Santa Fe Planning Commission: Group booed after hearing delayed

This article and the comments on it from the Santa Fe New Mexican sound all too familiar to those of us engaged at the local level on issues related to the environment (particularly related to our pertroleum-dependent economy and communities) and economic or social diversity.

The American Dream of a detached house with a multi-car garage and surrrounded by heavily-watered lawns didn’t make much sense fifty years ago, and makes even less sense today with oil at $75 per barrel. But, those who still believe in preserving their slice of the Dream still fight for an unsustainable lifestyle. Although some may trivialize these folks as having a NIMBY or drawbridge mentality, we should look closely at their very fundamental conservative ideology and activism.

  • A deep denial of the unsustainability of the suburban lifestyle and of the environmental damage it causes.
  • A clear rejection of economic diversity within a city, even if only in the limited form of “affordable housing.”
  • A dismissive Fox News or AM radio talk-show style of political dialogue.

Too often progressives appear to focus on international and national issues, forgetting the struggles on our blocks, in our neighborhoods, and in our ciities.

To learn more about land use issues and their impact on the environment, check out the Sierra Club’s Challenge to Sprawl Campaign. To get an integrated persepctive on inclusionary zoing from the perspective of both non-profit and for-profit home builders, you might be interested in On Common Ground-Joint Principles on Inclusionary Housing Policies.

…and then attend the next meeting of your local Planning Commission.