2020 Oregon   

As part of the City of Silverton’s semi-annual Community Survey run by the University of Oregon’s Community Planning Workshop, the last page is reserved for additional comments. What follows are mine.

I think that the City of Silverton needs to focus less on future growth and more on relocalization of the economy. The coming years will see increased energy costs, which will dramatically affect the cost of most of our commodities, as most goods are shipped vast distances and their price depends on how much it costs to ship. This “centralized” approached to our daily needs is flawed and doomed to fail, as it is based on non-renewable resources, planned obsolescence and unsustainable growth.

Our community is blessed in that we are located in an area of the world that has the potential to be self-sufficient in regards to most of our day-to-day needs. Instead of hoping for some whiz-bang clean industrial operation to come to town to employ our youth, increase the tax roles and not pollute the environment, we might be better off supporting and encouraging our existing businesses, especially those related to the manufacturing of basic commodities and agriculture.

The City should also encourage neighborhood associations and other local endeavors that will help us deal with the coming lean years. Prior to WWII, this and many similar communities were pretty much self-sufficient. Our town boasted its own manufacturing, food preparation, transportation, and hospital systems. We still have the hospital, but they seemed more concerned with extensive marketing campaigns to promote their extracurricular activities than with community well-being. Everything else, with few notable exceptions are trucked in.

However, society as a whole, is slowly moving towards a relocalization paradigm, even if many city planners fail to recognize it. We see this in our grocery stores with their ever-expanding range of local organic produce; in our vibrant Farmer’s Market and in the creative ingenuity of many of our citizens. We will also see less growth, as folks will have to weigh the options of long commutes to distant jobs versus living in a “cute” community.

We will no doubt see a rise in folks that live here and telecommute via technology. Which is why it probably makes more sense to put resources into broadband telecommunications instead of more asphalt, (which requires massive amounts of oil).

Our society has grown up around the paradigm of cheap energy and rapid mobility. This is changing. But like a thick growth of blackberry vines left untouched for years, we face a very challenging defoliation process to transform our community into something that will continue to prosper and remain an excellent place to live and work. Time to get out the clippers.