#5 Our Land, Our Values - Social Sustainability

 “You realized that in the era before the automobile, these houses existed in a completely different relationship with the road. The houses honored the road because the road was honoring” (Kuntsler, The Geography of Nowhere, p. 130). The ways we use are land reflects the values of society. I am pretty sure when thing of houses you can imagine the typical generic triangle shape, with a box for garage right next to it or a driveway. What do houses tell us about what we value? Sustainability is not just environmental issue but also a social one. Van Jones in his TED lecture saw that the reason why people have been so wasteful is because of the idea of disposability. That we can use something until it is waste and simply throw it away and move on to better more disposable item. The landfills are proof of our value in disposability. But houses are more personal and tell us what we really value. The modern house is very materialistic. Houses showcase our excess, our three expensive cars, our expensive drapes and holiday decoration. The Department of Transportation in their 2011 Pocket Guide to Transportation found that 57.4% of households own 2 or more cars.  How many times have we heard story of angry neighbors you complain about other people unmaintained lawns? They say that house makes all of us look bad. The modern day house shows us to be selfish, and materialistic.

Suburbia

There is no easy way to change how people live. Changing the way people can be has impossible as changing the tides. But a way to be socially sustainable is to change the way re build neighborhoods. Instead of having houses face streets, how about houses facing other houses. Move the sidewalks away from the streets place them straight in the middle. Build the garages in the backs of the house so they have access to the streets. This solves alley problem Kuntsler mentions his book, The Geography of Nowhere and the simple design puts value on the community rather than the material goods. The lines between houses will be blur because private residence would blend seamlessly with the public sidewalk. It also allows for more of a park setting. Can you imagine walking out your front door right into a public park filled with benches trees? People will be more incentivize to get out and meet people and actually walk for the sake of walking. It would be a great deal better then peaking your window and seeing some raggedy building, or your neighbor’s gas guzzler, or the 100 cars that drive down the street every day. More importantly the neighborhood would be socially more sustainable. People would have interest in the well being of others. Instead of disliking the person you has maintain his lawn, you would want to know more about why he hasn’t cut his lawn. The houses would honor the community because the people were worth honoring.

Imagine stepping out your front door to this everyday.