Meandering

Walking five blocks from a parking spot to the Star-Telegram building in the valleys of downtown Fort Worth in winter brought a dose of cold reality: Tall buildings channel wind. December through February wind from Abilene, and before that, Amarillo, gets mighty cold and quick by the time it reaches concrete arroyos at 5 a.m. The cold wind beats against your back, pushes you forward and at the same time the coldness finds areas you thought were covered.

The modern has conquered the ancient. Hooray for the modern.

Or maybe not.

“Not by accident did the medieval townsman, seeking protection against winter wind, avoid creating such cruel wind tunnels as the broad, straight street. The very narrowness of medieval streets made their outdoor activities more comfortable in winter. But likewise, in the south, the narrow street with broad overhangs protected the pedestrian against both rain and the sun's direct glare."

http://oldurbanist.blogspot.com/ on “Wide Streets, Narrow Streets and the Car.”

And as for cowpath streets: "Those who refer to the winding streets of such a town as mere tracings of the cowpath do not realize that the cow's habit of following contours usually produces a more economical and sensible layout on hilly sites than any inflexible system of straight streets." (Same link.)

On the reference to original green, see: http://www.originalgreen.org/

In other words, the way things used to be maybe they need to be now. Except … We’ve all heard people say, after talking about playing outside all day long, “But it’s hotter than it used to be.”

No, it isn’t. Air conditioning made people wimpy. When exposure to nature comes only during the time from house to car and car to work building, everybody is cooled as needed or heated as needed. Just those few seconds or minutes of uncomfortability lead people to shun outside.

That gets passed on to children. “It’s too hot for you to play outside.” Or to cold. Or not safe. Lions and tigers and bears and bad men with candy. People as untrustworthy as the weather.

Fear is what it is. Fear of the unknown; fear of the forest; fear of wolves from forest or plain; fear of steppe barbarians.

Stop the fear. Stop being afraid.