Living High: The New Environmentalism
Posted by torbjornrive on February 28, 2008
This is a short post stemming from 1) this on twentyset; and 2) discussion last week with an ecologist I work with.
I have mixed feelings on condo living, lets get the negatives out of the way:
- Expensive – for the time being I am in no position to pay both a mortgage higher than my current rent, and condo fees (taxes). It’s possible you’re paying for quality (and only possible, because how much of that is snap-on building – full condos can be built within a year and a half).
- No yard – speaks for itself, less fun.
- Small space – has it’s upsides, that is; tidiness, efficiency.
…that’s all for now. The point of this post is the environmental efficiencies of living in a downtown condo or apartment:
- Smaller land impact per capita – the trend used to be expanding the suburbs. Copy-and-paste housing transferred to the subs. Urban sprawl. Looking at it from above, that’s 200 or so people per community taking up an ugly couple of square kms. Having that same 200 people live within one city block cuts down on the impact per capita. Note: there’s something negative to be said of the population density overall increase in downtown cores, but that’s what they’re there for: density and business – as long as the roads and infrastructure can keep up.
- Less driving – unless you’ve purchased a condo in the suburbs which (depending on your age and situation) is rather pointless, you’re driving less. In fact, like Monica had mentioned in her Twentyset post, you could sell your cars. You can walk, bus, or bike everywhere.
- Less consumption – all around less consumption: gas, things (lack of space), and general house up-keep.
So there it is, some ups and downs. The ‘greener’ these complexes market themselves as, the greener they probably are. If you can add the above-mentioned environmental efficiencies with solar and environmental architecture, you could have a very efficient, and in the long-run cheaper lifestyle. After that, it’s your own responsibility to be aware of power, water use, and waste.
Monica O'Brien said
Very nice… I agree, living in a condo has its downsides, but it seems to be generally better for the environment. I’ve also noticed many more “green-living” condo complexes going up in Chicago, so that point was spot-on.
----t h rive---- said
Exactly. There’s one development here that’s about to begin that’s all green this and that. I’ve blogged about it before, as they’ve recently had to sacrifice space (about 3 or 4 units) to build around a tree that became a sort of conservation monument. Friendly AND green, how ’bout that?!
Pete Murphy said
—-t h rive—-,
The subject of conserving space and reducing per capita consumption is perhaps the most important topic of our time. Virtually everyone agrees that it is necessary from an ecological perspective.
But no one stops to consider the following: when per capita consumption declines while productivity rises (as it always does), isn’t the inevitable consequence unemployment? How can we produce more while consuming less?
We can’t. I have pondered this topic for the last 15 years and just recently published a new book titled “Five Short Blasts: A New Economic Theory Exposes The Fatal Flaw in Globalization and Its Consequences for America.” To briefly explain this new theory, as population density increases beyond some optimum level, the need to conserve space begins to drive down per capita consumption. This effect collides with rising productivity, inevitably producing rising unemployment.
To make a long story short, there is only one solution that is sustainable from both an ecological and economic perspective – a smaller population, one that is at or below the optimum level which is admittedly difficult to define. But it has clearly been breached in far too many countries around the world.
If this subject is one that interests you, give my book a look. You can find it at my web site, OpenWindowPublishingCo.com. There you can read the preface for free. The book is also available at Amazon.com.
Pete Murphy
Author, Five Short Blasts
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