EcoMetropolitanism

Here's yet another angle on sustainability.  Two British Columbia architects are proposing that cities go wild.  They propose transforming the modern city into a literal urban jungle. The hypothetical result of their approach is a future city that's not only ecologically self-contained, but also much more exciting to live in.

The first step toward ecomet (for short) requires rethinking our collective fixation on private micro-fiefdoms.  The architects believe that the reduction of privacy and public property will more than compensated for by the new quality of life in the city. "We can get people even more excited about living closer to each other if you have the lively natural systems flowing through in close proximity," they believe.

Setting aside their ideas about the wild city, I think they are right that something dramatically appealing will be necessary to make density broadly popular.  A lot of people want the benefits of density, such as neighborhoods that are vibrant, walkable, and convenient, without anything they recognize density.  It remains a conundrum for urban planners.  Perhaps an economy of limited credit and reduced incomes may generate new interest in sharing amenities, one of the values of vertical living (and cooperative living, which is often characterized by density).

  

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