Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
social change. In short, they adapt to the vagaries of nature. Their strong
social fabric and the attitudes it encourages better enable recovery after
disaster.
Beyond the social benei ts, increasing the ecological function of Main
Street may draw customers to a more aesthetically pleasing city. It is impor-
tant for business leaders to appreciate the fact that economy benei ts from a
healthy ecology. Ignoring this connection can outrage would-be customers.
For example, in the late 1990s, New Yorkers protested against their mayor's
proposal to convert community gardens to commercial properties. In re-
sponse, the state of New York bestowed park status on gardens that met cer-
tain standards. Rather than banking on short-term economic gains that
sacrii ce nature, city planners realized that creating a biologically diverse city
could sustain long-term economic gains and produce a more motivated and i t
workforce.
Connecting the city with its historic wilder ecosystems pays large divi-
dends. Billions of dollars in i ltration costs are saved when forested water-
sheds are retained around a city's water supply. Seattle, Salt Lake City, and
New York City, for example, all reap these economic benei ts. Expanding ur-
ban forests might help cities in other ways as well. In downtown Indianapolis,
Indiana, for example, businesses spend about $100,000 per year to discour-
age roosting aggregations of pigeons, starlings, and American crows. Before
their investment, which funds a team of government bird busters, the feces
from the birds had to be cleaned from the sidewalks and buildings each day at
an even greater cost. But displacing the crows has other, unintended conse-
quences. Keeping crows out of the business district forces them to roost in a
nearby low-income neighborhood. Investment in an urban forest made attrac-
tive to crows, perhaps by expanding the green fringe along the city's White
River, could provide a longer-term, ecological solution that allows the birds'
adaptable and social nature to be celebrated while they fertilize a more
 
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