Pave Paradise

We are going to stop finding remote areas to wander through. Once a week, we cut through the village filled with tiny streets, kids, animals, beautiful flowers, and unique homes. It's one of our favorite shortcuts because it feels like real and vibrant life.

Last week, when we cut through, we stopped and talked to a man in his yard who told us that developers were in the process of razing the entire village. Hundreds of homes will be leveled and a condominium complex for vacationers will go up. Sure enough, as we walked on, bulldozers had already destroyed five homes.

Today, we were walking on a lovely trail through the jungle filled with monkeys, flowers, and the fresh water supply. We met a group of men at the bottom who told us to appreciate it now because the developer (their boss) was going to plow it under and put up some apartments. It really put a damper on our walk.

I realize that there are great complexities and ironies in life. The fact that we are staying in an apartment building as vacationers is not lost on me (even though I assuage some guilt knowing most of the residents here are full-time).  People have a right to own and develop land. People need places to live, work, and relax. I don't want to stand here wagging my head in someone else's land, but it led to lots of conversations in our family.

How much development is needed? How do we tread lightly and make sure there is enough for everyone? How is Juneau handling the balance between wilderness and development? There aren't easy answers, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I was sad. It just feels like something is being lost that will be greatly missed.

I don't know how you balance it, but watching the oldest jungles in the world collapse under a bulldozer leaves one a bit breathless.