Environmental Values, the Coastal Context, and a Sense of Place

EnvironmentalValues, the Coastal Context,and a Senseof Place

STEPHEN R. KELLERT

The coastalvalues which derive from the biophiliahypothesis have inspiredall thecontributors to thisvolume. Sagoff particularly dealswith aestheticand humanisticvalues, while he shareswith Nelson a concernfor moralistic values.Ambrose and Taub are mostconcerned with ecologistic values, Thompson and Trisoglio withnegativistic ones, and Haufler with utilitarian values. None of thecontributing scientists or governance scholars writes in a value- freeworld. And we must clearly understand that all thesevalue di- mensionsneed to be consideredas motivations, that they are all es- sentialto our coastalpolicy decisions.The coast,ever a magnetto humankind,has experienced both ecological and economic deteri- orationin our lifetime,and this hasresulted in its impoverishment asa meaningfulplace to us all,This is whycoastal restoration, a topicfurther explored in the next two chapters, isan essential and growingcomponent of contemporary environmental science, ac- tivism,and policy. Themajority of theAmerican population resides near large bodiesof water,whether along rivers,lakes, bays, estuaries, en- closedseas, or theopen coast. This, in itself,suggests the extraordi-

47 48 ~ Part I: Valt

nary valuepeople place on what is collectivelycalled the coastal contexr.If pressedto providean explanationfor thisdistribution patternof theAmerican population, many would suggest it simply reflectsthe inHuence of economichistory, rhe prevailing trans- portationand industrial patterns prior to rheage of the internal combustionengine, the availabilityof rich agriculturalland and freshwater resources. Without question,these and other material factorshave greatly influenced human behavior in relationto the coastalenvironment but, I contend,these materialistic explana- tionsprovide only a partialand incomplete understanding of why so manypeople have been drawn to this naturalcontext. TheAmerican coasts have also provided people with physical areashistorically rich in intellectual,emotional, aesthetic, and even spiritualopportunities for growthand development. It is theselat- ter attributes,as much as the moreobvious materialist values, that haveresulted in a deeplycompelling attraction to thecoastal environment.In otherwords, the coastal context has been a placeredo- lentwith promisefor seekingmeaningful and satisfying individual andcommunity lives. This combinationof commodityand non- comrnodityvalues has rendered the coasts a profoundlyattractive sitefor nourishinghuman identity and for seekinga sustainable andsecure sense of place. This notionof placeis similarto Mark SagofFsargument that the"concept of placecombines the meaning we associare with nature and the utility we associatewith environment.[It is a notion of] surroundingsthat arises from harmony, partnership, and inti- macy."'What has made the coastal context a remarkablyattractive sirefor humanhabitation is its specialblend of opportunitiesfor intimatehuman relationship with natureacross a widespectrum of utilitarian,ecological, aesthetic, psychological, intellectual, and ethical dimensions.In short, the coastalenvironment is viewed asa peculiarly capablecarrier of human valuestoward the natural world.It isthe contemporary erosion and degradation of these environmentalvalues which threatens the continuing capacity of the coastalcontext to functionas a satisfytngplace for humangrowth anddevelopment. Env>'ronn>e»>al~al»es ar>d a Senseof Place ~ 49

