Sustainable cities and urban development

Hern, M. (2010). Sustaining Privilege: Portland, Oregon. Common Ground in a Liquid City:

Essays in Defense of an Urban Future. Edinburgh, AK Press Publishing & Distribution

What is the problem Hern seeks to address in this article? In other words, why does Hern say we should care?

Hern addresses the problem of what he calls "tidy affordability" -- namely the fact that sustainable cities are becoming so expensive to live in they are the luxury of only the very wealthy (Hern 2010:125).

How does he support the characterization of the problem or what kind of evidence does he give to demonstrate a problem? (Give one example and explain).

Hern offers a 'case study' of Portland, Oregon, a city much-beloved by hippies but which is also quite expensive.

Q3. What does Hern argue are the solutions to the problem?

Hern advocates more community ownership of property and affordable housing.

Q4. Describe one solution and discuss how it may or may not address urban sustainability.

Community Land Trusts are one way to encourage such common ownership -- organizations which work to extend more affordable housing to less affluent residents as well as promote community gardens and public places for all people to enjoy.

Q5. Based on your reading and in your own words describe why affordable housing may create more sustainable cities.

By creating a common investment in the city as a whole by all residents, not just the most affluent, citizens are encouraged to engage in more environmentally-sustainable efforts.

Q6. What is your reaction to Hern?

Hern identifies a problem I have often experienced as someone without unlimited disposable income -- sustainably raised meats and cheeses; Fair Trade coffee; clothes produced in an ethical fashion are all more expensive than their more generic incarnations.

Part 2: Paper style (1-2 paragraph)

Dawson, Jonathan. (2006). 2 So, What Do Ecovillages Look Like? In, Ecovillages: New

Frontiers for Sustainability. River White Junction: Chelsea Green Publishing Company. 21-36.

Q7. Your reaction.

Ecovillages aim to create "affordable, socially-inclusive, and eco-friendly" communities that all individuals can enjoy and participate in, not only the very wealthy (Dawson 2006: 33). Entire communities are structured to maximize natural and renewable resources such as solar heating. In the developed world such communities are planned by conscious design; in the developing world, existing indigenous ways of living close to the earth are deployed.

Dawson asserts that communities that share cars, garden tools, and common heating systems are both happier and environmentally-friendly (Dawson 2006:34). However, communal utopian communities have existed in the past -- and failed -- and the idea of sacrificing individual liberties, ownership, and privacy are not likely to be attractive to many people.

Part 3: Paper style (1-2 paragraph)

Homestead Community Land Trust. 2013. Become a Homeowner and About Homestead.

Homestead Community Land Trust. Website: http://www.homesteadclt.org/become-a-homeowner and http://www.homesteadclt.org/about-homestead

Q8. Your reaction

The Homestead Community Land Trust, according to its website "assists middle-income folks (80% of AMI and below) to purchase quality homes in the Seattle area, affordably, and keeps these homes affordable for future buyers, as well." In a city that his long reputed for being 'green' but which is notoriously expensive, this seems like a vitally important development.