I am enjoying this discussion. As a resident of a small, older home in a densely populated area of Ithaca served by public transit and within walking distance of many key destinations -- doctor, dentist, pharmacy, earth-friendly clothes and housewares, local and organic produce, work and recreation sites, centers of higher education, public meetings, art exhibits, theatre and music venues, nature trails, scenic vistas -- I'm glad every day that I made this choice. To me, this smallish urban center (a ready-made node) is somewhat of a utopia.
----- Original Message ----- From: "George Frantz" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Sustainable Tompkins County listserv" <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 9:50 AM Subject: Re: [SustainableTompkins] In older neighborhoods,utilize the existing homes too... On August 12 Eric Clay wrote: "Merely utilizing the homes in Fall Creek at the density the were meant to be able to hold would allow the number of people living on my block to nearly triple, with no new housing construction, energy for heating, roads, etc, and the existing water and sewer should be able to handle the load.." I heartily agree with Eric's point that utilizing a lot of our existing homes in a much more efficient way is a very important piece of the puzzle.. At the same time, there are many homes throughout American cities, Ithaca included, that are rotting off their foundations or functionally obsolete. By functionally obsolete homes I mean homes that have low ceilings, inadequate lighting and ventilation, doors, stairs and bathrooms, etc. that cannot accommodate physically disabled persons and rooms that are too small.. The replacement of these homes over the coming years affords us the opportunity to rebuild our cities as more compact, environmentally, socially and economically sustainable communities sustainable communities. We can provide homes in our neighborhoods for all residents, not just the able-bodied. As resistant as people may be to "piling" homes together, the townhouse in its various iterations world-wide is still nonetheless the most efficient form of residential architecture in terms of land, building materials and energy resources, while at the same time providing for a high quality, human scale urban living experience. As I stated in previous posts, a large percentage of the world's population has already figured this out and as a result lives in vibrant, dynamic communities not dominated by the automobile. When will we see the light? George Frantz _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
