Earth Day, Over Shadowed by Big City Violence

While perusing MSN today I saw a Tale of Two Cities mentioned, not the high school required reading version, but an article about Chicago, my hometown. Highlighted were the differences between the affluent sections of town (where the murder rate fell by 80%) and the south and west sides of the city where violence and gangs are the norm and the murder rates are rising with the onset of warmer temperatures. It seems like summer is murder season in Chi Town. I was reminded of some of the things I’d read about the recently bankrupt city of Detroit. Once again there’s a pronounced divide between the haves and have-nots. In Detroit there’s a small downtown area that remains fairly well off while the rest of the city has a high crime rate and the citizens live in poverty. But in Detroit they are devising a plan to downsize the city’s infrastructure and repurpose abandoned, blighted space as ecological sanctuaries and even urban farms. Maybe it’s time other big cities, likewise divided, take note. Proactive beats reactive and perhaps future planning rather than a band aid approach might put a halt (or at least a dent) to the expected rise in trouble that as the gap between the haves and have-nots increases. What better way to celebrate Earth Day than by pledging to clean up and really change blighted urban areas into ecofriendly safe places that nurture future stewards for our planet, and help raise up families and children living in poverty in these cities.