Urban Pastoral: Taking the city to the suburbs
Like the road to hell, the American Dream was paved with good intentions. Once the automobile put the horse out to pasture, settlements sprawled across the wide-open landscape, manifesting destiny with each white picket fence. Land and housing went from community to commodity. Then along came Jed.In November of 2002, Jed Selby, then 24, pulled into the tiny town of Buena Vista, Colorado, which sits in a river valley protected on all sides by mountains, smack-dab in the middle of the state. It's warm for its high altitude and used to be famous for its lettuce-Buena Kist-back in the 1800s. Now it's an Old West town known for little except not sitting at the foot of a ski mountain. But Selby, a professional white-water freestyle kayaker, wasn't looking for a ski mountain. He wasn't envisioning much more than a piece of land near a rapid-filled river to call his home.The river rat, whose life to this point revolved around driving upwards of 50,000 miles a year to all corners of the continent chasing rapids, was ready to settle down. He hadn't heard of New Urbanism, an architecture and community-design movement that since the early 1990s had been bucking the sprawl trend with walkable urban designs, bringing suburbia closer to old Europe (or Manhattan) appearances. And he certainly wasn't thinking about flipping the American Dream on its head; he was thinking about himself flipping in the river, preparing for his next competition.But after he settled on Buena Vista, a development idea came. He pulled in his sister Katie, a pro kayaker who had been a business major in college, but she said she wouldn't help unless Jed promised to develop the land in the most sustainable manner possible. "Back then," Katie says, "I didn't have respect for any kind of development." Jed bent to her bargaining, but neither knew exactly what sustainable growth really meant, so they went to work: research at the library in nearby Boulder; visits to the Rocky Mountain Institute; phone calls with architects, authors, and experts.It turned out that, from Seaside, Florida, to Longmount, Colorado, New Urbanism was gaining traction. What the Selby kids finally proposed to the town, having obtained the architecture and design aid of Dover, Kohl and Partners, was a development named South Main-42 acres, 327 residential units, 156 affordable apartments, and a commercial district. It represented their version of the American Dream-a new normal for a malformed nation. And thanks to a dire economy and housing market, that dream must be rewritten."We are confronting a series of four overlaid crises," Andrés Duany tells me. Duany is a world-famous architect, a founder of the Congress for the New Urbanism, and a partner at DPZ, the design firm responsible for Seaside, Florida, the pilot project of New Urbanism and one that Time called "the most astounding design achievement of its era." South Main was largely inspired by Duany and his book Suburban Nation, which became the Selbys's bible."There is the economic downturn," says Duany. "There is the problem with housing. And there is global warming and peak oil. The only thing they have in common is the lifestyle of the American middle class. The issue of this lifestyle is at the heart of all of our major problems. New Urbanism is the only comprehensive proposal that deals with all four. John Norquist, who is head of the CNU, says that New Urbanism is ‘a convenient solution to the inconvenient truth.'"According to Duany's paradigm, all the promises made by suburbia were betrayed, and all the solar panels, electric cars, and bank regulations in the world aren't going to solve it. Places like South Main, he believes, are the answer."It can't just be about green gadgets," Katie says. "No one looks at the fundamental way our country is laid out, how efficiently land is used, and how much we can function without cars."In 2005, after three years of research, planning, public meetings, and a vote by the board of trustees, Buena Vista gave the go-ahead, to the chagrin of some town old-timers who believed, as Katie used to, that all development was evil. They liked Buena Vista precisely because it never changed, so even smart growth was bad growth in their eyes. To others, it was inevitable that Buena Vista would grow, so they might as well develop it thoughtfully. The Selbys purchased the 42-acre plot with an initial $1.2 million, raised by their father, Buzz, by selling a one-acre lot for the same price in nearby Vail. Since then, the first phase of construction has been completed and sold out, and the second phase is well under way, recession be damned. As the neighborhood takes shape, melting into the fabric of greater Buena Vista, even the old townies are coming around. "It's taken years to get here," Jed says. "But finally, five years in, it's beginning to build upon itself, like we birthed this place and now it's able to live on its own."The Arkansas River runs next to the land and the river corridor was cleaned up and donated to the town as public space. A white-water park with six rapids features will be built with grant money from the state lottery, which funds outdoor recreation (this is, after all, Colorado), and a new town square in the small commercial district holds a man-made rock-climbing boulder. Across the street, the newly opened Eddyline Restaurant and Brewery, the neighborhood's first restaurant, looks out at the river rapids.But you don't have to be a type-A adventurer to get the idea. Allison Abdelnour is a longtime resident who runs a video production company with her husband John. They moved from the outskirts of town into South Main this summer, but she was originally wary. "I didn't want the kayaking subculture to determine the culture of the neighborhood," she says. Anticipating a nonstop kayak festival, she quickly realized that that wasn't the case. "I found it wasn't about kayaking, it was about community."Tree-lined streets are narrow, with wide sidewalks dotted with freestanding and row houses, many zoned as live/work spaces, and all of which are required to exceed the Built Green Colorado program's standards by 30 percent. Neighbors pass each other and socialize-something South Main has that Manhattan, with its keep-to-yourself mood, doesn't. About 60 residents live in South Main now, with a goal of around 800. At least 250 more will be accommodated on newly acquired property that will link South Main to Buena Vista. Each of the neighborhood's 500 proposed units will be within walking distance-a few short blocks-of the river, the square, and the historic downtown district.You really have to step inside New Urbanism to fully grasp it, but flipping through photos, it's clear that there is a new age for Norman Rockwell, where beyond the painstaking detail work of construction, community is what you come away with. That is smart growth.
