Greenscaping
It is very refreshing to feel a breeze, especially indoors. We recall the time when houses were made of natural materials and there was plenty of open space.
Greenscaping is the preservation and conservation of nature and its effective integration in city life.
The temperature in the city rose as more people came to live here for education, work, commerce and entertainment. High consumerism and lack of controls on forest use made us look for alternatives to wood.
Air-conditioning became fashionable and when lavish use of it contributed to global warming, green architecture was born.
With globalization, every city begins to look alike. Global brands and global trends are seen everywhere. Local cultures are disappearing. People are caught in the sea of ever-growing technology.
Journalist-visionary Richard Louv has written about the “nature-deficit disorder.” Young boys today for example would rather spend time on computers than fly kites or go nature trekking.
The writer Louv suggests that we take steps to expand our senses, reignite our sense of awe at the wide expanse of beauty around us. He asks to replace shopping centers with parks and connections to wildlife corridors. He is calling us to tap nature’s power to calm and focus our minds and to improve our physical and spiritual well-being.
Green and sustainable cities practice urban farming, even urban chicken raising. They plant on their roofs, walls and backyards.
There is a trend to dedicate an amount of green roo f and walls equivalent to or corresponding to a good portion of the land occupied by a building or house.
Along with daylighting and natural ventilation, and stormwater treatment systems, we are in critical need of connecting with the natural world.
The search for alternative and renewable sources of energy and their development will accelerate.
We also examine possibilities for interlocking open and closed spaces, like the use of movable walls to delineate public and private spaces depending on the weather. This is to maximize openness to nature and its healing effect.
Our efforts to preserve nature include building structures that have rich, multipurpose spaces adaptable to future needs.
Another way to bring nature back to the city is to use natural materials in construction. We are finding ways to combine technology and local
materials.
How to deal with pollution and environmental damage is bringing together professionals and concerned citizens. The city as victim of uncontrolled growth and development will provide the answers.
As I said in the previous column, the last century saw rapid growth. This century is beginning to see shrinkage in population as nations have dropping birth rates, and in soil erosion due to rising sea levels.
The city receives energy and materials to operate and after so much time it reaches the point of exhaustion. The human body also reaches the end of its materiality in death.
This brings to mind the need to green our cemeteries, if we want to be close to nature. Whether in personal or family graves, the human spirit is edified if the surroundings are planted and look alive.
We ask God for forgiveness for the damage we have done to the beautiful work of His hands.
For comments or inquiries, e-mail [email protected].
