Congratulations to Mayor Degner and the participants of the 2009 Mayor’s Sustainability Summit. Many citizens demonstrated great dedication to a sustainable future for the city and region. My goal here as a “Community Blogger” is to help keep the momentum going. I’m not a great writer and I don’t have all the answers. But, I hope to offer pertinent issues for discussion so that the conversation continues, because I believe that when shared, our collective knowledge is our most valuable resource. My entries will focus on the built environment, which can be anything from a city to a doorknob. I also plan to include interesting material I come across in my occupation as a designer at Blue Ridge Design Studio, such as new products, sustainable building practices, and otherwise excellent ideas.
As a way to get started, I’d like to highlight one issue that came to my attention during the summit and ultimately affects the built environment. It’s found in the report about the session “Maximize Downtown Density and Preserve Open (County) Space.” Basically, there is a competition of interests between the county and city when there needs to be collaboration (full dislosure: I’m a native of Rockingham county but a current resident of Harrisonburg city). I’m not suggesting that feuding is going on, but simply the system we have is inhibiting a more sustainable region. I just finished reading Moshe Safdie’s The City After the Automobile. It’s a bit old (1997), but a good read with a great critique of the history of urban planning. Safdie clearly argues for a strong interdependency of the city and the countryside. Both need each other and both need to be planned well, together, if the outcome is to be sustainable.
It was good to hear that Mayor Degner, members of City Council, the county’s Board and others are meeting regularly to discuss joint interests. But, it seems a more drastic effort may be necessary to be able to achieve the coordinated planning needed for a sustainable region. Should the city become a town again? Should the county become a city? Is there a third way, with each making the appropriate agreements and concessions? Do we let market forces continue to drive development? I know that this has been discussed at hburgnews.com (see Kyger on annexation moratorium, quite informative) and in other circles before. But I think this issue has not crossed the minds of most citizens, especially of my generation, and it would be beneficial to have a broader conversation. What do you think?
