Ron Eglash Home Page. Starting over: Rebuilding civilisation from scratch. 28 March 2011 by Bob Holmes The way we live is mostly down to accidents of history. So what if we thought it through properly? IN JUST a few thousand years, we humans have created a remarkable civilisation: cities, transport networks, governments, vast economies full of specialised labour and a host of cultural trappings.
It all just about works, but it's hardly a model of rational design - instead, people in each generation have done the best they could with what they inherited from their predecessors. Suppose we could try again. Redesigning civilisation is a tall order, and a complete blueprint would require many volumes, not just a few magazine pages - even if everybody agreed on everything.
Take cities, for starters. In many ways, the bigger cities are, the better. Of course, there are limits to a city's size. Big cities like London and New York have already solved the car problem by making driving so impractical that most residents use mass transit, or walk or cycle. City living. City Solutions. Lawn Reform Coalition: Environmental Issues.
No, not a meadow planted with the ubiquitous turfgrass used here in Florida, but a ten-year-old wildflower meadow located in the nation’s oldest city. The meadow is located on the grounds of this well-manicured club house in the neighborhood called St. Augustine Shores located next to the Intra-coastal Waterway--The Riverview Club. So how did this organization come to embrace a 19,000 sq. ft. wildflower meadow when in 2001 some detrators were worried the meadow would become "just a bunch of weeds"? It was the patience, persistence, and politeness of a dedicated group of volunteers. But support for the meadow has grown as meadow tours have educated the public about the beauties of a native wildflower meadow. Who are these volunteers? According to one of them, Gail Compton, “We now have about six regular volunteers that have been with the meadow for 10 years.
Next to another corner rail, the long-time resident of the meadow, a female gopher tortoise, makes an appearance. Welcome to 8 - 80 Cities -