While I agree with many of the solutions for alleviating urban sprawl
in "Twelve Gates to the City" (May/June), many will not truly
work unless we ameliorate racial tension. Does it not strike anyone as
odd that suburbs are overwhelmingly white, whereas inner cities are overwhelmingly
black? Or that the degree of white/black segregation in most U.S. cities
has remained alarmingly high despite desegregation and subsequent open-housing
laws? Indeed, the urban-sprawl phenomenon has such a strong racial component
that sociological literature has deemed it "white flight." Edward Morris Austin, Texas
I found the articles on livable cities informative, but noted the absence
of any discussion of overall population size. New York and Los Angeles
will never be among the more livable U.S. cities; they are simply too big.
People don't like to be crowded, nor do they enjoy spending an hour or
more getting to work each day. This sets limits. I would suggest that you
add one thing to your dozen ways to build livable urban areas: implement
a national policy that ends U.S. population growth. Philip Cafaro Brookline, Massachusetts
The examples of new and sensible land development mentioned in "Twelve
Gates to the City" are likely to remain isolated exceptions unless
we can also alter national tax and spending policies that favor consumption
over investment, automobiles over public transit, and mobility over local
cohesion. Furthermore, it is a nationwide economic system that promotes
Kmarts at the expense of mom-and-pops, making sprawling cul-de-sac housing
tracts more profitable for developers than clustered self-sufficient neighborhoods
connected by mass transit and offering few incentives for existing communities
to responsibly control their own gradual outward expansion. By all means
tell us about local exceptions, but be at least as concerned with the fundamental
national policies behind the continued spread of auto-dependent urban sprawl
across America. Drew Keeling Berkeley, California
Your "Livable Cities" issue was hopelessly naive about the
enormously powerful economic and political forces creating sprawl. The
literature of the design professions has been filled with similar articles
for years. Yet the "livable cities" problem keeps growing. The
way for the Sierra Club to be effective in this field is to apply its unique
strength--a very different approach to change from that of the design profession.
Faced with a challenge, we analyze the underlying science, the industries,
the laws, the power, and the complex human decisions that create the problem--and
find real alternatives. Then we identify and mobilize for the battles that
will truly make a difference. Robert L. Hart New York, New York
Sierra Club Sprawl Campaign Chair Tim Frank replies: "Twelve Gates
to the City" was a primer on urban design. The Club's "Sprawl
Costs Us All" campaign, on the other hand, is working to build broader
awareness of sprawl's underlying causes and of its consequences-social,
environmental, and economic. We are building an integrated campaign that
addresses local, state, and federal policies.
ON FOOT
Accolades to Alan Thein Durning for his cogent "Pedestrian Paradise"
(May/June). Owing to impaired eyesight, I have had to eschew private transportation
for years--hence discovering the genuine joy derived from long-distance
perambulations. I'm not like the tailless fox in the fable, wishing all
foxes were without tails for my own solace. With the knowledge that every
car on the road belches its own weight annually in carbon, the peripatetic
alternative has manifest appeal. William Dauenhauer Wickliffe, Ohio
SMALL PRICE TO PAY
I disagree with Robert Fullerton that organic food is out of reach for
the average middle-class family ("Letters," May/June). Choosing
a diet lower on the food chain (for example, meat, fish, or poultry only
twice a week), will reduce grocery bills, as meats are costly. This would
allow money for the more expensive organic fruits, vegetables, and grains.
If one is not inclined to change eating habits, selecting these higher-quality
food items costs at most $25 a week extra for a family of four. This seems
like a small price to pay for a healthier body and planet. Laura E. Roll Ashland, Oregon
After reading Robert Fullerton's letter, I feel that I have to respond.
It is very disturbing when people decide that nothing will change, especially
regarding the availability of organic foods. My question for the people
who feel helpless in these situations is: what have you done to make things
change? How many times have you gone to your supermarket manager and asked
for more healthful and organic foods? Have you changed your diet in such
a way as to minimize purchases of foods made by agribusiness conglomerates?
Have you written your legislators about your concerns for the environment
and how chemicals affect the food supply? Have you contacted organic-food
manufacturers to find out about mail order, where local retailers are,
or how to get local stores set up as retailers? Everyone has the power
to help change the world for the better. We just have to realize that we
can. Todd Mizenko Yardville, New Jersey
CORRECTIONS AND AMPLIFICATIONS
Point Reyes National Seashore covers 100 square miles, not the larger
figure we mentioned in our May/June issue. Stuart Cowan is a co-author
of Ecological Design, along with Sim Van der Ryn.
Sierra welcomes letters from readers in response to recently
published articles. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Write
to us at 85 Second St., Second Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105-3441; fax
(415) 977-5794; e-mail: sierra.letters@sierraclub.org.
