“If the future is going to be greener, then it must be more urban. Dense cities offer a means of living that involves less driving and smaller homes to heat and cool. Maybe someday we’ll be able to drive and cool our homes with almost no carbon emissions, but until then, there is nothing greener than blacktop.”
-Edward Glaser, Triumph of the City
March 31, 2012, New York: I recently read both Edward Glaser’s Triumph of the City and David Owen’s Green Metropolis. They both make the case that city living is a wise environmental choice — both argue that city dwellers tendencies to live small, walk more, and reuse spaces we already occupy rival choices to head for the hills in order to live an environmentally friendly lifestyle.
Still, city dwellers yearn for the green spaces and breaths of fresh air so readily available out there in our natural landscapes. Lucky for them, there are more and more efforts to bring the outdoors in to the urban equation.
I think about these initiatives this afternoon as we make our first visit to Manhattan’s massive recycling project known as the High Line.
This is 
March 25, 2012, Washington, DC: Wouldn’t a bike lane through the trees look amazing here? Do you think that house would look even more charming painted yellow? What would improve that plaza over there? Picnic tables? Landscaping? A flower stand? There are lots of us out there, people always imagining something new.
