“Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. It is up to us.” – Carl Sagan
The planet we’ve inherited cannot support our speed of urbanization as we continually expand and push our boundaries. Buildings get bigger, skyscrapers become more sky scraping and highways serve as a metaphor for the breakneck speed of our information highways. We have the increasing need for immediacy as our lives emulate our highways.
There are over 7 billion people on the planet, and from a distance we more or less resemble an ant colony; hurridly building immense structures that display our dominance over nature. This is the new environment that we’ve shaped for ourselves: the tallest trees are made out of steel and glass, our paths are paved with concrete and our rivers twist and turn at our will as we are carried along by its current.
We will continue to build. We will continue to expand and manipulate our environment. But despite the damage we have been inflicting on the planet for over a century, the city is our masterpiece. In 2008, more than half of the world’s population lived in cities and this percentage of urban density will only continue to grow. Due to their population density, cities allow many conveniences that are not afforded to those living in more rural areas. Grocery stores, recreation centers and entertainment venues are generally all within walking distance that allows for more freedom, since no one is restricted by the parameters of car ownership. Cities are really greatbut we must keep in mind the price we continually pay for greatness. Human progress has a profound environmental impact. We’ve recently witnessed this, as we’ve seen the effects of global warming via strange temperature changes. It’s human nature to want to continually self-improve and we show that tendency through our cities. But we need to find a compromise between our innate need for advancement and our obligation to protect the only home we have.
This article was written by Kelly Price, and originally appeared on the Urban Times.
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