From: Issue 34 Categories: Government
The City's Gone Bananas
Why your Mayor should have tropical fruit and tree-forts on the brain
While bananas and tree-forts sound like primate priorities, we humans take these simple pleasures for granted. There is a good chance that someone, somewhere in your city is enjoying a banana—over a bowl of cereal, in a peanut butter sandwich, or taking it on-the-go for quick fuel. Across the country, the sweet and starchy fruit is a frequent choice on brunch buffets and in juice bars, packed in school lunches, and dressed up at ice cream shops. However, in 20 years, bananas—currently shipped into our cities from distant climes—and treeforts—supported by our oldest trees—may be hard to find if our cities don’t start taking sustainability seriously.
Bananas belong in important conversations—in boardrooms, behind closed doors, in city halls.
In fact, your mayor should be thinking about bananas right now. Not because His or Her Worship doesn’t have more important things to consider, or because they might be particularly peckish, but because bananas are a symbol for something greater. Their existence north of the 49th parallel is a testament to globalization. They are beacons of the pre-apocalyptic marketplace, emblems of cheap fossil fuel economies.
In 2030, something as common as the contents of your morning smoothie will be determined by the economic, social, and environmental health of our planet. And the way our cities respond to the complex issues of today will affect the simple joys of its citizens for tomorrow.
Bananas are a thought experiment for the future of the sustainable city.
We asked the mayors of some major cities in Canada a few out-of-the-box questions to get them thinking about their broader visions for the sustainability of their city in the future. In addition to bananas, we asked mayors to think about tree-forts and transit.
Many Canadians take some things for granted—available food, green space, and accessible transportation. In many ways, these issues are influenced by municipal level decision-making. As the climate continues to change and the global population increases, Canadian cities are due for some major adjustments. Over the next few decades, municipal investment in sustainability will carry a lot of weight when it comes to securing something as plain and simple as the fruit on your cereal.
In the year 2030 …
