New Urbanism Now to Avoid New Hermitism

Always willing to try something new, last Thursday The Cosmopolitan Charlestonian decided to attend a meeting on new urbanism. We jumped on our bikes and zipped over to 39 Rue de Jean, downtown Charleston, to pile into a room full of architects and town planners to enjoy an enlightening hour with the former Mayor of Milwaukee and current President, John Norquist, of The Congress for New Urbanism.

Feeling a bit like those lonesome island-like neighborhoods we’ve written about here, we found the presentation timely. Since giving up our Jaguar, we have become frustratingly aware of the bad design of our urban landscape and its complete reliance on the automobile. We wanted answers (and some hope) quick! Although we live downtown, our personal quest to crush our dependency on oil has segregated us from normal society in the same way any one of those gated communities sits – stranded, alone, miles of asphalt between you and it. Our friends are still part of normal society. And they live and party in those communities, tethered to the main artery by long, long roads, parkways, avenues and highways. And they still drive cars. Oh, how we miss them.

We made a choice. We kicked our car to the curb like an X (pick up Divorce Your Car by Katie Alvord when you get a chance). By Saturday night, that choice along with 50 years of urban sprawl caused us to miss our dear friend, Eddie Bush’s impromptu birthday party…a result of our damned global warming/peak oil/reduction of mass consumerism choice. And, of course, the party was, like, fifteen miles away, in a neighborhood on the outskirts of town with a bus line running no where close. So we immediately phoned a cab company, only to be told that a one way trip would equate to a Grand Total of $35.00 (plus we would tip another $7). Had our community been Newly Urbanized in the same fashionable manner the urbanist, forward-thinkers presented, we’d have been able to attend the party and would have been transported there on a reproduction electric trolley car. Who couldn’t just love this idea?

We’ve gotten around with no car and no trouble in cities like Amsterdam, London, New York, Washington D.C. and L.A. In Europe, even small cities (roughly the size of Charleston) offer wonderful public transit. The public transportation was so thorough and user-friendly in Jönköping and Huskvarna, Sweden, we even saw dogs on the bus sitting with their masters! In Amsterdam there are multiple lanes on every street - one for cars, one for electric street cars, one for buses, one for bikes and one for pedestrians. And they have giant bike parking garages! If you are an idiot and find yourself in the wrong lane, it is your own fault and people shake their heads in disgust while mumbling cruel Dutch words under their breaths. The New Urbanists appear to simply desire a return to the sensible architectural studies thrown away in a rebellion against two World Wars. Thus, the birth of Urban Sprawl, otherwise known as U.S. In car world there is little to be debated over with respect to urban design. However, the meeting did provide some hope for future connectivity.

The New Urbanist focus was on many of the issues we’ve already pointed out on this blog. Pedestrian unfriendly, disconnected neighborhoods segregated further by restrictive zoning laws have sprawled into a suburban nightmare reminding us constantly of James Howard Kunstler’s Eyesore of the Month. In most cases, this setup leaves anyone outside of a car subjected to a nice walk in the gutter (or over someone’s landscaping as we’ve pointed out in the past). America’s reliance on cheap oil, which is now obviously dwindling, has fueled more than just our vehicles – it has fueled an entire architectural movement toward big box theory flanked by giant parking lots devoid of human life. It’s no wonder the general population “looks down” upon those of us trudging over the beaten down footpaths carved into areas where a sidewalk should have been planned. We’re walking in gutters looking like we cannot even afford so much as an old klunker to deliver us to point B.

On a more positive note, we can fix this. A focus on infill development with a keen eye on urban design can save America from endless urban sprawl. Developers interested in green building must give great thought to the placement of their future buildings with rooftop gardens. There is no point in building green if the residents of said building must pollute for miles and miles driving to their new green homes. You too can join the Congress for New Urbanism for a mere hundred dollars. Their next presentation here in the States is to be held in Austin, Texas.

As far as the party, we hope to figure out additional alternatives for the future. Eddie – Happy Birthday! We hope you had a wonderful time and our thoughts were certainly on your special evening. We’re still figuring out the carless lifestyle. Cheers!

Jaguar vs. CARTA - Week One

Two days into using public transportation and all is well. Riding CARTA is an absolute pleasure. After years of isolation in our car, the morning rush hour now starts with a nice walk, just three minutes (timed) to the closest stop, then a leisurely read until being dropped off one minute from the office! Who knew?