The writer SimoneWeil remarkedthat a senseof placemay be among"the most important and least recognized needs of thehu- mansoul." Weil suggested,in effect,that healthyand attractive placesprovide humans with a basisfor cultural meaning, a sense of community,and opportunities for achievingfamiliarity and pro- tectionin closeassociation with one another.A meaningfulsense of placealso reflects the human need for anintimate connection with theirnatural surroundings, particularly its varietyof life and thelifelike processes which support ecologically healthy and productive natural systems, Humansare, of course,not apartfrom naturebut an integral componentof it, havingevolved in closeand continuous associa- tionwith varying ecological forces, and most especially with other formsof life,Our species'ability to achievefeelings of well-being andmeaning depends on a highlyvaried, intricate, and subtle ma- trix of interactionswith the naturalworld, Fewenvironmental set- tingsprovide a >norediverse, textured, and multilayered opportu- nityfor this degree ofconnection between people and nature than the coastalcontext. This attribute hasbeen among the major at- tractionsof thecoast as a sitefor peopleto sinkdeep roots, build viablecommunities, and find an enduringand securesense of place. The erosionand degradationof theseconnections between peopleand nature lies at theheart of theenvironmental crisis alongAmerica's coasts, as much as the impact of pollutionand habitatdestruction does on variouseconomic and health related processes.Alan Grussow powerfully captured this profound and elusiveconsequence of environmental deterioration when he remarked:"It is not simplynostalgia for a romanncand rural past thatcauses us to grieveover the loss of naturalopen spaces, it is a concernover the lossof human values.For we are not distinct fromnature; we are part of it, andso far as our places are degraded,we too will bedegraded."~ Henry Beston, following a yearof reflectionon coastalCape Cod, similarly noted that: "Whatever attitude to human existence[we] fashion for [ourselves],[we] knowthat it isvalid only if it bethe shadow of anattitude to na- 50 ~ Part I: Va4ec,P1aees, and Nature ture...The ancient values of dignity,beauty, and poetry which sus- tain [usI are of nature'sinspiration...Do not dishonorthe earth lestyou dishonorthe spirit of man." The lepidopteristRobert Pyle referred to the "extinctionof experience"to expressthis serious and often little recognizedaspect of theenvironmental crisis, particularly the loss of biologicaldiversity.~Pyle, a leadingconservation biologist and one of theauthors of theIUCN reddata book on endangeredinvertebrates,~ was cer- tainly cognizantof currentprojections of an estimated27,000 global extinctionsannually, particularly of invertebratesin the moist tropical forests.Yet Pyle recognizedthat, from an anthro- pocentricview, this erosion of life meant,first and foremost, a pro- foundloss of humanpsychological bearings, the phenomenologi- caldegradation of experience,asmuch as the diminution of future materialoptions and the lesseningof variousecological life support systems.He remarked:"The extinctionof experienceis not justabout losing personal benefits...lt also implies a cycleof disaf- fection...The extinction of experiencesucks the life fromthe land, the intimacyfrom the connections."s Grussow,Beston, Pyle and others all recognizedthat important habitatsfor humansettlement, such as the coasts,represent for peoplethe opportunity For achieving meaningful lives, a deeply feltsense of intimaterelationship with their natural surroundings, anda chancefor attractive and rewarding communities and places, Theyappreciated that Far more appeared to bear stakein theeco- logicaldegradation and impoverishment of places like thecoast thansimply the erosion of prettyneighborhoods or the risks to hu- manhealth from pollution. Theconcept of biophiliahas been suggested asan apt expression for describingthe Full valuational measure of the humancrav- ing for deepand intimate association with life andlifelike processes,which are at the coreof theconcept of placeasserted here.9 This hypothesispurports that the human needFor varied interac- tionwith the diversity of life is anevolutionary expression of our dependenceon nature not just for materialsustenance and survival but, also,for a widerrange of emotional,intellectual, aesthetic, EnvironmentalValues and a Serixeaf Place ~ 51 and ethicalneeds as well. The biophilia conceptis employedhere to describevarious ways the coastal environment has provided hu- manswith an unusuallyrich and variedhabitat For securinga meaningfulsense of place.

BIOPHILIA AND THE COASTAL CONTEXT A rangeof values associated with thebiophilia hypothesis are iden- tified which delineate various human benefits derived from the coastalcontext.'" Brief definitions of thesecoastal values are indi- cated in Table 2.1.

Table 2.1, Coastal values.

AI:s1HI; I'IC: The importance of the coastal context as a sourceof beauty andphysical attraction. DoMIoNIsTIC:The opportunities provided by the coastal context for achievingmastery, prowess and control. ECOLO 'is'I'IC:Theopportunities offered by thecoastal context for understandingthesystematic functioning, and the structure of living resources and their habitats. HOMANISTIC;The importanceof thecoastal context for expressingstrong emotional attachments and bonds with nature, MQRALISTIc:Theopportunities provided by the coastal contex~ for attaininga strongsense of affinity,ethical concern, and spiritual reverence for nature. NATURALI&TI<.':Theopportunities provided by the coastal context for directexploration and contact with nature, UTILITARIAN:Thepractical material and commodity benefits derived from the coastal context.

