There’s a gravel trail that runs along the waterfront, north of the Shipyards development, that’s been blocked by barricades since the spring. It’s been that way at least six months, perhaps longer. The path suffered erosion and some holes opened up along it. These were marked by barricades. Sort of.
Continue readingTag: parks
Scripturient: Cwood’s Ship Walk of Shame
Collingwood’s long history of shipbuilding, from the first hull (the Huronic, in 1901), to the last in 1985 (the Paterson, #231) was intended to be proudly captured in bronze plaques embedded in the sidewalks along Heritage Drive and around the boat docks. This was our “walk of history.” The town’s
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Premier Kenney encounters contrary constituents
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, dating back to his college days, has never been comfortable with people who hold divergent views. Perhaps chief among the views he despises the most are those of environmentalists. That may account for his surprise at responses to recent policies of his government. For example, early
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Karl Leffme interviews Jake Lytle about the movement to unionize marijuana-related work in Chicago. And Jay Greene and Eli Rosernberg report on an all-too-rare expression of support for unionization by Joe Biden in the wake of Amazon’s attempt to bully and bribe workers
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Timing is everything: Alberta announces seven charges against Suncor mid-morning on Sunday
Interesting timing. Mid-morning yesterday — Sunday, that is — the press secretary to Environment Minister Jason Nixon published a 79-word press release, 111 words if you count the headline and the sub-head required by the format of the Alberta government’s website. Alberta Environment and Parks Minister Jason Nixon (Photo: David
Continue readingPostArctica: At The Monument
Funny, I hung around this park in front of Verdun City Hall in the 70’s and there are a zillion crazy stories about what that was like. So last month I was walking through and saw all these young people gathered around the actual monument and I was getting thoughts
Continue readingPostArctica: Walk # 5 –
“Walkers are ‘practitioners of the city,’ for the city is made to be walked. A city is a language, a repository of possibilities, and walking is the act of speaking […]
Continue readingPostArctica: Walk # 4 – Miron
I always wish the hotels were like they are in movies and TV shows, where if you’re in Paris, right outside your window is the Eiffel Tower. In Egypt, the […]
Continue readingEnvironmental Law Alert Blog: Making a splash: Time for Canada to catch up as marine protected area networks take off around the world
Monday, May 16, 2016
Canadians love parks and wilderness. Banff, Nahanni, Algonquin, Gros Morne &n…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Ralph Surette highlights the dangers of a pollution-based economy which fails to account for the damage we’re doing to our planet and its ability to provide food for people: This is something to behold. A more-or-less hurricane in early July. Has anyone ever
Continue readingEnvironmental Law Alert Blog: Weakening BC’s environmental laws risks eroding social licence for Government’s Cleanest LNG goals
Tuesday, June 17, 2014 Several of the most contentious changes to environmental laws passed during the 2014 spring session of the BC Legislature seem to have been developed, and pushed through, in a mad rush and without adequate public consultation. The goal of these laws seems, at least in part,
Continue readingPostArctica: More Winter
Might as well, storm blowing out there…
Continue readingEnvironmental Law Alert Blog: Park Amendment bill paves the way for industrial exploration?
Friday, February 14, 2014 The BC Parks Service says that the provincial parks and conservancies are a “public trust” for the “protection of natural environments for the inspiration, use and enjoyment of the public.” These noble sentiments are difficult to square with Bill 4, the “Park Amendment Act, 2014”, introduced
Continue readingopenalex: Biophilic Cities: This is Your City on Nature
[I wrapped up last week getting into research on biophilia and biophilic cities. The post originally went up over at @SustainableCitiesCanada. The impact that lush green spaces have on us is impressive. Well beyond what I would have expected. It seems, according to comments on the original piece, that even eating dirt is good for us.]
Another summer city weekend is almost here. Chances are there is a park in your future: urban parks offer the ultimate escape from the noise and the heat. Great parks are a defining feature of great cities – Montreal’s Mount Royal, Stanley Park in Vancouver, the Retiro in Madrid or whatever your favourite green spot is in your own neighbourhood.
But there is more going on than Frisbee and picnics. A growing number of studies show that time spent in natural settings measurably improves our ability to concentrate, our sense of wellbeing and even fights depression. We are, in a word, a biophylic species, hard wired to draw support from contact with the natural world.
Research on biophilia isn’t new. The term was coined in the 1980s by prominent American biologist E.O. Wilson and work on the theme has been ongoing ever since. I’ve been digging through some of the material recently though, and have been hooked by what I’ve found. It’s fascinating reading. More than that, it makes you wonder how what we know about the relation between green spaces and well-being could influence the way we redesign our cities.
Your Brain on Nature
Perhaps the most startling finding of studies into biophilia is that being in natural settings actually changes the chemistry of our brains. Views of a forest for example – as compared to say gray streetscapes – stimulate the brain’s pleasure systems, triggering our opioid receptors and the release of dopamine.