On the ride home The Cosmopolitan Charlestonian was thinking, "why the hell didn't we do this sooner and invest all the money we have been dumping into a car all these years? What were we thinking?" Duhhhhh. Depreciating asset. How can something that depreciates be called an asset, anyway? This is one of those Econ 101 questions that continues to this day to stump us.

Do we miss the Jag? No. Not so much. Especially considering the following -
payment per month $350, insurance $90 per month, gasoline $125 per month, yearly taxes $23.33 per month, maintenance $30 per month. This all equates to a grand total of $618.33 per month. Were we seriously paying for this??? We will most certainly put this monthly total to a MUCH better use!

On a side note, a friend asked if we felt safe taking Charleston's public transportation system. We choose to answer this question with a question. How many people died in car accidents last year? And how many people got stabbed or shot on the bus going to work? Cursing the expansion of the Universe and consequential speeding up of time, we just don't have the spare moments to look these figures up. If anyone knows, please give a comment.

Curing the Oil Addiction - Converting to CARTA (Charleston Area Regional Transit Authority)

September 8, 2007 - The Cosmopolitan Charlestonian has long appreciated the adrenal experience of hugging a bend at 60mph, the aesthetically pleasing curves of an aerodynamic body and the control of all-wheel drive. Driving is a passion, and the feeling of it is continuously reinforced by the commercialized message surrounding each and every automobile ad. This is, in fact, a controversial issue because we have made the experience of driving, as well as what we drive, a part of our identity as Americans. The driving experience was sought by The Cosmopolitan Charlestonian, thus a new Jaguar X-type entered our lives as we chose a lease option for a five year period. Our term is now up. Today we turned in the car. We then ran for our lives as we crossed Savannah Highway to the number 30 CARTA bus line back home to Downtown Charleston.

The decision to convert to CARTA's public transportation system is huge for us being a one-car household in the first place. Yes, we have always been concerned with things like global warming and peak oil theory. After a lot of discussion, research, financial analysis and philosophical consideration we have come to the conclusion that our convenience and social status is not worth the progressive global catastrophic failure unfolding as a result of our oil consumption.

The Cosmopolitan Charlestonian began to examine at whose expense our personal convenience is made possible. We began asking ourselves the tough questions several months ago as our decision date neared. Is a convenient commute worth contributing to the starvation of an African whose land and clean water have been polluted by rusting pipelines sorely maintained by Shell Oil? Is the convenience worth overlooking the deteriorating conditions in BP's Alaskan pipelines, left to rust and corrode for miles before being shut down to make normal maintenance repairs? We pondered our right to simplify our lives by complicating an other's, be it man or animal, and gravely considered the Mother who has sacrificed her son to fight in the first energy wars of our time while the incompetent leaders of this country spin democracy and freedom into webs of deceit. We wondered how to have a voice during this critical moment in history when our American voices are being largely ignored. And last, we wonder what value can be placed on our convenience in a world faced with frightening global warming scenarios. Ultimately, for us, there is no resolve in continuing to maintain a lifestyle that contributes to so much suffering.

We've watched the boycotts against "big oil" run their course on the Internet every time gas prices spiked. These attempts to make a statement, or otherwise, put oil companies in their rightful place have been a bad joke and grossly misguided. One day of lost revenue can be pretty easily worked out on their balance sheets. Besides, the futures market sets the price, not the oil company. You might as well be angry at capitalism itself.

The Cosmopolitan Charlestonian believes it's time for personal action. Why must we wait for a dysfunctional government to tell us what to do? We are of reasonable intelligence and our Mommas taught us the difference between right and wrong. We've installed flourescent lighting in every fixture, and for the last two Spring/Summer seasons we challenged ourselves to make it past June 1st without running our A/C. Sure, we were slightly cranky near the end due to the Southern heat, but both seasons proved a success as we exceeded our goal by two weeks; still it just hasn't seemed to be enough.

Choosing to cure our personal oil addiction may be a tremendous challenge, but we're going to try anyway. Mr. Cheney, we don't mind compromising our lifestyle and will no longer allow you and your regime to manufacture our consent to the mass consumption of finite resources. We've traded in a Jaguar for a bus pass as we evaluate our personal moral dilemma and the true, and sometimes hidden cost of maintaining the American Dream.

Stick with us as we share our experiences utilizing our public transportation system in an attempt to make a positive change for ourselves and hopefully a few others.