Dallas is big and it’s getting bigger. It’s one of the fastest growing areas of the country. In order to meet the growing demand for travel, Dallas has been building a fairly robust train network, and that striking boom in rail activity made it the perfect place to host the 21st annual Railvolution, a national conference on how to build modern cities around rapid transit.
How is it that Sierra Club and other national environmental groups advance smart growth campaigns for urban growth because it reduces carbon emissions, but when density projects are proposed here in Traverse City, we lack organized support from the environmental community? The answer, unfortunately, is clear: it’s harder to advocate for something than it is to oppose something – and that’s a real problem.
The definition of local food needs to include a valuation for the relationships it demands. It’s not enough now to simply say, “my food was grown within 150 miles.” We should also be able to say, “…and I know the name of the farmer.”
Mary Van Valin is a force of nature. A retired math teacher, Mary now spends her retirement helping to transform the Traverse City area into an equitable, resilient, thriving community. In the two month since I met her, Mary has launched an EV group purchase effort, taught 4th and 5th graders how to make small solar panels for doing experiments in math and science, brought close to 200 people to the State to see a live feed of the Pope addressing Congress, and attended a March for Justice in Detroit.
New businesses are working to meet the growing demand from buyers for locally grown food, and more food service directors are flexing their buying power and insisting that distributors figure out how to offer the option to buy local.
For the second year, the Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities (formerly the Michigan Land Use Institute) is inviting the community to join in a local farm-to-table experience on the front lawn of the Grand Traverse Commons on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2015.