What If We Created Places to Stay?

I know few people, other than a handful of locals, family members, and high school friends, who have stayed in one Place all of their lives. It used to be common to do so, until automobiles gave us unlimited freedom to live anywhere, and most of us, with an American's passion for freedom, fled our hometowns to move off to distant places to "progress in the world."

Many of us have moved so much, in fact, that we approach all the places we live as a stop in the road. Even as we settle in, we think . . . when my child gets old enough for school, we'll move to the suburbs . . . when I get a better job, we'll move to that big house . . . when it starts getting too overrun with crime or traffic, we'll just move farther out . . . and when I retire, we'll head south. These thoughts of transience are manifested in the No Places we leave behind and, often, the emptiness we feel. But what if we approached the places we pass through with the thought: How do I help make this a Place I could live in for the rest of my life? (whether we eventually do so or not).

If we replaced thoughts of transience with those of permanence, I suspect we'd push for more town centers and fewer McDonald's, more sidewalks and parks and fewer four lanes, more walking paths, bike lanes, dog parks, and gathering places. I suspect we'd push for houses that were built to last, and that were close to schools, work, entertainment, and friends. I suspect that we'd take better care of our air, our water, and our land because we'd want them to be there for the rest of our lives and for the lives of those who follow us.
Photo courtesy of rebel shooter