I’ve heard that every time a door closes a window opens. My life experiences have taught me to be a firm believer.
For example, the weird world that is Covid, right now, at least in my mind, has opened a window of opportunity. An opportunity, now that we have been forced to take one step back, to pivot and ensure that our next step forward is one made with conscious thought about what kind of legacy we want to leave for our children and theirs.
This world that we have borrowed from them, because it is after all their future that we are currently caretakers of, seems to be shrinking in terms of sustainability. And since they, like us, currently only have the one planet on which to make their home, it makes sense that we don’t miss this window of opportunity to redirect, and aim for a world that can sustain our future generations.
This year, unlike any other in my lifetime, has demonstrated that yes, many people can work from home, responsibly and productively, resulting in large numbers of vehicles off the road – saving money and reducing pollution.
It has shown us that we truly need our outdoor spaces, parks, and trails, more than we ever knew – as alternatives to indoor entertainment, and for health, both physical and mental.
Issues with supply chains have resulted in the realization that we can live just fine without quite so much stuff, and most of what we really do need can be obtained locally.
The lack of availability of certain foods-from-afar has taught us the importance of our farmlands, farmers markets, and CSAs. That the selection at the family-owned local grocery store is enough, and that we really don’t need to be standing overwhelmed in the aisles of a big box store in the closest “big city”.
Maybe it is time we asked our governments to stop paving over farmland with more highways and to invest in rapid (GO) transit. To demand future communities that are compact and built walking distance from transit hubs. To ask employers to agree to work-from-home arrangements for at least part of the week.
Maybe it is time for houses to be built smaller and therefore more affordable, so our adult children and our parents can remain in the communities they have enjoyed and invested in for decades, and wish to stay.
Maybe it is time for existing towns and villages to be redesigned and prioritized for people and pedestrians rather than cars, so they are safe and walkable, and facilitate shopping local and connecting as a community.
Maybe this is one window Covid has opened that we should jump through before it closes.
This week the Ontario Greenbelt Alliance caught my eye when they launched a program called My Green and Just Recovery to “stop sprawl-style development and bring more lands into the protected Greenbelt as part of government COVID-19 recovery plans.”
Maybe that is a place to start.
Just sayin’
