We should be paying attention to solutions to these stories, especially the car and bike accident stories. There is a visible problem in our metropolitan environment, so why not fix it? We could implement more public transportation. Then parents and grandparents would not have to fear their children getting into a car collision. We could designate safer bike lanes so that young fathers like Aaron Cohen would not have to risk death during their early morning recreational activities. We could reduce speed limits because drivers have proven to drive irresponsibly at current speeds. People in Florida should be fearful, not of finding Burmese pythons wrapped around their vehicles, but of the somber statistics of accidents proving how pedestrian-unfriendly our state is. According to the Florida Department of Transportation, in 2010, Miami-Dade County had 43,260 overall vehicle crashes compared to 26,233 in Broward County. Transportation for America recorded that 5,163 pedestrians were killed from 2000 to 2009. Most of these victims were black and Hispanic, who typically use more public transportation or walk. 3,386 fewer Americans have died in Afghanistan fighting in the military since 2001. We have a way to reduce vehicle-related accidents and focus on the issue rather than the random incidents. Likewise, we should realize that driving in Florida brings out the worst in us. Traffic frustrates us and makes us anxious, so we should find alternatives to car commuting. To keep mentioning trivial accounts of killer bees in the local news should not be at the center of our attention. Instead, we should realize that our unsustainable way of living is just as threatening to American children and future generations, but this somehow does not make the cut for an “interesting” story.
As Red Book was able to advertise a highly unsustainable lifestyle and car companies like GM were able to turn the truck into the must-have sports-utility vehicle, new media devices must be found to compete with the local news, which has captured the attention of so many today. A similar technique to the one used in the 1960s fallout shelter ads could be used to prepare Americans for climate change, resource depletion, and survival during post peak-oil. Advertisements for a safe life in the suburban home, which could ideally be turned into atomic fallout shelters worthy of protecting American families from nuclear attacks, were very convincing, some showing all the amenities needed to survive. If one would use this technique today, the rooftop community garden, solar panels, and the six-floor energy efficient apartment complex could spread an equally convincing message, making people believe they are much less vulnerable to 21st century environmental problems because they are self-sufficient and community-oriented.
As Red Book was able to advertise a highly unsustainable lifestyle and car companies like GM were able to turn the truck into the must-have sports-utility vehicle, new media devices must be found to compete with the local news, which has captured the attention of so many today. A similar technique to the one used in the 1960s fallout shelter ads could be used to prepare Americans for climate change, resource depletion, and survival during post peak-oil. Advertisements for a safe life in the suburban home, which could ideally be turned into atomic fallout shelters worthy of protecting American families from nuclear attacks, were very convincing, some showing all the amenities needed to survive. If one would use this technique today, the rooftop community garden, solar panels, and the six-floor energy efficient apartment complex could spread an equally convincing message, making people believe they are much less vulnerable to 21st century environmental problems because they are self-sufficient and community-oriented.
A change in perception due to a different approach in media should affect a change in social behavior. Jacobs believes becoming less of a “matriarchal” suburban society would benefit us because our perceptions would begin to change, and we would begin to have more urban development. In a less matriarchal society, there is more human interaction and pedestrian activity than just sitting in the home. Children are let out in the city to explore on their own and therefore become more precocious than their suburban counterparts because they develop a sense of identity earlier and are also independent. Their mothers do not have to chauffeur their children around, and children can complete everyday tasks by figuring them out on their own. Also, parents do not have to be concerned about the safety or whereabouts of their children because neighbors are the “eyes and ears” and will ensure that children stay out of trouble. This would create trust among neighbors. Sidewalks are necessary for a patriarchal society because this is where the first interactions happen. A neighborhood sidewalk becomes a microcosm for the bigger, more connected world. This would require us, however, to make sidewalks interesting and more useable for different people, and this only happens in a mixed-use neighborhood.
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