WOSU Commentary – Urban Renewal
January 12th, 2009
My latest WOSU commentary, airing January 13, 2009.
2009 Resolution: We All Must Work for Positive Change
Andrew Miller, WOSU Commentator
COLUMBUS, OHIO (2009-01-12) It’s a new year. For many that means change. Some change you choose, such as making resolutions; some change is thrust upon you. My change came in the form of my work moving from a downtown office tower to a converted warehouse in the suburbs. This was done as a consolidation and cost saving measure. Now my coworkers and I wonder where the savings really are.
The square foot cost is lower, but what other savings are there? What about environmental, energy and time savings? What about retaining and attracting the best and the brightest workers? Surely those were taken into account.
When urban sprawl took hold in the 1950s environmental concerns were nil, energy was expected to become virtually free and work schedules were closer to the 40 hour week than the 80. Environmental, energy and time savings just weren’t considered. Our new office is almost as inefficient as anything built with that mindset. Sprawl led to collapsing urban areas, increased pollution and now has helped lead to our collapsing economy and energy resources.
My generation is left dealing with the wreckage of this movement. In response we want urbanism; thriving cities that provide those environmental, energy and time savings. Our best and brightest want access to each other and the opportunities that come from urban density.
Prior to the move I rode my bike to work almost daily. Other days I used public transit. Like most workers these days my work and personal life is blurred. Easy access to services and people is important to keeping my whole life on track. Being free from the burden of a car made my life better. Working downtown provided all of this.
Now my organization, like many others, has isolated itself in a decaying industrial area. My only option to get to work is to drive. If I need to leave the building for anything I have to drive. If I want to meet with anyone I have to drive. To accomplish anything I must spend time and money that could otherwise go toward more productive uses; instead I’m isolating myself and negatively impacting the environment.
Sitting in my inefficient new office I am comforted that I still have a job. Unfortunately I’m just as likely to consider how many other people might have jobs if we stopped spending money on unsustainable infrastructure instead of socially progressive designs. This responsibility falls as much on our government as it does business and individuals.
Facing a crippled economy and an energy crisis the Obama administration is looking to reinvigorate the nation through public works; particularly infrastructure. This is their New Year’s resolution; investing in positive change.
With that in mind I hope that we resolve to look to the past, pre-urban sprawl, and re-learn what it means to develop socially responsible communities of people; people who live and work together instead of apart. Because sometimes positive change for the future means returning to our past.
January 16th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
“This responsibility falls as much on our government as it does business and individuals.”
how so? is the government supposed to tell us where to live and where to work? is bigger government going to help the economy, or is it going to lead a tax hike that further strains our wallets and causes more people to move out to the suburbs where the rent is less?
I’m relatively liberal, socially speaking, but i fear all of you Socialist idealists are going to be the undoing of our country. we’re trading our Republican Christian dogma for Democratic Marxism. how is that progress? from one extreme to the other? if we’re not killing someone else, we’re intent on killing ourselves. what ever happened to level-headed Yankee ingenuity? why is it now the American way to demand someone take care of you? the government is not your mother.
if you’re so concerned with urban centralization, do something about it yourself. quit in protest and find a new job downtown; don’t rely on the government to bail you out, as it’s merely a short-term solution. in the long-term, it will hurt us further. whinging about it as you drive everywhere does nothing except allow you to remain comfortably employed while you attempt to appear environmentally conscious.
you could have just saved us all some time and written “i want to jump on the Green Movement bandwagon, but I’m too lazy to actually do anything about except write a pompous, self-righteous diatribe about it from my cubicle in the ‘burbs . . .”
January 16th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
Wow, well thanks for posting your feelings. As to that first statement about responsibility; I think I clearly state that being socially responsible, doing what is sustainable and isn’t killing ourselves, is the responsibility of everyone – government, business and individuals. You’ve completely missed the point by choosing to decide that I said something I clearly didn’t.
If you want to talk about the cost of rent in the suburbs, taxes, etc. then I’d love to talk about that. I’d love to know how the ever expanding sprawl has strengthened our economy instead of playing a big role in our nations current crisis?
As to what am I doing myself? Well for starters I continue to look for work elsewhere, downtown and close to my home. Instead of driving I usually ride my motorcycle (even in this weather) since I can’t bicycle anymore. This is as much to do with economy as it is environmental concern. I’m not “jumping on the green movement bandwagon” and anyone who knows me would never call me “lazy”. If you’d like to have a full discussion about the merits of how I choose to live my life then that’s something we could sit down and do but I think your attacks on my character without knowing me are sad.
January 18th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Common Sense: Hear Hear.
Trying to wade through the sound bytes on televised news shows brings calls for people to move beyond ideology. Apparently, it’s only some ideology we should move beyond.