To date, I have not seen a better urban image that captures the natural instincts of man to range freely in his environment. This is what humans do. There is no amount of planning that will  correct this impulse.

Free Range Human Path

This photo was taken by W. Cox and was used in an article called Smart Growth and the New Newspeak, written by Ed Braddy and published by www.newgeography.com in April 2012.

Great article by the way!

MORE…

A Note on the Declaration of Independence and International Treaties

Last night I was invited to be part of a round table discussion where I had the chance to briefly discuss one of the United Nation’s treaties–Agenda 21: Sustainable Development. Below are personal reflections that I shared with the group.

Agenda 21 is a massive topic and is a United Nations plan that has far reaching tentacles that touch the lives of people (whether they know it or not) all over the world. I know this sounds dramatic, but it’s true. Some countries have chosen to adopt Agenda 21. Others, like the US have chosen not to sign the treaty. But the fact that the US has not signed the treaty is irrelevant because its proposals, its ideas, its plans are being largely accepted and adopted by elected officials, their staff, professors, school principals, planners, environmentalists, and NGOs as a viable course for our country–they just call it something else–like smart growth, biodiversity mitigation, climate mitigation, growth management and/or preservation.

 If the public truly understood the part of the Declaration of Independence that talks about how as US citizens we “are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights” then I think folks would understand that any international treaty is a direct threat to our liberty. There is no other country like the US that has a Declaration of Independence. Treaties like Agenda 21, the Law of the Sea Treaty, the Right of the Child Treaty, or the Small Arms Treaty–any international treaty–not one of them will have been written or conceived in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence and therefore not one of them will be written with the intent of protecting US citizens and their liberty; especially their right to private property.

The Senate does not have to ratify a treaty for our liberty to be undermined. All Congress has to do is embrace the principles of a treaty and agree to work in cooperation with the international community for our freedom to be subsumed; after all, Agenda 21 is a voluntary plan, they say.

The part of the Declaration of Independence that people often overlook is “that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” We have the right for redress but it now has become our obligation to demand it. The “men” have consented to be governed by “we the people.” Remember?

We are losing our liberties because our leadership is unwilling to recognize Agenda 21’s principles as a threat. I encourage you all to reach out to your elected boards and talk to them, educate them about the consequences of sustainable development principles.