SDSU (San Diego State University) area Carfree ClubFor people who do not use cars (or who do, but don't want to) to meet others and plan social events that do not involve driving. Some of us may also advocate for improving conditions for carfree people in and around SDSU.
Added by colin #442 on 2005-04-17. Last modified 2007-02-21 20:24. Originally created 2005-04-17. F0 License: Attribution
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CarfreeClub.org points to here.
Join our discussion list at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/carfreeclub/.
Contents
- Things to be aware of
- Activities
- Propaganda
- Comment on the Paseo Project's Environmental Impact Report
There will be more here eventually. Maybe we'll have a list of things we want changed at SDSU.
Things to be aware of:
- SDSU Master Plan
- California Student Sustainability Coalition
- Renew the CSU: Promoting renewable energy and sustainable building for California State University
- The Paseo
- College Community Redevelopment Project
- College Area Community Council
- Drivers on campus put SDSU pedestrians at risk by Morgan Myrmo
- SDSU Trolley Information
- San Diego Critical Mass
- The Enviro-Business Society / clube3 at SDSU
HOWEVER, a huge part of what we are about is not making a big deal about being carfree people. There is more to life than fighting against and trying to get cars out of our lives. Anyone who chooses not to use cars in Southern California (as opposed to NYC or Paris, for example) is special--I'd like to meet more of you.
Possible activities include:
- Having a table on campus advertising carfree living and talking with each other and anyone who shows up.
- Hiking up to Lake Murray.
- Hanging out in a nice spot on campus just to talk and relax.
- Planning trips where we take the bus together (or the Trolley when it gets here).
In general I hope the focus is having fun without going anywhere at all we can't walk to. The better life for carfree people at SDSU is built here, not three trolley stops away.
The environment around SDSU can be nasty to walk in, and many characteristics of the campus itself insult anyone who walks, even those who drove to campus.
We can change that.
I also don't want to forget the bicyclists, the wheelchair users, the children, and the elderly who don't drive.
If there were a nice bike trail nearby, well-separated from traffic, with few if any street crossings where you have to stop and deal with cars, that would be very nice. As things are, I'd rather walk and be as far away from the cars as I can get.
Propaganda
2005-05-03-1243 Below is something I just wrote that I may put in a more prominent place here. It relates to the Carfree City, USA's strategy of documenting the market of people who wish to live in carfree cities in the US.
We should not continue to plan and build around a technology that not only destroys the social environment and marginalizes those who do not use it, but which also kills and injures more people each year than war and suicide combined (WHO, 1993). Even those who drive spend part of their day as pedestrians in environments dominated by others' cars. They also fear to go to where they cannot park or to where they might be stuck in traffic. Not even the most rich escape damage from urban environments that dedicate so much space and life-energy to the car.
The solution is to build places in which people cannot and would not consider using a car. Many large urban areas functioned for thousands of years without the car. Two still do: Venice, Italy, and the medieval medina of Fez, Morocco. There are many smaller carfree areas that have been preserved from the pre-car era and a growing number of spaces that have been reclaimed from the car or created to be carfree (Wikipedia's List of carfree places).
Please join us in advocating for the development of carfree communities and for the protection and expansion of existing carfree space. We will create cities where people who do not use cars or who do not want to use cars do not have to deal with the cars of those who do.
Comment on the Paseo Project's Environmental Impact Report
We have until May 19 to submit comments regarding the Environmental Impact Report for the Paseo project:
Written comments regarding the adequacy of the draft EIR must be sent to the following address by May 19, 2005:Holly Smit-Kicklighter, Environmental Planner,
City of San Diego Development Services Center,
1222 First Avenue, MS 501,
San Diego, CA 92101or
e-mail your comments to DSDEAS -at - sandiego.gov with the Project Number 6815 in the subject line. Responsible agencies are requested to indicate their statutory responsibilities in connection with this project when responding.
For more information:
What you might comment on:
They plan to build what may be San Diego's largest parking garage under the project. They plan to widen College, Montezuma, and Campanile. They will eliminate one pedestrian street level crossing of college and add a footbridge.
Our position is:
- Space for the car should not be increased as a result of this project.; Car use in the area should not be made easier as a result of the project.
- Planning of the development should include student representatives (especially carfree students) who provide input on what stores there should be in the development as well as other features.
I will be trying to come up with intelligent ways of commenting on the EIR (I don't think it is as simple as stating the above points if we wish to do more than educate about the carfree way--if we wish to have an effect on the project).
I think the ideal planning approach will be close to what is detailed in Christopher Alexander et. al.'s A new theory of urban design.