Greed, cruelty, consumption: the world is changed yet its worst persists // Izaskun Chinchilla: ‘If we free up space in cities, we can plant trees’
I have no great hope we will use this
chance to transform for the better, but this is an unconvincing darkness, and
we do not have to stay in it… The days have become months, and the world has
changed far beyond the scope of this essay, with cities, states and countries
opening and closing like anxious flowers attempting to halt the damage of
recurring coronavirus outbreaks. One thing hit harder than anything else, both
figuratively and literally: the Beirut blast, an
allegedly accidental explosion of 2,750 tonnes of neglected ammonium nitrate
that levelled the port, killing more than 200 people, injuring 5,000 and
leaving hundreds of thousands homeless.
It rates as the third most powerful
explosion in history, and it devastated my mother’s country, which was already
struggling thanks to a corrupt and inept government, with food and power
shortages the norm, to say little of the hyper-inflated currency and a population
of more than a million refugees, all amid the pandemic….
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/aug/16/greed-cruelty-consumption-the-world-is-changed-yet-its-worst-persistsTime to reset: more brilliant ideas to remake the world
Izaskun Chinchilla: ‘If we free up space in cities, we can plant trees’
By designing urban
areas differently, we will be better able to weather climate change and any
future pandemics. Lockdown has given us a taste of how good it is to
live in a more local way: walking to shops, working from home, spending less
time commuting. Emissions have decreased, and the air we breathe has felt
cleaner. But if we change the way we design our cities, in particular, we can
hold on to this climate-friendly way of living. The “15-minute city”
is a vision of urban living where everything you need – house, job,
supermarket, school, park, health centre, post office – is a quarter of an hour
away, by foot or bike. Paris, Barcelona, Bogotá and many other cities are
exploring this.
It means making cities more pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly,
and prioritising refurbishment over new construction, retrofitting buildings to
include a greater mix of uses, such as retail, office space, education, small
makers and housing. If cities reduce the
number of cars on the road, and with them the need for parking, we could free
up 10% extra space in cities. That’s a lot – and the best thing we can do with
it is plant trees, creating green, low-emission urban areas. If we do that,
natural species will follow, and biodiversity will increase. But size matters: if
these green spaces are small and scattered, they won’t be as effective…
