What this (anonymous) author wrote about Oakland is true of all cities that I know of in the U.S. My family has strong ties in the Washington, D.C. area. As a result, I’ve lived in D.C. for a few years (not currently, though). I grew up in the country all my childhood, and I’m very grateful for that experience. It seems that the history of cities throughout history and throughout the world is that, when they become physically too big and/or too spread out, they create conditions that are unhealthy for the human inhabitants, as well as for the plants and animal communities that are affected by the resulting changes to their own natural environments.

I’ve read Van Jones’ recent article about greening Oakland, and these are good ideas, well worth pursuing. I hope that as the plans develop, folks might consider creating smaller communities as an alternative to staying in/living in a community that is growing unsustainably large. Some folks speak of living in Bio-Regions: distinct geographic areas whose boundaries are defined by the ecosystem that exists there: defined by watersheds, forests and meadows, hills and mountains, valleys, streams and rivers. In smaller communities folks can still bring their music (but improve the lyrics!), and folks can still socialize and have fun, just on a scale that’s better for all.

Thank you, EBC staff, for all your great work!

Marie D.