Livable Cities

Livable Cities



"Eyes on the Street" (Jacobs 1961)

What do you think of when you hear those words? Actual eyes on the street or people on the street? In my community there isn't a formal community watch program but my neighbors and I watch out for each other. We have each other's phone numbers and know who is supposed to be at the homes and who is not. One of my neighbors called my husband when he noticed that our garage door was left open a bit. Knowing that we were all at work or out he knew something wasn't right. He was right, our house had been broken into. Immediately we put the word out on social media and we started getting tips as to where our personal items were moving to. Unfortunately, we weren't able to recover any of our belongings but the fact the my neighbor notified us put the robbers and the sheriff's office on alert right away. That's one of the needs in a livable city. People need to feel safe where they live, no matter if it's to walk around the community, buy a home, or simply feel free to visit at anytime. Children are free to ride their bikes in the neighborhood to the park or the baseball field as well as to school. We may not have police out always policing our streets but we have "eyes on the street" keeping it safe.

Photo by Abstrak

"New roads generate more traffic, and more traffic creates a demand for even more roads." (Farr 2008, 56)

Everywhere you turn there is something new being built which means the roads will be busier. The last new road in Collier County was the extension of Santa Barbara Blvd. That opening allowed for the availability of more homes to be built. There were homes already in the area, but the roads were of dirt so many people would rather not build there. Now with the opening more people are moving into the area. I think it relieved some of the traffic on US 41 but now the section is getting congested. Where will the next road open up? Maybe a connection of Lee county and Collier with the extension of 951 into Lee County. That would certainly take away traffic from I-75 but when that road is congested what will be next?

Photo by wired.com

"The goal is to allow viewers to grab hold of the meaning with one look." (White 2011, 9)

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so why not show what is happening to our world instead of just talking about it. When we see with our own eyes then it's easier to believe. I guess it may not be a easy, as how can you see gasses hurting our atmosphere? At the same time we need to see how people, communities and businesses are doing there part in providing eco-friendly environments. People may want to do their part may not know how to help. Many of us are visual learners therefore need to physically see how something works in order to do it. Otherwise we may just think it won't work and won't do it. Let's put our world on display with the colors, smells, and visions.

Photo by Martin Tessler


Sources: Sustainability Principles and Practice (Robertson 2017)