Conviviality

Last week I went up to Sonoma, CA to check out the Tuesday evening market.

Every single person I spoke with in the Valley about my Master’s program final research project said that I needed to come to a Tuesday market if I really wanted to know what Sonoma was all about. The market is ending in a couple of weeks for the season, so time was of the essence and the weather forecast said I should go this week while it was still nice out.

The Tuesday market is a market for the locals, I sat and watched groups of people wander onto the plaza, greet another group, only to then split apart and greet others as they arrived. The standard items to carry included a chair, a cooler or basket, and of course, a wine glass. People found a spot to set up on the grass in the plaza, said hi to those around them, spent some time wandering through the market to pick up items not brought from home, and settled in to listen to the live music and catch up with friends.

The requisite groups of small girls in swirly dresses were dancing, twirling, and tumbling in the center of the lawn under the watchful eyes of the performers and members of the community gathered there. The packs of children running freely through the plaza, playing and screeching with delight provided a colorful counterpoint to the chit chatting adults. Groups of teenagers were scattered throughout the plaza; some with skateboards, some trying to look like the latest magazine page, some with brightly colored hair, and all in packs. The only difference from when I was in one of those packs was that now they have cell phones. The calls from mom asking what you are up to are harder to avoid now.

Happily, most of the people I talked to at least appeared to be interested in why I was there. Only one gentleman suggested that I come back on the weekend to see the town really hoppin’ or maybe I would like to go to a place off the plaza where tourists usually go. I tried not to take it personally. Having been to a weekend event in the same plaza, I could feel the difference in ‘vibe’. Both had music, wine, food, artwork, and plenty of people hanging out, but this one felt more relaxed, like people were coming out of hiding in order to enjoy what they liked best about living in that small town.

If you go: this market is held on Tuesdays in April through October starting around 5:00pm until dark on the central plaza in front of City Hall. Expect an assortment of fresh produce, as well as some gift/personal items and things to eat; if it is an election year, you might see a politician or two wandering about, shaking hands. Look for Sonoma, CA on the vendor's sign to be sure you are 'eating local'. Bring a chair and something to drink with your purchases. Sit and listen to the live music and soak in the atmosphere of the place.

Enjoy!

But I do try...

I am not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I do try to consider the impact of the things I do. One thing that I have been trying to get better at this year is to use my own bags when I shop. Not that long ago, I would only see a few people (hippies!) carrying their own canvas bags into the health food store or at the farmer's market. Now more and more people show up at main stream stores toting their own bags. Many stores have signs at the door as a reminder to shoppers and some offer a discount or raffle entry for customers that use their own bag.

Plastic shopping bags are forever; according to scientists that know about how this all works, they take many centuries to degrade. There are so many plastic bags flying and floating around our planet right now, they are one of the most common items found during litter clean ups, right up there with cigarette butts. In order to curb this flow of plastic, several cities in the state have recently enacted plastic bag bans with several others considering putting them in place. This is a trend that is starting to gain momentum, and if widely adopted across the country, could mean millions fewer plastic bags making their way into landfills, waterways, and open spaces.

I can hear the outcry with all the reasons why you need those bags. "I need plastic bags for diapers/dog poo/trash can liners", "I use paper bags for collecting my recycling/sort newspapers", but I'll bet we can all live with fewer of them laying around. Personally, I've found that since I get a plastic bag on my newspaper every day, I can save those and use them for my dog walking duties. I use a paper bag in my recycling station, but empty the bag into the bin and use it several more times (sometimes for a couple of weeks) before it goes into the curb bin itself. This has led to the realization that I should bring bags (and egg cartons) back to re-use at the farmer's market and that I should probably start to consider all the bags I get from places other than the grocery store.

In reality this is something fairly easy for everyone to do. I found the hardest part of using my own bag was remembering to take it back to my car after I had unloaded the stuff into my house. This was eventually solved by making it a point to hook them onto the door so that they were in the way the next time I went to leave. Also, I always have a small nylon bag rolled up in whatever purse I am carrying for those small purchases that come up as you are out and about in the world. Of course some of this could be solved by stores adopting the European model of charging for any bag you use. I still have a paper bag that I paid for in a Swiss grocery store that has been used within an inch of its life. I paid for it, I'm going to get my nickel's worth! This model would have to be adopted widely and consistently and would probably need a large scale public education program to support the change.

