The benefi ts of urban agriculture are not limited to the provision of food, with many advocates citing


community empowerment, environmental justice, public health, and education and training as primary goals.


~ Columbia University


and institutions adopt microgrids,” says Ryan Franks, technical program manager with the National Electrical Manufacturers Association.


Local Food


What started with a few farmers’ mar- kets feeding urban foodies has given way to a growing local food movement that’s beginning to also reach into low- income neighborhoods through mobile markets, a kind of farmers’ market on wheels, and an explosion of urban gardens and city farms. Ohio City Farm (OhioCity.org) grows food for in-need residents on six acres overlooking the Cleveland skyline. In Greenville, South Carolina, the Judson Community Gar- den is one of more than 100 gardens in the downtown area, notes Andrew Ratchford, who helped establish it in a neighborhood four miles from the near- est supermarket. Giving residents an alternative


to unhealthy convenience store fare is just one of the garden’s benefi ts, Ratchford says. “We’re seeing neigh- bors reestablish that relationship just by gardening together.”


Waste Reduction While cities nationwide have long been working to augment their recycling and fi nd more markets for residents’ castoffs, many are becoming more sophisticated in repurposing what was formerly considered trash. Reclaimed wood fl ooring in new homes and urban compost-sharing services are just two examples characterizing the evolution in how we dispose of and even think about waste. We may still be far from a world


in which waste equals food, as de- scribed by environmental innovators William McDonough and Michael Braungart in their groundbreaking book, Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things. Nevertheless,


projects certifi ed as cradle-to-cradle are cutting manufacturing costs and reducing pollution. For example, carpet maker Shaw Industries Group, in Dalton, Georgia, reports savings of $2.5 million in water and energy costs since 2012, when it improved energy effi ciency and began using more renewable material in its carpet tiles. Shaw is spending $17 million this year to expand its recy- cling program. Stormwater runoff is a pervasive issue facing older cities. Many are now taking a green approach to supplement- ing—if not totally supplanting —old- fashioned underground sewage systems. Along with creating new parks and public spaces, current public spaces are often reconfi gured and required to do more. Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Portland, among others, are institut- ing carefully planned and built green spaces to soak up rainwater and cut down on runoff into sewer drains—tak- ing motor oil and other pollutants with it. Using revamped sidewalk, parking lot and roof designs, plus rain gardens designed to fi lter rainwater back into the ground, municipalities are even suc- cessfully reducing the need for costly underground sewer system overhauls. The proliferation of rooftop gardens in places including Chicago, Brooklyn and Washington, D.C., and new green roof incentives in many cities nation- wide further exemplify how what’s considered livable space is expand- ing. Altogether, eco-cities’ new green infrastructure is saving cities billions of dollars and improving the quality of life for residents by adding and enhancing public parklands and open spaces, a happy benefi t for everyone.


Christine MacDonald is a freelance journalist in Washington, D.C., whose specialties include health and science. Visit ChristineMacDonald.info.


24 Central Florida natural awakenings


HAPPINESS GOES VIRAL


by Christine MacDonald


Since the tiny Himalayan country of Bhutan fi rst came up with the idea of ditching standard measures of prosper- ity for a more inclusive Gross National Happiness (GNH) about a decade ago (GrossNationalHappiness.com), it has spread around the world. After gaining a U.S. foothold in Seattle, dozens of American cities and institutions have adopted the central tenets—the idea that the time has come to rethink our concept of well-being. Today, the nonprofi t Happiness


Alliance (HappyCounts.org) supports grassroots activists that are challenging the idea that economic activity always leads to happiness and is pioneering new ways to think about and measure life satisfaction, resilience and sustainability. GNH proponents from around the coun- try came together in Vermont last May for their fi fth North American conference. Alliance Executive Director Laura


Musikanski says that more than 50,000 people and 100 municipalities, college campuses and businesses have been using the GNH Index, developed to more ac- curately gauge a community’s happiness, and the group expects to see even more growth as its expanding website tools al- low more people to connect online. “Economic success in terms of money only correlates with happiness up to a certain point,” she remarks. “After you meet your basic needs, the biggest things determining your hap- piness are community and feeling that you can trust the people around you and the democratic process.” While faith may be in short sup-


ply when it comes to community and politics today, Musikanski thinks there’s cause for optimism, because happiness is a core value in this country. “We believe in the Declaration of Independence and ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.’ These are truly American values.”


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