[Sust-mar] Living Landscapes: Saving our Near-Urban Lands, Alternatives Journal Call for Submissions

Wed Sep 26 15:42:59 EDT 2007

[as posted to GoodWork http://www.GoodWorkCanada.ca ]

please distribute widely * apologies for cross postings

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Alternatives Journal Call for Submissions

LIVING LANDSCAPES: Saving our Near-Urban Lands

Due October 15, 2007

This summer, the 100-mile diet took root and grew like a

beanstalk. People who naturally gravitated toward the

perfect red tomato -- imported from Mexico - found

themselves enraptured by blemished irregular ones grown in 

a nearby town. They wanted to know the farmer's story, her

name, whether the fertilizer was organic, the variety and

the distance between farm and grocery store. Seemingly

overnight, food became real; farmers had faces and the need

to save our near-urban landscapes took on some urgency.

But saving agricultural lands and practices in our

near-urban landscapes is only one reason why these living

lands are important. Providing space for nature where

wildlife can find adequate habitat, trees and plants can

thrive, streams and rivers can replenish themselves, and the

land and humanity can find sanctuary are equally important.

Yet government plans to pave over wetlands and dig up farm

fields march on seemingly unabated regardless of whether you

live in Calgary, Halifax or Quebec City. Meanwhile there is

widespread recognition that the cost of the infrastructure

and services needed for urban sprawl is unsupportable and

the value of ecosystem goods and services is rarely

quantified.

The spring 2008 issue of Alternatives Journal will focus on

protecting the lands that surround our urban centres. It

will address the issues of how to stop urban sprawl from

spilling on to our agricultural land and confiscating our

forests. It will consider our need for food security, farm

income and the often contentious relationship between

agriculture and environment. We'd like to examine the effect

of land-use and other government policies on our ability to

steward the living landscapes that surround our cities.

We're looking for examples of programs and ideas that have

worked in Canada or around the world. We'll consider

interviews with experts. We want to address whether we

really need to have access to local food and near urban

nature. What is nature's value? Can cities and countryside

co-exist?

William Rees, co-author of Our Ecological Footprint, once

said, "If you want sustainable cities, folks, they depend on

sustainable countryside."

Alternatives invites submissions (as per the guidelines

described below) for articles dealing with the topic of

Saving Near-Urban Landscapes in Canada and around the 

world. We want thoughtful articles that look for the story 

beyond the story.

Queries should explain, in less than 300 words, the content

and scope of your article, and convey your intended

approach, tone and style. Please include a list of people

you will interview, potential images or sources for images

and number of words. We would also like to receive a very

short bio that tells us about your involvement in the issue

you plan to write about. And if you have not written for

Alternatives before, please include examples of your

writing. Proposed articles may range in length from 350 to

2000 words and may deal with Canadian or international

issues. Queries are due by October 15, 2007. Send to

editor at alternativesjournal.ca .

Alternatives combines the learned rigour of an academic

journal with the breezy style of a magazine. We publish some

of the best environmental writing in the country - writing

that is engaging, thought-provoking and insightful. We 

avoid predictability.

Before responding to this call for submissions, please read

several back issues of the magazine so that you understand

the nature of our publication. We also suggest you go

through the detailed guidelines on our website

(http://www.alternativesjournal.ca).

Alternatives has a limited budget of about $250 per essay

to a maximum of four articles. This stipend is available to

professional and amateur writers, and students only. Please

indicate your interest in this funding in your submission.

--

On newsstands now: MYTH OF WATER ABUNDANCE

The creators of the Energy Soft Path apply the same ideas

to present the newest Water Soft Path. Plus new local food

markets; a modern look at Leopold's classic A Sand County

Almanac; and much more ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[GoodWork Editor adds topical resources:

Sprawl, Stewardship & Conservation -- Canadian Organizations & Links

http://www.planetfriendly.net/dontpave.html#links

More Growth & Sprawl Info., Organizations

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_sprawl

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Urban_studies_and_planning

http://directory.google.com/Top/Society/Issues/Environment/Growth_and_Sprawl/

How to Protect the Land you Love

http://www.planetfriendly.net/property/stewardship.html

Alternatives Journal Back Issue (Vol 29, No 3): Smart Growth

http://alternativesjournal.ca/?option=com_content&task=view&id=47&Itemid=77

~~~~~

Subscribe to Alternatives Journal

http://www.alternativesjournal.ca/

]

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