There are so many other things that you can do, but if we all try to start with this one simple thing in Twenty-Ten, we can slow the avalanche of thin, plastic bags around this big blue marble of ours. Let's all try.

The Social City

The town of Waldkirch sits on the banks of the river Elz in Baden-Wuttemberg, Germany. As a member of the Citta Slow organization, the city has worked hard to promote its people and products in the region. Along with a shared vision of empowering all its citizens young and old, Waldkirch has a goal for all to live and work ecologically. Power is provided by a utility company formed by the town which allows it to be more efficient in its use of renewable energy sources and new building is centered within easy walking and/or biking distance or near public transit hubs.

The Rote Haus Community Center provides a gathering place for all generations by offering clubs, classes and fun activities for all ages. Assistance in learning German, finding housing, jobs and most other social services can also be found at the facility. The team working there respects the individuals that they serve; operating under the assumption that each person has a skill and talent that can be leveraged. In 2009 the WABE network, one of the many private/public social programs Waldkirch supports; won a European Enterprise Award for its success with integrating unemployed members of the community into the workforce.

The children of Waldkirch benefit from an all day school program developed by Headmaster Thomas Kanstinger at the Kastelberg Schule. The three principals that guide the school's educational approach are as follows:

• Support and develop the child holistically
• Develop confidence in the children and fun in learning
• Individuality as created within a framework of rules and guidelines

Unlike other schools in the area, children attend school all day and are taught using a more holistic approach. Learning soft skills are just as important as traditional subjects and these lessons are integrated to ensure that what is learned can also be applied.

Waldkirch is most well known for the manufacture of Barrel Organs and as part of the city's efforts to keep old traditions alive, has a museum and a tri-annual festival dedicated to the history and culture of these fun machines. The tradition of these organs and the supporting industries lead to a high participation in music education in the community. The oldest city run music school is located here!

Because of a relatively stable leadership - Richard Leibinger has been the mayor since 1983! - the city of Waldkirch has been able to execute a vision of social equity that is held up as a model for others to adopt. They have shown that by respecting each individual they can successfully integrate everyone into this community.

The Green City

Freiburg im Breisgau is located in the southwest corner of Germany in the Black Forest, approximately 25 miles from the French border. The city is a university town and as such is filled with a well informed citizenry. Most people know the city of Freiburg for leadership in the field of environmental sustainability, specifically alternative energy sources. In addition to all the policy, research, development and manufacturing done in Freiburg, the city plays host to 'solar tourists' from all over the world and is the home of the International Solar Energy Society, a not for profit group that "supports its members in the advancement of renewable energy technology, implementation and education all over the world."

This city promotes environmental sustainability and has offered incentives to the residents to update older buildings with the latest technologies. The city core has been closed to automobile traffic since 1973 when the unique 13th century water channels, or Bächle, were reopened for all to use. The fresh water that runs rapidly along the sides of the walkways provide a fun place to cool off after a long walk through the city or a hard day at school.

Cobblestone streets and walkways have been restored to their former state with modern touches in order to accommodate necessary parking signage.

Before I left the United States I read an article in the New York Times about the Vauban neighborhood in Frieburg. We were fortunate enough to get a guided tour from one of the City Planners that had worked with the neighborhood and knew it quite well. The neighborhood operates as a car free zone with most needs being met within a short walk, bike or tram ride. Energy is generated for the majority of the homes and businesses by solar stations and heat is provided by a central plant that burns wood chips harvested (sustainably of course) from the nearby Black Forest. It is an upscale neighborhood full of row houses and green spaces for children to play. Their challenge will be to shift built resources to accommodate an aging population if those residents decide to stay in place as the young children grow up and move on.

Even the tram lines were treated as a greenbelt which is a great way to manage run off water as we got to witness live and in person during the morning's downpour.

