Suburban Culture Analysis

An interesting topic that came about from the conversation with the respondent was cultural factors of American aesthetics. In particular, exterior home appearance and functioning. Our interviewee stated, “I do not have any particular interest in the aesthetics of a square green patch that you know, the American suburban home has.” This statement acknowledges the belief that American culture, in particular, suburban culture does have a perceived view on the way lawns and home exteriors should be presented, as “square green patches” that might be valued higher in appearance than ecological functioning. Knowing that our respondent is familiar or has encountered individuals with this mindset, allows us to assume that perhaps these values still
exist and are present in the area of the John Street WaterShed. Furthermore, it can be inferred that cultural barriers such as home exterior aesthetics are hard to be overpassed or challenged.This can cause conflicting issues with city council when proposing to diverge from traditional exterior assemblage to the utilization of rain barrels, rain gardens, or permeable pavements. However, are interviewee's response also demonstrates that its is possible to turnover views. Understanding why or how a divergence from cultural norms has occurred, as with our respondent, can be critical for enticing other individuals to convert to green infrasturce. When referencing traditional lawn uses our respondents states, “it seems that the typical lawn, Uh, is a huge drain on people's time and energy and expenses,”“I think there are other things that can make a home equally attractive or more attractive than doing that.” Although not directly stated it is inferred that the interviewees response, regarding lawn use, could have stemmed from either individual preference or awareness or familiarity with environmental issues regarding traditional lawn uses and their impact on flooding or overall environmental quality. Therefore, by exposing other citizens to context that triggers an innovative moment away from cultural ideals of lawn and outdoor usage can facilitate the convergence to green infrusture and new social and cultural ideals.
A final theme present in our interview was the respondent’s awareness of flooding within the watershed and his overall awareness of some triggers that induce flooding.
The respondent demonstrated his understanding in large scale environmental issues that tied in with some problems that the watershed had encountered.
In reference to green infrastructure the respondent stated, “Those things are necessary, so anything that can be done to absorb the water or delay runoff...things like rain barrels or rain gardens, I think are phenomenal.” The attitude that is displayed within this statement symbolizes that the respondent is to some degree aware about the causes of flooding in the watershed in order for him to demonstrate an interest in rain gardens, rain barrels etc. Moreover, It appears that he is also open and informed about alternative solutions to address flooding. However, Since our respondent did not directly have heavy flooding himself,, “We had been for a variety of reasons had the least flooding problems beforehand of any of our neighbors, ” it might be of interest to understand the motive behind this awareness. based on his previous focus on larger scale flooding triggers, it might be safe to infer that his awareness of the issues is his community do not only arise from the conflicts within watershed but from outside knowledge. Our resident added in terms of flooding, “I think as a society we need to be thinking more about this on a widespread basis and as a...in the bigger picture thinking about things like agricultural runoff into aquifers and watersheds.”Our interviewee appears to be aware that the flooding caused in the
watershed is triggered by larger scale issues. He also emphasizes that although small scale solutions ( such as green infrastructure) are viable and have good potential in addressing larger scale environmental concerns, they have a minimal impact if “we” as a nation, state and community are not on board. The reference to a lack of unity, can suggest that the interviewee feels or sees that not everyone in the watershed is on board with green infrastructure improvements or is fully aware of the flooding issues in the community. Therefore, it can be inferred that there might be a correlation between outside knowledge and the level of awareness and motivation of individuals within the John Street Watershed.