Civic Responsibility and the Good Life
“Former Farm, Green Garden Country Club” by Terry Evans
The Center seeks a clearer and broader analysis of the sustainability crises in Chicago than has been constructed to date. What is learned about the future of humans and nature in Chicago may be helpful to large cities elsewhere.
In this project, the Center explores Chicago as a major source of information on the history as well as the possible futures of relationships between humans and the rest of nature. A few examples reveal features of that relationship: This city reversed the flow of the Chicago River, organized the deforestation of much of the northern and western US, set up the agricultural commodities trading system, created a hub of agricultural markets, and made farming a successful enterprise throughout the mid-region of the continent. In the present we sprawl over some of the richest farmland in the world, draw down our aquifers at an alarming rate, and pump more water than allowed from Lake Michigan. Part of a global economic culture, Chicago makes decisions, sometimes small from our perspective, that topple ecosystems, businesses, livelihoods, and even species and cultures elsewhere in the region or world. In the future we plan for even more jobs and more citizens. Each day Chicago continues to mold nature as her citizens and businesses see fit. In the past, good intentions have often had disastrous consequences, even in the short-term. In short, Chicago is a useful case study of how humans have treated nature. In some important ways Chicago has defined how we think about the interaction and how we act it out.
At the same time, Chicago has long traditions of civic responsibility; it often acts to support the good life for its citizens. The leadership of Chicago recognizes the need to face the sustainability challenge. Modern environmental efforts are actively developing in this region, such as the restoration movement and the greening of the city. These efforts are aimed at improving the relationships of humans and nature. Many of these efforts at achieving sustainable relationships between humans and nature operate in uncharted territory. Civic actors and citizens seek to do right by the environment but find little philosophical, religious, or even scientific guidance.
- we need to find new ideas about what constitutes 'the good life,' i.e., the goals of individual and communal decision-making;
- these 'good lives' must promote mutual well-being for human and natural communities both now and over the long term;
- achieving this end must be the purpose of ecological citizenship and civic responsibility, a central task for Chicago and other cities.