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Wildlife on the Move
In Unto the City the Wildlife Did Journey, Andy Newman writes in the New York Times that “Bears, a moose, a coyote and other animals have visited the New York area, and a fair degree of chaos has ensued. Another illustration of cities becoming more "rural" (wildlife) while rural areas and exurbs become more urban (housing, people, etc.). More people are moving out from our central cities and suburbs to find cheaper housing and a better quality of life, trading mortgage sticker-shock for 2 hour commutes (one-way!), while businesses go in search of the same under the banner “location-neutrality.” In some cases, the two are one and the same, no commute necessary.
Wall Street in the woods of Litchfield County; Farmers markets in Union Square; Artist lofts in old mill towns like Easthampton, Massachusetts; Seals off Staten Island.
The puzzle pieces are starting to create an interesting picture. Urban-rural, rural-urban: We’re fast becoming one continuous geography, a seamless web of wildlife and Wi-Fi. But what does it all mean? Is this seamless fabric just contributing to sprawl? Are the wildlife islands or peninsulas being created by random development sustainable ecozones the way true wildlife corridors would be? Should city-dwellers be seeing moose and bears in their yards or is that in fact a problem for both animals?
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