How to improve urban climate

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The Driveway

Very many posts in this blog have stressed the usefulness of growing more trees and green plants of all kinds to improve the planet we live on. It may be mentioned that an increasing human population on the planet has caused an expansion of cities and this is one of the factors that contributes to adverse climate changes. Not only is there less oxygen and bird songs when cement and concrete filled spaces increase but such cities act as heat sinks contributing to global warming.

Humans do need strong homes to live in but there are ways in which cement can be minimized. An example is my urban home. A portion ahead of the gate is paved to create a driveway in my area, but mine has left a foot unpaved on a side to grow trees and bushes as shown in photo. Then a central portion on which a car tire would not come has been pebbled. That way rain can soak in. There was a time grass grew in the pebbled portion but now because of shade it does not. Some worry about tree roots spoiling foundations but that is only true for some trees and in any case bushes do not do that.

What if one has a driveway that is already paved from neck to neck? No problem! ask a mason, he will pull it out in a day. Pile up the rubble that came out in another corner to build a rockery with a water fall and fill in the new space with compost and grow strawberries and other curry leaf, herbs, white mulberry, drum sticks, luscious fruits, vegetables and flowers in it. You will never be out of fresh healthy organic salad at home and fresh organic herbs for the soup and garnish then, would you? Our compost came from collecting the leaves and cuttings we compost in another corner as described in an older post.

A few feet between one and three feet wide all around buildings needs to be well paved to protect foundations from moisture, however on other sides of my home I have covered that with soil too for shallow root plants. Or one can place potted plants on it or even develop a rockery as we did in a corner shown in the bottom picture.

Elsewhere in this blog it has been described how green agricultural spaces can be incorporated within city designs to improve urban areas even more (see here) and reduce the damage that is caused by use of much concrete and cement in cities while filling cities with life giving oxygen, low pollution, farm fresh vegetables, the song of birds  and joy.

Green reduces stress. Modern urban dwellers are so stressed that they start screaming and bashing each other on the street, as some tend to nowadays when their cars bump into each other. However one can't win with humans, with that impediment out of the way some would get into fornication instead  :)   LOL

If you read my novel, Nude besides the lake (it is besides not beside) you will find the lady who pebbled her driveway ended up doing just that, even in old age,  LOL.

While humor is great fun at times, the message of the present one is the same as a  tweet today, "False pride, ego and anger drive servants of the demon, the majority are driven by lust and greed. The godly on the other hand are driven by love, light and beauty

We all have to leave our homes, cities and life behind one day, but while we are around would it not be wonderful if we could do our bit to improve it and leave a better place for those left behind or those to come, just a little cleaning of the train seat before you get off for the next train, or perhaps even leave a flower at the window, the Lord shall place some for you in advance around your next seat, perchance then.

A rockery in a corner


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