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Worldbuilding in Real Time Book Review by Bonnie J. Johnson, PhD, FAICP. She spoke to my hardened city planner’s heart. I met the science fiction writer Octavia E. Butler. I say I met Octavia E. Butler (1947-2006), but not directly, of course. I was introduced to her by writer/journalist Lynell George through George’s book, A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky: The World of Octavia E. Butler. We get to sit at the knee of Butler, much like George did as a teen at a bookshop. At readings, Butler would talk about writing and her process. Her advice sounds a lot like teaching, mentoring, and imagining hopeful futures – a planner’s calling. Of the many labels put on Butler – “too tall”, “too aloof”, dyslexic, slow, female, African-American, science fiction author, queer, writer of Kindred, clairvoyant, MacArthur Genius, storyteller, news-junkie, and “Just too, too” (p. 26), of course “city planner” is not there. Nevertheless, there is something “there, there” for planners. Plans are stories communities tell about themselves (Sandercock 2003). Planners are story collectors and storytellers. In 2015 Lynell George was commissioned to conduct a posthumous interview of Butler which brought her to the Octavia E. Butler Collection at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. The collection contains hundreds of boxes with Butler’s diaries, lists, budgets, bus passes, and library call slips. George felt the “energy” of these objects, and the book conveys that too. These are bits of Butler’s plans for something(s) big. George dove into uncovering how Butler coped (and did not cope) with low self-esteem, how she survived with little to no money, how she kept getting up at 2:00 a.m. to write before going to work. George describes the book as a “book of ideas, prescriptions, and possibilities. It’s an example of a life map, a model. It can serve as a whisper in the dark for anyone attempting something that feels impossible, anyone trying to make something out of nothing” (pg. 21). For anyone who dreams a plan and wants it to come true. Why seek out Butler? I suspect that science fiction/fantasy authors have something to say to planners and all those trying to “see” the future. George notes that Butler described science fiction as “a handful of earth, and a handful of sky and everything around and between” (pg. 9). When I talk to a prospective planning student trying to describe what “planning” is, I often direct them to look out the window – “that’s planning.” Worldbuilding in real time. I read Butler’s book Parable of the Sower (1993). Written in the 1980s, but set in the United States of 2024, the world is made up of walled neighborhoods, corporate-owned cities, a climate with little rain, hyper-empathetic individuals bearing the brunt of feeling others’ pain, regular space travel, failed governments, drug abuse that burns everything to the ground, and guns. Apparently, she was often asked, “How could you see the future?” It was not magic. She did her research. She extrapolated from data. She observed and listened to people, places, and the earth. She asked, “What if?, What if this goes on?” George describes the process, “(i)t was a recipe for grounding herself – and the reader – in places and moments that were familiar, then preparing them for a leap” (p. 17). Butler explained, “I wrote Parable . . . – as a way to fix the world” (p. 141). Plans prepare communities for the leap. Lynell George’s book cover for A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky: The World of Octavia E. Butler. Octavia E. Butler is illustrated before a variety of illustrated articles and notes. The Cover provided by Angel City Press.


