I live in the suburbs, like a lot of people, The question is can we fix them? Many ask, “What is wrong?” The sense of belonging, happiness, loneliness and also the waste factor. If your downtown is 5-10 minute drive away, you are car bound and miss out on the many opportunities for that happiness and community engagement.
The book “Thrive: Finding Happiness the Blue Zone Way” by Dan Buettner, is trying to point a way to happiness by making life simpler and easier. He points to Mexico, Singapore, Denmark, and San Luis Obispo, CA. His first book The Blue Zone” covers many more countries and shows that the simpler the lifestyle, the happier people tend to be. In happy countries people ride bikes more, eat simpler native foods, sleep more, and are more family oriented. Something Americans are just now rediscovering. “During the past 35 years, while Americans have worked to increase our income by 70 percent and the size of our houses have doubled, we’ve become no happier as a nation.”
Parade Magazine did a nice job of highlighting what is good in San Luis Obispo in the article “You’ll wish you were here.”
So if we take the key parameters apart and understand that many communities could do similar things. It doesn’t take extraordinary measures, but mainly a desire to go do it.
On an individual level, one can focus himself on those things in his control; trying to take more time with family and friends, enjoy and eat real food (not fast food) with family, reduce your debt, take walks in your community, bike more, drive less. When you buy something make sure you need it and buy high qualify so it lasts a long time.
Within the community we can rethink downtown; close off a street or two to create a plaza or walking areas, frequent the interesting local stores and shops and restaurants, set up modest local public transportation, drive the adoption or development of mixed use buildings with parking, retail, restaurants, and residential living, begin to foster green space and parks, gardens sports fields around town inside and on the perimeter of town. And begin to look at the basic services that are offered by the town for the community and for true environmental impact. Also a careful look at the utilities and how the town can help reduce energy and improve water, waste water, and storm water usage. This is not an individual’s effort; this is for the town political leaders, land and building owners, and the residents at large. There is so much that can be done and the net effect will be a happier, healthier and more prosperous town.
