and this is the third of the triptych. All three were purchased by one lady for her kitchen. It makes me happy they are all together. I can’t remember what I wrote on this one – something about “light-clay” houses, and cute piglets. I love drawing the animals on these. The trees and natural elements make the ideas hit home, but there is something about the animals that really make it feel great. I know that animals and cities have had a bad history. One just thinks of all the mess, and disease that has historically come from combining the two, but with all the technology and civilization there must be a way, in this age, to avoid these problems.
I have been thinking alot about human’s need to be connected to nature. I believe it is a need that has not really been taken seriously by urban planners in the past. Granted, our cities are designed around ideas from the industrial revolution, when it was critical to simply keep pollution separate from growing families. Also the role of the car and suburbia was paramount. Getting to and from work became the designing force behind our modern cities. And its true gardens were in there, but I feel there was a need for order and control over the environment. The driving idea was to be civilized versus wild and untamed, or to avoid resembling a tirelessly working farmer. Nonetheless, I feel, in Prairie cities the underlying need for a connection to nature has reared its head in the form of a back yard.
Back yards in this culture are coveted and revered. People love them and will not let them go without a fight. Don’t try to suggest an urban planning alternative that doesnt include them, it wont fly. And I think that is because people hold on to them because they provide for them a relationship with nature that is missing in the rest of the automobile, skyscraper, interchange filled world.
But. What I think is lost is the simple discussion of whether these backyards actually meet this need in the best way possible. If people are actually able to make that connection with nature through their backyards in a fulfilling and truly satisfying way. I think some people are able to, especially gardeners, and those who orient their houses and lives towards their yards. There is something to be said for a fenced space, in at least two situations – one being when you have small children, and the other being when you have neighbors that you don’t like.
The other side of the coin though, needs also to be considered. I am not sure that back-yard lovers realize that the planning density required for everyone in the city to have a backyard simply renders most public amenities almost impossible. A city that is primarily single family residences will never have decent public transit. It will never be truly walkable. The idea of walking to a local shop to buy groceries, to get a coffee, to meet friends at the park, is just not a reality for R1 communities. Plus, there are many design opportunities that are created when spaces are shared, such as wilderness areas, community greenhouses, neighborhood stone ovens, and recreational facilities. One of my least favorite experiences as a mom is towing my kids in and out of the car, trudging through windy, cold parking lots, and traffic jams. I wish I could find people walking around, going for coffee, and playing with kids in a park within walking distance of my house.
So gardeners like backyards, but what about the farmer-at-heart? People love animals. We need them. There is a beauty, knowledge and a wisdom that we need from being close to animals. Even more with large animals. We assume we need to be outside of populated areas to do this, perhaps that is so. But maybe we can be creative, intelligent and thoughtful in finding ways that the two worlds can come closer. If I could work at a greenhouse growing food for my community, have a beautiful flower garden, walk through natural wilderness paths to meet friends at a revolutionary urban farm, where my kids can meet and smell and work with animals, and collect eggs for our family…I think I would give up the need for my own fenced, lawn-mowed, private, mosquito ridden, back yard. Maybe others would too…
I have been drawing pictures to illustrate these ideas, and many more. I’ll keep posting them.
Sorry for the soliloquy. Thanks for reading.