Welcome to ...scale down. It's truly a pleasure to have you here."...scale down" is a response that few people consider nowadays. Here in 21st century Western Society, when "growth" equals prosperity, anything else - by default - equals decline. It's a mantra that is repeated so often that it has become truth. With respect to the community of Windsor, Ontario, the ...scale down blog seeks to determine whether the ideals of growth holds the promise of prosperity that it's cheerleaders say it does.
Windsor's future is too important to leave in the hands of a government whose vision is limited to getting re-elected in four years. Our history has shown that short term gain equals long term pain. Today we find ourselves mired in a monoculture of hemorrhaging industrial jobs and an evaporating tax base inadequately being used to fill the money pits of ever expanding road networks leading to unsustainable suburban sprawl. As a community we rally against a heavy-handed border solution being imposed upon us, yet we are akin to the proverbial boiling frog when it comes to the effects of our quest for the newest, shiny acquisition.
So now it's time for our community leaders to add a new term to their repertoire ...scale down. By scaling down our drive to grow for the sake of growing, we will in turn strengthen our community. (Organisms in a natural environment do not grow in perpetuity. At some point in their existance they reach their limit to growth and start to mature and strengthen) By redirecting the millions of dollars we're allocating to auto-centric infrastructure, we can invest in welcoming, pedestrian-scaled walkable neighbourhoods. By scrutinizing our current fixation on Big-Box retail development being built on agricultural greenfield sites, we will reinvest in our locally owned Mom-And-Pop stores that keep our wealth right here in Windsor where it belongs.
So that is the purpose to this blog. It is my first, and I hope it eventually compares favourably to the rest of it's brethen in Windsor's established blogville. Please be patient with me as I settle into a routine. Jump in when you want and we can start to build an urban-design idea-factory that can shed a little light for our elected officials and misguided administration. Yet, the devil is in the details, and I can't wait to see where this ride takes us.
Thanks for reading...
Chris
