The City as Ecosystem The Science and Poetry of Loren Eiseley's Urban Landscapes. Michael A. Bryson, Roosevelt University

Transcription

1 The City as Ecosystem The Science and Poetry of Loren Eiseley's Urban Landscapes Michael A. Bryson, Roosevelt University Society for Literature, Science, & the Arts University of Wisconsin Milwaukee 27 September 2012

2 Eiseley's Vision of Cities Influenced by key places: Lincoln, NE; Philadelphia; New York City. Characterized by recognition of urban and suburban biodiversity, observation of everyday nature, and critique of human environmental impacts. Relevant as a harbinger of contemporary urban ecology and sustainability. Loren Eiseley ( ) Validation of art and literature's relevance to the revitalization of cities and representation of urban nature.

3 Two Perceptions of Cities Chicago Loop, seen from "The Brownlands" (Ryan Hodgson-Rigsbee) City vs. Nature Fosters the illusion of technologymediated independence from the natural world as well as a profound yet often unfulfilled longing for contact with wildness within a polluted and biologicallyimpoverished cityscape. City as Living Ecosystem Recognizes that cities and suburbs comprise a complex urban ecosystem, a dynamic mosaic in which imperiled nature interacts with humans and their built environment, and where the idea of "natural" can be interrogated.

4 The Bloomingdale Trail, a former elevated RR -- North Side of Chicago (Ryan Hodgson-Rigsbee)

5 "Desperate I Walked" (from The Innocent Assassins) In the November light on the drab thoroughfare it passed me, silvering the grey day with its tiny shimmering perfection, a small planet, life seed, thistledown, journeying the wrong way toward the city's heart. * * * I took it gently from the air, walking onward for blocks, seeking a place where it could bed for the winter and be given a chance to grow. I had a home once where such things happened by nature without human intervention. Here I walked by car lots, highways, I walked by pruned hedges, by formal gardens. I knew if I dropped the seed its life would perish either at once or be quickly weeded from all the delicate, suburban gardens. (25)

6 Suburban sprawl in Shorewood, IL (M. Bryson)

7 Life on the retaining wall Bubbly Creek, South Side of Chicago (M. Bryson)

8 The Chicago River: Interdisciplinary Interrogations Science, Nature, and a Sense of Place Understanding the river as a modified natural ecosystem (natural sciences) Developing policies regarding water quality, river use, sewage treatment (social and natural sciences) Representing the river as a cultural resource in image and story (arts and humanities) Restoring the river: water quality, biodiversity, riparian zone vegetation, citizen access and recreation (all disciplines)

9 Canoeing the North Branch The Chicago River and Wolf Point, downtown Chicago (M. Bryson)

10 Canoeing the South Branch Bubbly Creek, an industrialized tributary of the South Branch of the Chicago River (L. Bryson)

11 Dealing with Wastewater MWRD's Racine Avenue Pumping Station -- Bubbly Creek, Chicago (L. Bryson)

12 Eiseley and the City What he saw (and still pertains): Impacts of sprawl & pollution Human alienation from nature Decay of urban infrastructure Biological paucity of manicured nature The city as ecosystem subject to evolutionary change Cities as sites of decay/illness What's happened since: Sprawl and more sprawl Environmental regulations Re-imagination of wilderness in the city Biodiversity mapping & urban sustainability Ecological restoration (rivers, prairies, wetlands, woodlands)

13 Sustainability in the City

14 Solar Power Chicago Center for Green Technology West Side of Chicago (M. Bryson)

15 Bike to Metra Map Joliet, IL (2010) Active Transportation

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17 Endangered and Threatened Species in IL North Branch of Chicago River Restoration Sites Sources: Illinois DNR (1993); North Branch Restoration Project (2009)

18 Source: Chicago Wilderness Atlas of Biodiversity (2000)

19 Source: Schaumburg Biodiversity Plan (2004)

20 Reimagining Urban Nature: Farms in the City Growing Power's Chicago Lights Urban Farm in Cabrini-Green, Chicago (M. Bryson)

21 Reimagining Urban Nature: Farms in the City Growing Power's Chicago Lights Urban Farm in Cabrini-Green, Chicago (M. Bryson)

22 What kinds of stories will we tell about cities? Brian, an urban farmer at Growing Power's Iron Street Farm in Chicago (M. Bryson)