Jeremy Sturgess, well known Canadian architect and urban designer while in Cranbrook, gave a very informative lecture about building for sustainability. When asked how to reconcile sustainability and growth together he said , “ I think sustainability is about growth.”
On the one hand it would seem impossible to put these two concepts together especially if one is considering growth in the traditional sense of the word – getting more, getting bigger. To get more or to get bigger, resources are required. We know all about the most important resource required for human growth and survival –food! If there is no food we starve and die. Food sustains and prolongs life. To grow, live and die is the normal cycle of nature. However economies require food of a different kind and the main protein for our current economy is petroleum. Our economy is dependent upon oil. Over the last one hundred years our economy has grown and lived. However we need to face that when we have to drill deep within the ocean and use a complex process to extract oil from tar sands it is a sign that the supply is depleting. Economies are showing signs of stress and decay. Current economies as we know them are in their senior years so it would seem the result is inevitable.
On the other hand maybe growth and sustainability is about a slightly different concept. I have a pond in my garden. It does not grow bigger. However it is a living habitat that only needs replenishing with water once in a while. Water is essential to all life. Year after year the plants within it grow and bloom. The fish are provided with enough food generated by algae and the small water organisms. The pond is rich in varied plant and animal life. The pond needs some maintenance work but it is self-sustaining. It is a wonderful example of what our own larger environment must become. Within that pond is growth, carefully managed growth, self-sustaining growth full of symbiotic relationships and yet it does not get bigger and take over my entire garden.
Sustainability to me is about prolonging a healthy state of life or economy in a managed way. With a healthy, balanced and horizontal economy, growth, life and death of the individual elements will occur but the footprint will remain the same.
The Cranbrook Connected Committee is working hard to clarify this dilemma for Cranbrook. How do we prolong the healthy life of a community and be part of a self-sustaining world. We must look beyond the boundaries of Canada to assess the resources. Canada may have plenty still but the rest of the world does not and in our modern world of trade agreements we share.
Please give thought to the future and complete your Cranbrook Connected Questionnaire with what a sustainable Cranbrook looks like to you.
Thanks for the excellent article and great analogy with your back yard pond.
ReplyDeleteCranbrook Connections is an excellent opportunity for all of us to think about what we want the fabric of our city to look like in the coming years...not only for us but also for future generations. I sincerely hope we citizens accept the invitation to respond to this opportunity.