Ruins of Dickman Mill wigwam burner in foreground with Silver Cloud Hotel in background, Ruston Way, Tacoma, WA
In an effort to begin to hear a range of perspectives about Ruston Way, this week I solicited feedback from colleagues and students. The range of responses (a few shared below) reflects awareness of a “triple bottom line.” Valuing 1) ecosystem productivity, 2) economic productivity, and 3) social justice is highlighted in studies of urban place (Barlett, 2005). Questions I’m pondering are: What is valued? Who decides? How are values measured in the short-term and the long-term? The triple bottom line model has been critiqued in relationship to a strong sustainability model that privileges ecosystem health and rejuvenation over economic production and profit.
Planet, profit, and people live in dynamic relationship along the Ruston Way (Tacoma, WA) waterfront. As I walk the waterfront I am surrounded by Commencement Bay, parks, a retail fish market, a hotel, restaurants, a hair salon, financial planners and lawyers’ offices, docks, a concession stand, a train track, a major shipping lane, the Port of Tacoma, homes in Old Town and the North End, Vashon and Maury Islands, Mt. Rainier, the Cascade mountain range, the Olympic mountain range, air, birds, plant life, marine life, air plane traffic to a military base and an international airport, domesticated dogs, and people—adults, youth and children commuting to their jobs and homes, fishing, exercising, playing, and looking at the views.
Nature as Common and Uncommon Ground
I decided to ask community members to reflect on three questions and people generously shared their reflections. I look forward to actively seeking additional input from a range of perspectives and to more deeply considering the responses I received. Here’s what I asked:
–Do you have a favorite spot along the Ruston Way waterfront? Where? What makes it a favorite for you?
–When I am on the Ruston Way waterfront I wonder about . . .
–When I think of the Ruston Way waterfront I think . . . (share 3 words or phrases)
People and dog on beach near Holman Building (offices) on Ruston Way, Tacoma, WA
As I read and reflected on the perspectives submitted I was reminded of nature as both common (shared) and uncommon (debated) ground. Themes across studies of urban engagement highlight that, “Although urban dwellers engage with other species in diverse ways, with diverse understandings, and from diverse standpoints, there are themes of common ground in the concern for sustainability, bioregion, local control over resources, resistance to external power structures, and a re-embedding of the human species within biological systems” (Barlett, 2005, p. 15).
Responses to my informal survey reflected:
- a deep and common love of place: “special place,” “meaningful memories,” “grounding in my life,” “how lucky we are to live here,” “cultural significance of this place.”
- an awareness of people and their activities: “settlers,” “Russian youth walking in groups after church,” “Puyallup Tribe,” “families,” “children,” “Indians,” “divers suiting up,” “quiet contemplation,” “Lots of people doing lots of things: exercising, eating and drinking, fishing, exploring.”
- marking of past and present commerce: “ASARCO,” “saw mills,” “sports bars,” “docks,” “condominiums,” “the Ram and Katie Downs,” “cargo ships,” “Silver Cloud Inn.”
- consideration of nearby nature: “Puget Creek,” “Garfield Gulch,” “Chinese Reconciliation Park,” “water,” “Mt. Rainier,” “ocean,” “birds,” “marine organisms,” “sea stars,” “barnacles,” “microbial mats,” “Commencement Bay.”
Relationships within the Triple Bottom Line
The reflections shared demonstrated an effort to recognize, name, reason about, and describe the complex and dynamic elements of, and relationships amongst, environmental productivity, economic productivity, and social justice—the triple bottom line. Here are a few, of the many responses submitted, which make this effort visible:
One community member responded to the prompt, “When I think of the Ruston Way waterfront I think . . .” with this list: “Indians, Condos, Water.”
A few representative responses to the “favorite place” and “I wonder about” questions:
“I worked for a few months down at the Lobster Shop but never really spent a lot of time enjoying the waterfront. I do believe all the restaurants are actually an eyesore to a beautiful stretch of waterfront. I think about the impact of so many cars during the summer. Being so close to the water, I cannot help but be worried about all the runoff that I assume goes right to the ocean. I love seeing all the divers suiting up and the thought of what this runoff might be doing to the water’s edge and the wildlife that call it home. I am, however, appreciative of the fact that I am able to still go walk along Ruston. It could be worse, it could all be private housing.”
“I can’t move through this environment without thinking how developed and ecologically transformed it is in relation to what it was 150 years ago. Ruston Way is a history lesson in environmental issues caused by industry (e.g., sawmills, ASARCO), and a challenge in terms of restoration to pre-industrial conditions (whether this is possible). ASARCO (and the Point Ruston development) is the major ongoing environmental story. It is difficult to think positively about Ruston way knowing its environmental history.”
“I like being able to walk out onto the piers, and really feel like I am out on the water. These are more reflective areas, away from the parking lots and “big box” restaurants that detract from the beautiful, natural setting. I wonder about how it came to have so many “big box” restaurants as opposed to smaller, more community-oriented establishments (such as the waterfront in West Seattle).”
Copperline condominiums on former Asarco smelter site on Ruston Way, Tacoma, WA
Soliciting these reflections helped me to think about the different experiences, perspectives, and frameworks that people use to engage and understand urban settings. I gained awareness about how people intuitively recognize elements of, and relationships amongst, ecosystem productivity, economic productivity, and social justice. As Wilson (1991) writes, “In fact, the whole idea of nature as something as separate from human experience is a lie. Humans and nature construct one another” (p. 13).
The reflections reinforced for me that informal learning environments are powerful sites for engagement and learning that can increase awareness, and questions, about urban place. There is tension between providing information and experiences to deepen engagement with questions of ecosystem transformation, waterfront development, and forced land cessions, and respecting visitor agency to make meaning through exploration and social interaction. I’m thinking about the contrast between terms like “productivity” and “justice” and how the language and framework of economics (e.g., inputs and outputs) privileges an accounting perspective, which may not take into account the full and deep meanings of place.
For more information about this research project read the Project Overview.
Resources
Barlett, P. F. (Ed.). (2005). Urban place: Reconnecting with the natural world. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Frumkin, H. (2005). The health of places, the wealth of evidence. In Urban place: Reconnecting with the natural world. (pp. 253-269). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Wilson, A. (1991). The culture of nature: North American landscape from Disney to the Exxon Valdez. Toronto, OT: Between the Lines.
- Navigating Nature, Culture and Education in Contemporary Botanic Gardens - June 9, 2018
- Vashon Island Perspective - March 18, 2018
- Teaching and Learning in Nearby Nature - March 12, 2017
