Sabrina Ho--cities

     Many chapters in The Ecology of Eden focused on this interplay between Mountain and Tower, and finding Arcadia in the middle of it all. A common theme in our class discussed the multiple ways we attempt to imitate true nature and wilderness in our cities' parks and backyards, but these attempts can never truly capture the boundless wilderness we may be seeking. A large part of our discussion is if it were ever possible to recreate true nature in city bounds, and--most interestingly--if that is the true intention for these parks and gardens. 

    Spending most of my life close to a fairly large city, as well as spending many school breaks visiting even larger cities, I found this to be really interesting. Especially in our capitalist society, it is not uncommon for someone to equate the increase in industrialization and urbanization of our land as an indication of progress and improved economy. But when city-roamers decide to take a break from the city to go be in nature, and then spend the day in a park with structured sidewalks and shrubs, it is a reminder how cut off we are from what true nature is. Growing up in the city, I have definitely seen the idealization of nature--someone being considered "in touch" with nature spent their weekend in the park and had a room full of houseplants.  But, just as we talked about in class and what was discussed in The Ecology of Eden, this may stem from the fear of the unknown aspects of "true wilderness." Being so disconnected from nature, those who live in cities may fear the uncontrolled environment of the wilderness, especially with the  amount of control we feel in our lives as part of an individualistic culture.