The Ecopolitan

Farewell but not Good-bye

Last year out of the blue, Green Guide founder Wendy Gordon contacted me about writing for the website. She had read my recently published Great Neighborhood Book, and inquired whether I'd like to chronicle what's new with green city projects. My task was to write about initiatives all over the world that make urban communities more sustainable and livable.

I jumped at the chance. Together with Green Guide's Seth Bauer and Paul McRandle, we came up with the idea for the Ecopolitan blog you now see before you. There could not have been a more opportune moment in history to start tracking this subject, as rising gas prices and mounting concerns about global warming prodded people across North America to think more seriously about how to help save the planet in their own communities.

Since December, it's been my pleasure to share exciting news: shopping malls being revamped into suburban downtowns; the hot new trend in transportation (your own two feet); small towns in England, Wisconsin and Missouri taking aim at global warming; urban rivers in Korea, Denmark and L.A. being liberated from their culverts; high-speed rail being introduced to the Americas (in Argentina).

I've divulged my own tips for bicycling in freezing weather learned through many winters of commuting here in Minneapolis, and demanded that every lake and river in America ought to offer local folks a place to swim--which is not just a nice idea, it's federal law as set down in the 1972 Clean Water Act.

This is the last installment of the Ecopolitan on the Green Guide--but it's not the end of my writing. I'll continue to advocate and crusade on this important topic. The Ecopolitan opened up a wonderful world of uplifting and important innovation to me, which I will continue to write about on my own website as well as on The Huffington Post, On the Commons, Project for Public Spaces--and, I hope in the near future, new sites here at National Geographic.

Stay in touch: Jay@JayWalljasper.com.

© The Green Guide, 2008

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