1

Amra Lugusic People & Place 699.56 May 21, 2012 Reflective Paper People and Place #1

People and Place class was the first class that I attended which had classmates from other disciplines like urban design, architectural studies, medicine, Faculty of Fine Arts and social work. It was a good experience where there was a lot to learn from each other. The course made me reflect on things that I never thought about or that I thought were not important like the place that I call home. One of the sparkling moments was identifying one particular place that we call home. After thinking for a couple of minutes I thought about my home town in Croatia as a place that I would call home. The place that I called home was one of the most beautiful places on Earth in my opinion. There was an abundance of trees, vegetation, and the sea; the weather was hot and clear. There was a beach near our house, where we as kids used to swim and snorkel. When I was in that place I felt comfortable, free, protected, I felt connected to the place. When asked to imagine visiting similar places like that and what I can do to protect, care and value this place, I thought about places where the people that you treasure are present. I thought about my present home that I value because of the quality of life for me and my family and that I would be actively involved in order to protect it. I would use my knowledge on environmental issues and skills as a social worker to develop relationships in order to support the Earths resources. Furthermore, as a social work professional I can be involved in the environmental movement and become involved with the most important social issue of our time. The video Making sense of place Portland: quest for the livable city showed the kind of place that many people call home. Portland is like Mecca, different than the rest of America David Oates, Author. The city is a fantastic place to live with a population of 1.5 million, attracting professionals from all over the country. It has magnificent valleys, close connection to nature, forestry, natural resources, farms, orchids, and wine yards next to the city. It showed how the people of Portland are making major decisions on land. The farmers are trying to adjust the urban growth boundary that has been denied so many times. It shows how citizens and political leaders are designing the city for families. It is a balance between property and community interest. I like the quote from the film: The future is something that we shape by the choices we make. The video is inspiring to me as shows that change happen by people electing metro council and organizing community planning and advocating for change to the government. Social work can play a central role in engaging people in the struggle for environmental and social justice. The social workers can point out how this issue between private property rights and community regulations impact upon the well-being of people and society. We can create policies that consider environment and contribute to the development of society. We can also support individual, groups and communities to take active and creative roles in bringing about

suitable and mutually enriching relationship with our planet. As a clinical social worker I can assist in setting up and facilitating process of negotiating with government officials and help farmers and Oregonians strive for justification and liberation from oppressive forces. The video that we watched on Curitoba: The Worlds Most Sustainable City was inspiring. I like the fact that local architect, civil engineer and mayor of the city, created system for the city that serves mass public transportation. In the part two of the video, it showed how the city Favela in Rio de Janeiro, solved the problem of trash (garbage) through recycling solution. It shows that people resolved sanitation, transportation and housing problem by helping its people earning for living and developing skills. All these indicators engaged in making a place, such as: economic, social, ecological and personal are related and a very important in creating of place for people to live in. The video: The Cuban Transition Lesson Learned was inspiring. It showed peak oil crisis and US embargo sanctions that led to challenging times in Cuba. It showed how Cubans showed resilience and learned about community and human relationship in the face of crisis. The things that I learned from the last case were that in challenging times, people have to take small steps and that government is not going to solve the problem. Their example showed co-operative and viable economy rather than consumer economy. They did not relied on foreign aid and in the face of trouble did not give up. We learnt to be happy with less, to work together and have a better world. I like the quote by Simone Weil that describes the need of human soul, Rootedness in a place is the most important and least recognized need of human soul. If we feel connected to a place we will not let it destroy. We all belong to place and we are deeply rooted to the place which we call home. Some times when we go somewhere we get this connection from other places that remind us of our home. I enjoyed David Suzuki talks on nature and environment in Sacred Balance. I like the quote from that documentary, A lake is Earths eye, looking into it human measures the Earths death. Also on St Frances day at St. Pauls Anglican Cathedral Church in London, Ontario people bring their animals to the church. According to Suzuki our relationship with animal kingdom is essential for the human race. As a clinical social worker I think nature is important for personal well-being. As a clinical social worker I can help people by showing them their connectedness with a place. This course thought me how important a place is in peoples live. Without a place there wont be people and without people there wont be place.

References:

D. Suzuki. (2002). The Sacred Balance. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qTFzu-ArQk&feature=related F. Morgan, E. P. Murphy, M. Quinn (Producers), F. Morgan (Director) (2004). The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil. A Production of the Community Solution. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5o9wJdwYzc&feature=related Giovanni Vaz del Bello. ( 2007). A Convenient Truth: The Worlds Most Sustainable City, Curitoba, Brazil [Motion Picture]. Green Planet Films. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlCI3qzDhUc Lincoln Institute and Northern Light Productions. (May 2009). Portland: Quest for the Livable City Making Sense of Place Film Series [Motion Picture]. Cambridge, USA. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avNmiHnSXns M. Lysack, in-class guided meditation on place that brings deep sense of peace, May 14, 2012