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What if cities helped to restore nature, rather than
destroying it? What if most of what we needed day-to-day were within
easy walking and cycling distance, we grew our food on nearby plots,
lived amongst trees and birds, and our children could play freely
outdoors? What if we knew our neighbors, bringing the advantages of
village life to the city? Is it only a dream, or could ecocities make it
happen?
Our current cities are disastrous for the environment,
but beyond that, they are unfriendly to human life as well. People live
amidst intense noise and air pollution. Simply crossing a street may be
the most dangerous thing we do each day. As a result, our children have
no chance to play outdoors, and we withdraw into our own lives, not even
knowing the residents of our own building.
But life in cities needn’t be like that.
By making our cities more compact, we can leave more
space for nature. By putting our homes, workplaces, schools, hospitals,
and shops close by, we can greatly reduce the need to travel, and thus
reduce air and noise pollution, danger, and the use of space for cars
rather than people.
When people move about by foot and cycle rather than car,
they gain needed exercise, and perhaps even more important, get to know
the others in their neighborhood—so that once again we can live in
communities.
When people travel by foot and cycle, our streets needn’t
all be wide; we can gain far more space for other uses. By clustering
our buildings and reducing the gap between them, we regain space that
can be used for farming and left to grow wild again—reintroducing trees,
creeks, ponds, and nature into our cities.
Imagine eating garden-fresh food and pond-fresh fish,
sold by a neighbor and friend. Walking to work, while your children
study within a 10-minute walk away. Eating lunch in a cafeteria with
office workers, school children, and housewives. Sleeping soundly
through the night undisturbed by horns.
But the biggest beneficiaries of all will be children.
They will be able to study without disturbance from car horns. They will
be independently mobile, able to walk or cycle safely to school and
other destinations. They will be able to play outdoors with friends. In
an ecocity, not only will they live healthier lives, but happier ones
too.
It may all sound like a dream, but together we can make
it a reality. There is no reason why we should continue to allow our
cities to destroy our health, environment, economy and happiness.
Together, let’s work on building something better—cities for people that
restore our environment and bring joy to our lives.
WBB Trust and HealthBridge are working together to
develop and support the concept of ecocities in Bangladesh, and are
collaborating with students of Urban and Regional Planning at the
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) to create
ecocity designs.
By combining the concepts of young planners and utilizing
the initiatives of developers, Bangladeshi cities can be converted into
pleasant, livable environments.
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