Werner, Jake, re: Green Dubuque ltr
(08/15/2006) Jeanne Schneider - green Dubuque
Page 1
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"Jake Werner" <jakewerner@gmail.com>
<rdbuol@cityofdubuque.org>
08/15/2006 1 :24 PM
green Dubuque
cc: <amichalski@cityofdubuque.org>, <kbraig@cityofdubuque.org>, <rjones@city...
Dear Mayor Buol,
I was pleased to read Sunday's Telegraph Herald article about your
desire for a green Dubuque. I grew up in Dubuque and left to attend
college at Northwestern University. Since then I've lived in Beijing
and am now a PhD candidate at the University of Chicago.
Over the years, as I've made visits back to Dubuque, I've been
dismayed to see the development path chosen by city leaders. I guess
you could say I'm one of those young people you were talking about in
the article. Every year Dubuque looks more and more like anyone of a
thousand interchangeable suburbs and small cities across the country:
more roads, more traffic, more parking lots, more chain stores. That's
not environmentally sustainable, and that's not the kind of place I
want to live in.
The need for environmentally friendly buildings is urgent, and I'm
glad you're paying attention to it. But a "green" city needs more than
good building design - it needs good city design. It needs
high-density, mixed use commercial and residential areas where people
can walk or bike to do shopping and community activities. It needs an
efficient public transit system and bike-friendly roads. It needs
institutions that foster community instead of consumerism.
Despite the ugly car-centric, chain store sprawl that has only
accelerated since I left Dubuque ten years ago, in one way Dubuque
stands apart from all those soulless, cookie-cutter suburbs. Dubuque
has a beautiful, high-density downtown. City leaders have made a
terrible mistake in facilitating the so-called development spreading
to the west, but I have to give them credit for working to preserve
and revive downtown, Dubuque's greatest asset as a city. If we had
followed this model for the rest of the city, we would have a much
more sustainable and much more livable city.
BUilding a city with energy-efficient buildings that doesn't depend on
cars is an urgent environmental priority, but it's also a prudent step
in preparing for a future that doesn't look very friendly to fossil
fuels. The soaring demand for oil from China and India is putting
increasing pressure on global supplies that are expanding slowly and,
according to some experts, could actually start declining in the very
near future.
Right now Dubuque functions well when gas is less than $3/gallon, but
what if gas hits $5 or $8/gallon7 If we don't act now to end Dubuque'S
dependence on gas, we will face huge adjustment costs to make the
sweeping changes needed to adapt Dubuque to permanently higher gas
prices. According to Crain's Chicago Business weekly, the Chicago area
will lose 62,000 jobs even if the price of gas stays at only
$3/gallon. When people are forced to spend more on gas they spend less
on those things that support the local economy. This is hardly
surprising given Chicago's severe suburban sprawl - when there's no
(08/15/2006) Jeanne Schneider - green Dubuq~e
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public transit infrastructure and towns are too spread out to allow
walking or biking, there's no choice but to send your money to the oil
companies instead of the local economy. Dubuque should take this as a
warning.
Yet building a green city is about more than dollars and cents, it's
also about making a livable city. Chain stores and parking lots are
ugly and destroy a city's uniqueness. Neighborhoods without local
business or community space are better for driving through than living
in. Green building design often saves money, helps the environment,
and makes for better living and working spaces all at the same time.
I hope you'll keep these things in mind as you guide the city's
development. A sustainable city is also an efficient city and livable
city. Thank you.
Jake Werner
640 Lorimer, Dubuque
5509 S Everett, Chicago