The second page begins, As Butler pursued her writing, she leaned on these tools and techniques: • A notebook • A diary • A library card • A bus pass (to get around and as an office) • A calendar • A set of contracts with yourself • Some “advisors” (self-improvement books) and affirmations • News • A sense of your place (real, imagined, and literary). These tools were listed in white font above dark teal textured paper. As for bringing it all together, the chapter titles reveal the framework. Below, each chapter title is given, then translated into (plannerese). • Chapter 1 – How Does One Establish a Dream? (Write ideas down to bring them closer to reality.) • Chapter 2 – “You Have/You Need” (SWOT analysis) • Chapter 3 – “Our Stories are Fiction, Our Promises Not” (Implementation means keeping your promises/contracts.) • Chapter 4 – “Where May I Find a Fear Killer” (Fear is part of dreaming – face it and get on. Practice independent judgment.) • Chapter 5 – A Human Notebook (Observe, be alert, tell the truth. Have ethics.) • Chapter 6 – “Second Home”: Door to the Multiverse (The library - research, data, advice.) • Chapter 7 – “Keep Your Own Counsel” (Sometimes you are your own cheerleader/protector and the public’s too.) • Chapter 8 – History Is Another Planet (And the planet is talking to you, listen.) • Chapter 9 – There is Nothing More Uncertain than the Future (Let us set the plan in motion as if we are free to do so.) • Afterward – Futurescapes & Keepsakes (Plans are evidence we were here.) Finally, her stories head out the door and the rejection rolls in. George describes that Butler looks for, “(s)omething that will survive judgment and meddling questions” (p. 45). Something that might be a whisper in a planner’s ear when the city council vote goes sideways. Butler reflects and conducts her own therapy sessions in her diaries. She keeps going. “Do the thing and you will have the power” - Butler (p. 130). Butler was such a “planner”. Butler writes, “Having a goal is pretty meaningless unless you have a plan for reaching it” (p. 68). “What is not imagined is not attempted” (p. 117). She kept “Walk thoughts”. She observed the landscape noting when fruit was ripening or when the grass was brown but should have been green. She rode the bus everywhere. On the #79 bus she notes the houses lining both sides of the street, wood frame, a market that is not a chain store, and the street cuts through the hill. During the civil rights movement, people wondered why Butler was not out there marching. She was out there, but in another world, rebelling – writing. Butler loved science fiction (sf) as a child but hated what and who was left out. “All too often in the past, sf writers made things easy for themselves by portraying a white middle-class, male dominated universe, even attributing white, middle class male values to their ‘alien’ races” - Butler (p. 142). She could write about worlds that did not exist, ones where she said, “sex and race are interesting differences and not a mark of inferiority or superiority” (p. 143). George concludes that Butler’s “life in Southern California and her unique profile as a writer grappling with global issues through the lens of speculative and science fiction was part of an ongoing and far-ranging conversation about sense of place, the environment, and the necessity of pushing away boundaries and borders; embodying what could be. She was certainly a sturdy and singular model. Someone to look to for long-haul advice” (p. 165). Butler believed, “We can nudge people creatively. We can disturb prejudices” (p. 143). Sounds like a way to plan for a hopeful future. References: Angel City Press. 2020. A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky: The World of Octavia E Butler. George, Lynell. 2020. A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky: The World of Octavia E Butler. Santa Monica, California, USA: Angel City Press. 176 pp. $30.00. ISBN 978-1-62640-063-4. Sandercock L. 2003. “Out of the Closet: The Importance of Stories and Storytelling in Planning Practice.” Planning Theory & Practice, 4:1, 11–28.



Titled, ‘How the Built Environment Affects Your Mood - Humans have survived for millennia by staying together, not apart.’ by Marcelo Remond of Lima and New York City. APA City Planning & Management’s square logo sits at the bottom right in grey and green. A person looks over a city scape. A moody picture sits to the side. A silhouette of a person looks up to the sky of pale aqua tones that stretch down to pinking and golden skies. Gentle waves pile up the persons feet. The pinking hues carry onto the glimmer of sand. The article begins with, we have all probably heard one of our friends say, 'Moving to (insert random city name) will cure my depression!’ Common sense tells us that this cannot be true, and to an extent we are right. Mental disorders such as depression have deeper causes that will not be resolved just by geographical relocation. I am sorry to disappoint, but no city possesses magical abilities to cure mental disorders - not even you, New York. However, the idea that your mood can change due to different surroundings is not far-fetched. Aspects of the built environment, such as urban design, green spaces, and density, can significantly affect our mental health. According to Jane Jacobs, diversity is vital for a great city. Yet, it is also vital for our daily routines. Talking with different people, doing various tasks, and most importantly going to different places are all crucial to our lives. A recent example was the COVID-19 pandemic. From going out as usual to complete lockdown, we passed from daily connection to isolation, which caused us to hate staying at home. An article published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health highlights the issues of the isolation caused by the pandemic through a series of interviews. They showed that the pandemic was the catalyst of “exacerbated feelings of depression, anxiety, and loneliness amidst social isolation”. Several individuals had community support systems that were highly dependent on human interaction; groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) were not as efficient via the online format, which then increased the use of substances among users. This forced isolation changed our everyday surroundings drastically, from several places to solely our homes — making our routines as monotone as possible. It made us appreciate the little things, like going to the supermarket, visiting friends and family, going for a walk, and other mundane but diverse tasks. As discussed, the sole action of moving to a new area, will not cure any “mental disorders”. Yet, mental health conditions such as depression can be dependent on external surroundings. A study conducted in New York City and published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health showed that “persons living in neighborhoods characterized by poorer features of the built environment were 29%–58% more likely to report past six-month depression and 36%–64% more likely to report lifetime depression than respondents living in neighborhoods characterized by better features of the built environment”. Objects such as clean sidewalks, building facades, and streets were significant in the analysis. They highlight the importance of maintaining neighborhood public amenities and how it relates to its residents’ mental well-being. Please refer to the second of two pages.

