A group studying transportation needs in Rhode Island has made a point that when considering future development, we need to be aware of how that might impact our environment – particularly in a state so densely populated.
An executive in a construction related industry agrees about concerns over the environment, but then asks that if we don’t encroach some on our pristine woodlands then where will they build housing for his children and others of their generation?
Out west, in Sedona, Arizona, where red rock mountains ring a 12,000 to 16,000 population community, a jeep driver complains that town officials are being swept up by development fever, concerned that at risk is some of the forest that stretches to the base of mountains that were once home to now lost Indian tribes.
In the arguments over a port at Quonset Point, the development of a technology park in Exeter, or dredging the upper bay, the tug and pull between development and environment is constant.
Even with the movements to reclaim old mills and other buildings we now classify at times as brownfields, there is still this lure to go beyond our suburbs to the less developed areas of our state – and country – and find ways to level woodland, replaced by housing developments or office parks.
There is nothing more peaceful than to listen to the sound of a bubbling brook, a cascading waterfall, or waves rolling in from the ocean. These are things we put central when talking about our quality of life here, and these are what we need to keep center stage as we view further development in our state.
The brownfields movement is an exceptional one, allowing us to reclaim old abandoned buildings and not only make them useful, but present them in such a way that they become attractive to most developers.
We have often said that our number one commodity in Rhode Island is our quality of life. But we don’t own that. There are many places around this country that can boast of a superior quality of life, be it the mountains, lakes or ocean.
But we do have a good quality of life here, and our challenge is to keep it that way. With an administration in Washington that appears less environmentally friendly than the last, the challenge will be that much greater. While we need to balance development needs with environmental concerns, it seems to us that when compromise seems impossible, then the environment should win.
When this earth was created, there were no high rise buildings, strip malls or housing complexes. These have been humankind’s gift to the earth upon which we live, necessary, of course, but an intrusion upon the environment nonetheless.
So it would be good that when we are faced with those wrenching decisions about whether to plow over a field to build a new strip mall, or to build elsewhere in areas more developed, maybe we should pause for a moment and simply listen to the wind.