Why do some folks use social media but don't engage?
Psychologist says people who never comment on social media share these 5 positive traits
For over 20 years, social media has developed into a staple in many people’s day-to-day lives. Whether it’s to keep in communication with friends and family, following the thoughts of celebrities, or watching cat videos while sipping your morning coffee, there seem to be two types of social media users: commenters and lurkers.
The term “lurker” sounds equally mysterious and insidious, with some social media users writing them off as non-participants at best or voyeurs at worst. However, mindfulness expert Lachlan Brown believes these non-commenters have some very psychologically positive and healthy traits. Let’s take a look at how each one of these traits could be beneficial and see how fruitful lurking might be even though it can drive content creators crazy.
1. Cautious about vulnerability
Consciously or not, making a post online or commenting on one puts you and your words out there. It’s a statement that everyone can see, even if it’s as simple as clicking “like.” Doing so opens yourself up to judgment, with all the good, bad, and potential misinterpretation that comes with it. Non-commenters would rather not open themselves up to that.
These silent users are connected to a concept of self-protection by simply not engaging. By just scrolling past posts or just reading/watching them without commentary, they’re preventing themselves from any downsides of sharing an opinion such as rejection, misunderstanding, or embarrassment. They also have more control on how much of themselves they’re willing to reveal to the general public, and tend to be more open face-to-face or during one-on-one/one-on-few private chats or DMs. This can be seen as a healthy boundary and prevents unnecessary exposure.
Considering many comment sections, especially involving political topics, are meant to stir negative emotional responses to increase engagement, being extra mindful about where, when, and what you comment might not be a bad idea. They might not even take the engagement bait at all. Or if they see a friend of theirs post something vulnerable, they feel more motivated to engage with them personally one-on-one rather than use social media to publicly check in on them.
2. Analytical and reflective mindset
How many times have you gone onto Reddit, YouTube, or any other site and just skimmed past comments that are just different versions of “yes, and,” “no, but,” or “yes, but”? Or the ever insightful, formerly popular comment “First!” in a thread? These silent browsers lean against adding to such noise unless they have some valid and thoughtful contribution (if they bother to comment period).
These non-posters are likely wired on reflective thinking rather than their initial intuition. Not to say that all those who comment aren’t thoughtful, but many tend to react quickly and comment based on their initial feelings rather than absorbing the information, thinking it over, researching or testing their belief, and then posting it. For "lurkers," it could by their very nature to just do all of that and not post it at all, or share their thoughts and findings privately with a friend. All in all, it’s a preference of substance over speed.
3. High sense of self-awareness
Carried over from the first two listed traits, these silent social media users incorporate their concern over their vulnerability and their reflective mindset into digital self-awareness. They know what triggers responses out of them and what causes them to engage in impulsive behavior. It could be that they have engaged with a troll in the past and felt foolish. Or that they just felt sad after a post or got into an unnecessary argument that impacted them offline. By knowing themselves and seeing what’s being discussed, they choose to weigh their words carefully or just not participate at all. It’s a form of self-preservation through restraint.
4. Prefer to observe rather than perform
Some folks treat social media as information, entertainment, or a mix of both, and commenting can feel like they’re yelling at the TV, clapping alone in a movie theater when the credits roll, or yelling “That’s not true!” to a news anchor that will never hear them. But contrary to that, social media is a place where those yells, claps, and accusations can be seen and get a response. By its design, social media is considered by experts and the media as performative, regardless of whether it is positive or negative. Taking all of the previously mentioned traits into account, one can see why they would prefer to “observe the play” rather than get up on the stage of Facebook or X.
On top of that, these non-commenters could be using social media differently than those who choose to fully engage with it. Using this type of navigation, there may be nothing for them to comment about. Some commenters are even vying for this for their mental health. There are articles about how to better curate your social media feeds and manipulate algorithms to create a better social media experience to avoid unnecessary conflict or mentally tiring debate.
If you go on a blocking spree on all of your accounts and just follow the posters that boost you, it could turn your social media into a nice part of your routine as you mainly engage with others face-to-face or privately. In terms of commenting, if your curated Instagram is just following cute dogs and all you have to offer for a comment is “cute dog,” you might just enjoy the picture and then move on with your day rather than join in the noise. These non-commenters aren’t in the show and they’re fine with it.
5. Less motivated by social validation
The last trait that Brown showcases is that social media users who browse without posting tend to be independent from external validation, at least online. Social media is built to grow through feedback loops such as awarding likes, shares, and reposts of your content along with notifications letting you know that a new person follows you or wants to connect. This can lead many people to connect their activity on social media with their sense of self worth, especially with adolescents who are still figuring out their place in the world and have still-developing brains.
Engaging in social media via likes, shares, comments, and posts rewards our brains by having them release dopamine, which makes us feel good and can easily become addictive. For whatever reason, non-commenters don’t rely on social media as a means to gauge their social capital or self worth. This doesn’t make them better than those who do. While some non-commenters could have healthier ways to boost their self worth or release dopamine into their systems, many get that validation from equally unhealthy sources offline. That said, many non-commenters’ silence could be a display of independence and self confidence.
Whether you frequently comment online or don’t, it’s good to understand why you do or don’t. Analyzing your habits can help you determine whether your online engagement is healthy, or needs to be tweaked. With that information, you can then create a healthy social media experience that works for you.