THE RURBAN FRINGE

Wal-Mart to Go Local

Latching on to the local food movement, Wal-Mart announced a program this month that focuses on “sustainable agriculture among its suppliers as it tries to reduce its overall environmental impact,” writes Stephanie Clifford in The New York Times. 
“The program is intended to put more locally grown food in Wal-Mart stores in the United States, invest in training [...]

Success … at any Cost?

I’ve been catching up at FarmOn.com this week, with a brief post designed to stimulate discussion about the US investigation into agricultural giant Monsanto’s alleged anti-competitive practices.  Click here to have a read. 
On the flip side, this article from the National Post makes a case for encouraging responsible, sustainable bio-tech innovations … within the larger context of [...]

The Little House

The suburb has become the dominant form of urban growth around the world. 
Yet suburban development must also be sustainable; there’s no point in creating communities which will wither and die on the vine.
The challenge is not simply about managing population growth … but how the region provides quality jobs, develops the infrastructure to get these [...]