Beyond pleasure, a University of Michigan study [pdf] conducted in 2008 also showed that people’s attention and memory skills improved notably after a walk through a forested park. The authors argue that lush green spaces relieve the brain of the constant multi-tasking necessary to negotiate the crowded sidewalks and multiple stimulus of city streets. Like sleep, this restores the brain’s ability to focus and function effectively. Earlier this year the same team conducted a similar experiment with patients who suffered from severe depression. Here again participants experienced significant improvements in their level of wellbeing.
Relatively small changes to building and landscape design have been shown to have measurable effects. Even something as simple as access to natural lighting or views of outdoor trees have been shown to improve wellbeing and workplace performance. But an upcoming study in the Journal of Landscape and Urban Planning suggests that for full effect nothing beats settings that completely cut off our views of the surrounding city.
These don’t necessarily have to be immense parks. Even small green spaces if properly designed can provide the experience of being immersed in nature. (As it happens, even on a small scale natural spaces with denser canopy cover also significantly increase urban biodiversity.)
The exploding interest in green roofs, green walls, urban gardening, and natural infrastructure are all new avenues for weaving nature and the city closer together. Path-breaking work by Timothy Beatly at the University of Virginia provides an excellent look at these and other interventions. They all have multiple benefits that are relevant to everything from reducing urban heat islands to increasing air quality and food security. But the truth is that people are also just drawn to well designed natural spaces. And it seems we have good reason to be.
Another Take on “Green” Cities
Discussions of urban sustainability often become incredibly technical. But, fundamentally, what we are talking about is reshaping what has become our primary habitat: the city. In that process we can’t loose sight of the impact that living in cities has on us, in terms of our well being, sense of connection to each other and to the natural world that supports us.
As well as being efficient or having a low-carbon footprint green cities need to be places where people thrive. But saying that “trees are nice” isn’t very helpful when it comes to making planning decisions. The work around biophilia gives us another strong link between urban sustainability and human health.
It also raises some interesting questions. Parks are great, but what happens when you scale up? What would a biophilic city look like? Would it simply mean more tree canopy, more immersive parks, and greener bike and pedestrian routes? Or would it go beyond that to change the fabric of our streetscapes in more fundamental ways?
There’s a challenge implicit in the concept of biophilia. A challenge to design cities in ways that enhance our sense of self and our connection to the world around us. That’s a challenge worth taking seriously. What exactly cities would look like if we do is a wide open question.
image: SustainabilityMatters
Continue readingopenalex: Biophilic Cities: This is Your City on Nature
[I wrapped up last week getting into research on biophilia and biophilic cities. The post originally went up over at @SustainableCitiesCanada. The impact that lush green spaces have on us is impressive. Well beyond what I would have expected. It seems, according to comments on the original piece, that even
Continue readingopenalex: Biophilic Cities: This is Your City on Nature
[I wrapped up last week getting into research on biophilia and biophilic cities. The post originally went up over at @SustainableCitiesCanada. The impact that lush green spaces have on us is impressive. Well beyond what I would have expected. It seems, according to comments on the original piece, that even
Continue readingThings Are Good: Green Spaces Can Reduce Gun Violence
Countries and regions with a lot of gun violence may want to note that the simple act of providing more green space in urban areas can reduce gun-related crime. In the USA (ranked ninth globally for gun deaths per capita) researchers have found that converting unused lots into parks has
Continue readingBill Given: GP’s First BMX Park!
BMX Site To Be Ready By August
Construction on Grande Prairie’s first BMX bike park is set to begin Thursday.
Located west of the off leash dog park in the South Bear Creek section of Muskoseepi Park, the site was chosen for its high visibility, availability of space, and accessibility from park trails. It’s also adjacent to neighbourhoods and schools. The bike park will be completed in about three weeks.
“The BMX park was made possible by the generous support of Wapiti Gravel Suppliers which delivered and levelled over 10,000 cubic meters of soil and Genivar providing free design consultation, engineering and surveying services,” says Laurie Barry, Operations Manager at Muskoseepi Park.
“This is a community partnership driven by the local BMX enthusiasts who wanted something positive for youth to develop their interest in the sport and we are proud to add this facility to the park”
A ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open the facility is scheduled for Park’s 25th Anniversary event on the August long weekend.
Continue readingBill Given: GP’s First BMX Park!
BMX Site To Be Ready By August Construction on Grande Prairie’s first BMX bike park is set to begin Thursday. Located west of the off leash dog park in the South Bear Creek section of Muskoseepi Park, the site was chosen for its high visibility, availability of space, and accessibility
Continue readingBill Given: GP’s First BMX Park!
BMX Site To Be Ready By August Construction on Grande Prairie’s first BMX bike park is set to begin Thursday. Located west of the off leash dog park in the South Bear Creek section of Muskoseepi Park, the site was chosen for its high visibility, availability of space, and accessibility
Continue reading