I actually live literally just outside the town of State College, Pennsylvania, the home of Penn State’s University Park campus. State College is primarily a college town where the population actually doubles during each school year. The town’s resident population is around 50,000 people and then when the students all return it jumps up to around 100,000 inhabitants. State College is roughly 4.5 square miles large. I would say that the main downtown area of State College is fairly urban downtown, while the suburb, Overlook Heights (where I live), would be an automobile suburb. Everything is relatively close together, well within walking or biking distance, however it certainly is not pedestrian oriented. Most people drive their cars here and there. Biking is becoming more common, however it is still rather uncomfortable to bike on the road alongside automobiles. There are a number of bike paths to get from place to place by bike, but we’re still working on constructing more of them.
The first city that I would like to talk about is Copenhagen, Denmark. In the module it was discussed how Denmark has established car free streets and slow zones. I think this is a great idea, exactly for the reason I discussed above when talking about State College. There are bike paths, but simply not enough and it isn’t really safe to bike alongside cars and trucks on the road. This traffic calming not only makes it safer for bikers and helps to establish a social norm of biking and exercise, but it is also sustainable in that nothing is taken from the environment to fuel the bicycle nor does it give off dangerous chemicals or emissions. I suppose the one major downside to this idea would be that for some people, this method of transportation simply isn’t possible.
The second city discussed in the module that I would like to comment on is Detroit, Michigan. I find it incredibly interesting how people actually began to ‘urban farm’ there. The fact that there are so many abandoned areas in the city and that people actually decided to grow food there is quite amazing. Actually, even when looking at State College, I think that there is quite a bit of underutilized space. By farming in the city the way they are in Detroit, they can actually produce their own food and not have to worry about transporting it miles away. It is also natural because, as they said in the video, they simply don’t have the money to buy pesticides etc. This allows for a very sustainable method of food production. This indeed is a collective action as well on the part of the residents of the city. Penn State is starting to do things like this with their student farm, but we still have a way to go, I think.
Hi Sara, I’m Becca! I talked about a lot of the same issues as you, and I also looked at the case of Copenhagen. I’m from near Philly, in a much smaller suburb than State College, but I also think this idea of bike paths is great, but very difficult for the already established infrastructure. I had not even thought about the inability of some to use bicycles or walk everywhere and I think that is certainly a point that needs to be looked at. Although I looked at Haiti, I have a similar view in regards to the urban farming. I think that it is absolutely extraordinary that some people have taken it upon themselves to begin such an initiative. I wish that my town, too would utilize the open space to undertake a similar project! Here’s a link to my post! (https://wp.me/p3RCAy-ckD)
Hello Sara, I’m Wenjie. I am also very thrilled to see how Copenhagen is promoting its biking culture, especially I heard that the traffic lights give priorities for bikers. I think biking is a super ‘sustainable’ transportation solution. However, it doesn’t fit State College’s landscape so well. Copenhagen is pretty much a city on the plain, while biking in State College requires quite a lot strength according to my friends that you need to go up and down the hills. Urban farming would be a good sustainability solution for State College, and this will attract lots of people doing so if it opens for the public. In my post I talked a lot about the bus rapid transit system as well as the urban farming, here is a link to the post:
http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/03/18/m7la_wzz5097/