were in desperate need of some upkeep. The same could be said for the ground around the buildings, not exactly the yard-of-the-year award quality.
The simple fact is, the other, who lives in these homes can often be students just like Nick and myself. As we continued to walk, we had been going for quite some time; we realized that we no longer noticed we were walking. Companionship while walking is something we both decided we liked. We had become so consumed in our conversation that the action of walking became secondary nature. About the time it was getting dark and cold we decided to head back.
I fully enjoyed walking with my friend Nick to simply experience the environment in which I live and attend school. I was surprised to find so much trash, on the street, in yards, and around buildings. I wonder what value the people living in this area have for their environment. I feel that this walk allowed me to catch up with a friend and feel more connected to the space around me.
Most of the trash was collected against barriers like curbs, fences and walls. Each pile provided a snapshot into the daily culture of the people who live and travel through the neighborhoods. The dirtiest blocks were in private neighborhoods, which was surprising. I would have assumed that most people would want to keep the area in which they live cleanest. We surmised that either they don’t care, or the people traveling through were causing most of the trash. We also noticed that the blocks with the most litter were deserted of pedestrian traffic. So who is littering? Perhaps it is the people driving through in their cars.
As our eyes wandered from the ground towards the buildings around us, we began to notice the individual character of each of the buildings. Nick noted a pair of angel figure reliefs. We both agreed that noticing these little details is definitely something that doesn’t happen often in a car. Typically you are more concentrated on driving the car and trying not hitting other cars or pedestrians. As soon as we began to notice decorative details we also saw disrepair. Many of the buildings in the area were in desperate need of some upkeep. The same could be said for the ground around the buildings, not exactly the yard-of-the-year award quality.
The simple fact is, the other, who lives in these homes can often be students just like Nick and myself. As we continued to walk, we had been going for quite some time; we realized that we no longer noticed we were walking. Companionship while walking is something we both decided we liked. We had become so consumed in our conversation that the action of walking became secondary nature. About the time it was getting dark and cold we decided to head back.
I fully enjoyed walking with my friend Nick to simply experience the environment in which I live and attend school. I was surprised to find so much trash, on the street, in yards, and around buildings. I wonder what value the people living in this area have for their environment. I feel that this walk allowed me to catch up with a friend and feel more connected to the space around me.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Walking, A New Journey
Walking is becoming a lost behavior amongst humans in the developed world. Why is this a problem? One, environmental factors associated with depleting natural resources used in the production of the vehicles we drive is rapidly becoming an unsustainable endeavor. And Two, environmental factors associated with the carbon produced by the vehicles we drive. One can use these two factors to surmise that one day we will no longer be able to transport ourselves via cars, trucks, vans, busses, taxis, etc. What will happen then? We will have to walk. So, why don’t we save what’s left of our environment and walk now? Because it is too easy to drive. This blog will document my transition from a driver to a pedestrian. I will delve into the human factors surrounding driving and walking, with a specific focus on the barriers to walking. I believe, that once identified, these barriers can be over come and a pedestrian society will emerge, before we no longer have a choice.
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