Next page begins, an essential and well-recognized feature that influences your mood is walkability. While it may seem cliché, the prominence of walkable cities in urban planning is well-deserved. An article published in the Journal of the American Planning Association shows the link between walkability and happiness. With a study sample of more than 1,000 adults, results showed that for adults aged 36-45 perceived walkability was directly linked to their happiness. For younger adults (18-35) “walkability was related to higher satisfaction with neighborhood appearance in this younger group, which in turn predicted their happiness levels”, and for older adults, walkability was influential to their overall happiness as it affected other facets of their lives such as community trust and their health. As the study mentions, these findings only add to a growing literature on the link between walkability and happiness, further enhancing the evidence of the benefits of walkability. Now that we know of the negatives of the lack of diverse environments and walkability in the places we live, we can understand certain conditions more. According to a report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, in the last decade depression among American young adults (18-25) has virtually doubled, reaching 17% in 2020. This phenomenon is known as “post-grad depression” and while reasons for the condition vary from unemployment to no sense of purpose, it would not be far-fetched to say that the environment could be a significant factor as well. For several graduates — who were raised in suburban environments — college is the first experience of living somewhere different. Several college towns contain communal buildings such as student centers, libraries, and dining halls, which together create a good set of public amenities. They also contain student housing, where students live for the school year. This leads to a life where you live, study, and socialize in a relatively close area, some larger colleges even have a transit system, further enhancing the experience students get. This experience is similar to the one you would experience in a walkable city, one where you can have all your needs nearby. Cream colored sand is combed in waves up to a lone gray rounded rock. Marcelo Remond is sited again as the author of Lima and New York City. Groups of pedestrians and cyclists easily traverse a road lined with shops, white flower hanging baskets, and minimal signage. It is not for nothing that older adults often regard college as “the best years of your life” because in some cases it truly is. College years serve as a gateway drug to all the amenities and benefits of urban-core living — until you graduate that is. Then you have to return to your parent's suburban home (as many Americans do) and suddenly all the amenities you had disappear. Your newfound college friends might make up for the lack of a diverse built environment. Nope, they all have moved back to their sprawling neighborhoods too, probably dozens of miles if not hundreds of miles away from your town. You might get a new car to celebrate your graduation and your new 9 to 5 corporate job. Work will keep you busy! But you know what else? Driving. No more waking up 10 minutes before class and arriving just on time. You might now have to wake up a few hours early to drive to your job through rush hour morning traffic, and do it all again in the afternoon. You might also gain weight - not because you are eating more, but because you are walking less. Various studies demonstrate the link between car usage and obesity, showing “greater levels of obesity in communities where the private automobile is the dominant means of transportation”. And let’s not forget that obesity leads to other health issues such as diabetes and hypertension, among others. Mental health conditions such as depression are more prevalent in adults with obesity. Hence once college ends, graduates stop socializing, stop enjoying public amenities every day, start driving everywhere, stop walking and hence gain a little more weight in the process. Then it is no surprise that young graduates feel unfulfilled, and sometimes even depressed after college — for them, it feels they were robbed of an integral part of their new lives. Our surroundings impact our mental and physical health. Living in neighborhoods with negative qualities can increase the risk of mental health conditions such as depression. At the same time, the pandemic made us appreciate diversity in our lives and what happens when we are deprived of it. Walkable cities are not “just a preference” - they develop happiness by fostering community trust, promoting physical activity, and offering nearby amenities. As learned, these spaces encourage healthy behaviors, reduce car dependency, and create opportunities for social interaction — all things that are crucial for our well-being. While the sole action of relocating will not cure mental health issues, choosing an environment that enhances our quality of life can make a significant difference. Ultimately, wouldn't it be nice to live somewhere where our well-being is ingrained in its urban design?


Article Graphic, Oksana Veselkova-1 (1)

Article Graphic, Oksana Veselkova-2 (1)


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