Which cities? People living in cities actually have a less carbon footprints. We get to use public transit. We buy local. We don’t go to chain restaurants when going out. Farmer markets may be a little more expensive, but they are vastly better quality. I can walk and grab a beer. There are parks everywhere that are public, unlike the yards and country clubs of suburbs. My dog is allowed most everywhere and loves coming out with us.
I live between two forested streams, so water all the time. A lake would be a bit of a bike ride, but we go kayaking on one of the two main rivers and it’s a quick drive (will probably bike it in the future with the inflatable kayak once I have my bakfiets). I keep bees in my backyard, and flowers are WAY more common around here than living rural. I have violets and daisies in my unmanicured yard and neighbors actually grow flowers in their gardens, so biodiversity is higher too. There’s a park a block away, a really good one one more block away, and within a 2 mile radius there are at least a dozen really good ones, to say nothing of the little playgrounds here and there. I also live in a Tree City and our tree cover is insanely high, about 60%.
But even though we have all that nature, I also have three grocery stores, a library, a community center, a ton of restaurants and barbers and little shops all within a half mile. And if I need to get further, there are bike trails and bikeable streets all over, and a transit station .1 miles away. Cities are great!
I live in a pretty gritty city, but there’s still some absolutely stunning parks that are soul restoring, and a public greenhouse that is not to be beat. If you can find those spaces it helps the bleakness.
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