The second neighborhood we toured was Rieselfeld; a former 'sludge farm' or sewage processing area. When the city decided to develop the land, they discovered that minimal clean up was required making it a much less expensive place than originally thought. By cleaning up the top few meters of topsoil, the city was left with a blank canvas on which to plan a new neighborhood. Most buildings were constructed in such a way that they could be transformed to meet the needs of a changing population. As the residents age, schools can become office space or senior centers and open space is good for everyone.

The plan called for 50% of the housing to be available as social (or affordable) housing, but as the neighborhood was executed they found that the demand was not quite as high as they originally thought. Some of the zoning was changed to accommodate row housing instead. Similarly to the Vauban neighborhood, the housing is connected by a network of green space and two-thirds of the acreage was converted to a nature preserve for all the residents to enjoy. While this neighborhood is much larger (about double the number of residents as the Vauban) they seem to have done a better job accommodating all ages, incomes and family types. The City Planner that led the tour through this area said that there was housing for both seniors and disabled people in the neighborhood as well as 25% of the housing considered affordable.

The Rieselfeld neighborhood contains goods and services for its residents, including a school and culture center. Near the central plaza a gym was constructed under a hill in order to preserve the green space for everyone to use and enjoy. This also helps with storm water run-off along with green roofs and more green tram-ways. One of the final open corner lots (there are two) is being held for a grocery store to anchor the neighborhood. In most cases in the United States, it is the developer that needs to make their investment back who owns that land. They may build whatever makes the most money whether it is the 'right' decision or not. In this case, the city both owns the land and has the resources to be patient and wait for the right development.

The residents all pitch in to keep the area nice looking and trash free. Public areas are adopted by families or buildings, planted and decorated according to what they think will look nice. Most are filled with lavendar, rosemary and other greenery. The one below had a nice collection of painted stones around its border. Each courtyard is managed cooperatively by residents of the buildings that surround it with a mandatory play area for any children.

Finally, where the neighborhood meets the nature preserve, the tram track curves around the last building on the block and returns to central Freiburg, stopping and starting at each kiosk to deposit its load of men, women and children within a short walk of their final destination.

Just another day in the Green City.

The oldest...

Approximately 2500 years ago; the Romans built a baptistry in the place now called Riva San Vitale. The builders used local stone laid in a square shape at the foundation eventually progressing to an octagon as the building went higher. Today this buidling stands as the oldest Christian monument still in existance in Switzerland.

The building contains a monolithic baptismnal font carved out of a single block of store and was installed about 800 years ago. It is just over 6 feet across and it sits smack dab in the middle of the small building. Look underneath and you can see an octagonal immersion font set into the ground.

Part of the original floor - black and white marble set in a rosette pattern - is still there. The literature says that the floor has been raised at least four times since the baptistry was originally built. There are also several frescos still in the building. Two were removed to the adjacent parish church, but others have been partially restored in place. A small apse currently contains a modern alter. Peer down the wall to the left or right of the alter and you will be rewarded by the sight of the original foundation wall.

All this history is located directly across the street from us. The church bells wake us up at 7am (and every hour on the hour since we've been here). Since I have been here I am learning that despite the history, there are those that do not always support preserving these old things from the past. The main point seems to be if we preserve the very old at the expense of the new, who is to say that in five hundred years we will not wish that we had preserved something that we thought was 'throw away' just because it was a more modern building.

(images courtesy of the world wide interweb)

Zürich the Gartencity

This summer, the town of Zürich will be more lush than usual with more than 300 enormous decorated pots placed throughout the city. The pots will display over 30 different types of plant species. Visitors can admire the designs on the huge pots and learn about the different types of plants from placards as they stroll along the mapped route. City leaders have said that this display goes along with the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of the city; specifically appealing to people’s love of the environment. Chicago had cows*, San Francisco had hearts, Berlin had the Buddy Bears* and now Zürich has some huge decorated pots to attract visitors and locals to the streets downtown.

* city list nowhere near complete

(image courtesy of gARTencity Zürich website)

Span

In the background

In keeping with last week's theme...

Resting

Birdies

There has been a herring spawn in the Bay this week...

So. Many. Seagulls.

Sunny!

Foggy

Frosty

Hiding

Mustard Greens

Fingers

No More Raking!

After the storm

Only a few limbs down in the yard...

It looks warm here