It Isn’t Easy Being Green (But Can It Be?)

Urban development and growth are on the rise. According to the World Health Organization, more than half of the world’s population lives in a city. By 2070, they predict that this amount will increase to 70%. Some people see this as a kiss of death to the environment. They associate cities with smog, consumption, and a fast-paced, destructive lifestyle. Others believe that urban development is the only way to save the environment. In his article “Urban Sustainability Isn’t About Green Gizmos,” Ben Hurley calls people out for considering themselves “greenies” even though they refuse to support high-density living. These “greenies,” he says, become upset when development takes place in locations they consider extensions of their backyards. What they don’t realize is that condensed living spaces lead to more available space for agriculture, gardens, and parks.

But when the population continues to grow, as it is expected to, how can we ensure cities keep their green spaces? We can use legal methods to protect those spaces that already exist. But if we are to keep green space proportionate to a city’s population, as Jeff Angel recommends in his list of Sustainable City Practices, we must find a way to create new spaces as well. This idea comes with its own set of problems. How do we find enough space to turn into a park or a garden in an already established city? How do we make spaces easily accessible, so that people don’t have to drive to them (therefore defeating the purpose of having a green space in the first place)? Should green spaces be located within the city, or on its fringes as to make the city as compact and efficient as possible? Is it okay to deny people the privilege (or right, to some) of having a private backyard? Will suburb-dwellers be willing to make such a huge lifestyle change for the sake of the environment?

Even if we found a foolproof solution to preserving and creating green space in cities, common misconceptions of “green living” might prevent people from doing so. As David Owen points out in his article Green Manhattan, most people think of rural or suburban living as the most green. In fact, those lifestyles cause more water and energy waste in addition to more greenhouse gas emissions than an urban lifestyle does. But until we can get more people to recognize this seemingly paradoxical fact, cities will have a harder time gaining enough support to build high-density housing and preserve their green spaces. People will want to keep their own backyards and gardens, commonly because they believe those gardens make them “green,” but we must convince them otherwise. It will not solve all of our problems. We will still pollute and waste our resources, even in high-density cities. But it’s a start. The future of the environment depends on us.

About alyssamagier

At New York University, Alyssa studies Environmental Studies and Metropolitan Studies, with a minor in Hebrew and Judaic Studies. Having grown up in Los Angeles, it is only logical that Alyssa would become drawn to the intricacies of the city, and how it interacts with the environment at large. However, the briefest of chats would yield the obvious truth: that Alyssa is, more than anything, a people person. She enjoys working with children – has been a counselor at a summer camp and a teaching assistant at her temple – and highly values diversity, both in her schools in LA (including a K-5 immersion school, at which she learned to speak Spanish) and at NYU. Perhaps this humanistic element of her personality should be attributed to her upbringing: her parents are divorced, and her father is remarried with three younger children. Her mother raised her on comedy, the effects of which you can see when she says (about her registration as a democrat), “but there are crazy people on both sides.” Her Jewish roots have certainly influenced the way she sees the world and the people around her as well: while she values the Bible largely for its value as a piece of literature, rather than its literality, she identifies strongly with the Jewish culture, community, and ethics. She’s a big dog person, and everyone knows dog people are the nicest. With a combination of such influences, it’s no surprise that Alyssa seeks to devote her life to what can be seen as the ultimate human issue: the life of humans on Earth.

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