I often meet friends and colleagues on these walks. As usual, the weather is the first thing we talk about.
On my way back home I went grocery shopping. I found myself thinking about jam but I did not buy any. I don't need the sugar and do not like sugar substitutes. Jam can be a healthy food (and a small business - more about that on another day).
Besides the weather, there has been considerable discussion around town about the city's future. My sense is that no matter where you live, people are concerned about the future, in particular the economic future.
Here in Thunder Bay, on the North Shore of Lake Superior, tourism plays a major role in the thinking of most of the individuals and organizations who will have a say in the city's development. While I believe that tourism, especially ecotourism, plays an important role, it is not a panacea for poor economic planning.
When we begin to develop a plan for a city, we need to develop a vision of what that city should look like and all too often we pay too little attention to Nature and green spaces as we begin the urban planning process. We compound this oversight by not paying sufficient, if any, attention to food security issues.
For example, we build roads and railways so that food can be transported to the city but we don't plant apple or other fruit trees in our parks or other community spaces.
Planning is carried out, as though, it was acceptable for people to go hungry or that it is perfectly acceptable for food to travel thousands of miles to reach our tables. If the planners were intent upon creating Healthy Cities then they give some thought to incorporating community gardens, common spaces and livestock into the planning process.
I and several others have recently formed the Urban Forest Working Group so we can address the social economic benefits of the Urban Forest.
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