Cities Don't Have To Be Unnatural

This article looks at the common misconception that human culture (cities, in particular) is an opposing force to nature. But citing the example of Cuba -- the small country that chose to implement small organic farms to provide food after support from the Soviet Union dissipated –- the author explains that humankind's most important cultural creation doesn't necessarily have to be unnatural.

"Cities represent a fortuitous nature-culture alignment; what's best for cities is also best for nature (which is good for citizens, and so on). A sustainable city is virtually indistinguishable from a healthy one - which is just as well, since by next year, says the UN, cities will be the dominant habitat of this over-dominant species."

"Today an estimated 50 per cent of Havana's vegetables are grown within city limits; in smaller towns it's 80-100 per cent. On an annual income of $US3000 ($4000) a head, and with one-eighth of the per-person energy use, life expectancy matches that of the US. But the best organic product is the sense of community. As the lawyer Rita Pereira notes, Cubans saw for themselves that 'you really don't need that much to be happy'."