NEGATIVISTIC;The coastalcontext asa sourceof fear,risk, and aweof nature, 52 ~ Pari I: Valves,Places, and Kaivre

Utilitarian Thisvalue of thecoastal environment isthe easiest torecognize, as it reflectsthe biasof our marketeconomy and materialistic cul- ture.The utilitarian value refers to themany ways coastal habitats haveprovided humans with a steadystream of practicaland com- moditybenefits derived from exploitingthe land/waterinterface andthe associated natural resources, The coast has historically yieldedan enormous range of transportation,agricultural, industrial,and other material products derived froin its estuaries,rivers, lakes,bays, enclosed seas, and shores. Therich organic soils frequently associated with coastal plains andwetlands, and a readilyaccessible topography, have led to in- tensiveagriculture, perhaps to a degreegreater than in anyother landtype. In Japan,For example, despite intensive competition from variousindustrial and other development uses, the coastal plainremains that nation's primary site For growing its staple rice crop.Coastlines have many attractive attributes for industry,in- cludingrelative ease of transportation,access, available water For coolingand other uses, proximity to humanpopulation centers andother features. The biologicaland ecological characteristics of coastalhabitats have also yielded a widerange of commercialbene- fitsfrom fisheries production to flood control and water recharge to a varietyof productdevelopments ashuman knowledge ex- pandsto exploitthe natural processes and abundant genetic varia- tion found in this environment.If for no other reason,these utili- tarianvalues suggest a certain profligacy in allowingsuch benefits to bedegraded by short-sightedoverexploitation and environmental degradation.

Ecologistic Thespecies richness, physical complexity and ecosystem dynamics of thecoastal environment have resulted in anenormous range of ecologicalbenefits, perhaps to a greaterdegree than in anyother habitat.Tidal and fresh water wetlands have generated significant understandingsfrom studying their biotic and abiotic elements in a systemiccontext. The biological productiviry of these ecosystems EnvironmentalValues and a Senseof Place ~ 53 is oftenconsidered to beamong the greatestknown. Collectively, coastalenvironments are important areas for watercatchment and groundwaterrecharge, prevention of soilerosion and sediment control, maintenanceof soil fertility, storageand recyclingof or- ganicmaterials, decomposition of human wastes, the expression of variousbiological control mechanisms, provision of migrationand nurseryhabitats, conservation of biologicaldiversity, transfer of energyand nutrients from onetrophic level to another,and the provisionof habitatsfor many organisms." Various practical benefits are derivedfrom theseecological processes including, for example,the productionof mostof our nation'scominercial fish species,and the decomposition of inore than 90 percentof human generatedorganic wastes.' In a broader scientific sense,coastal environments have been extremelyimportant for the study of biologicaland physical processes,systematics, evolutionary biology, organismal structure andfunction, hydrology, and aquatic chemistry. While such sub- jectsare typically the concern of onlya smallnumber of scientists, oneis struck by the rapidly growing interest among nonspecialists in studyingcoastal habitats compared to othernatural areas.

Aesthetic The coastalcontext has long been a sourceof beautyand physical inspiration.A wellestablished tradition in Westerncivilization has beenthat of travellingto coastalenvironments to experiencetheir aestheticcharm and attraction.People are drawn to suchfeatures as the brillianceof a settingsun castingcolors across the rolling surfaceof a coastalsea, or the beautyof a sandybeach stretching off into thedistance, or thevitality of a flockof waterfowllanding in raucoussynchrony onto a tidalestuary. Thephysical basis for theaesthetic appeal of thecoast is difFi- cultto definewith precision,yet one can assume important ele- mentsof vista,prospect, diversity, contrast, light, color,texture, and movementare all involved.More psychologically,few would disputethe importantemotional benefits derived from this aes- theticexperience including feelings of harmony,order, grace, a 54 ~ Part I: values,Places, ancl Nature

measureof tranquilityand relaxation, and even an overwhelming senseof well-beingand security. It maynot bean exaggerationto suggestthat an unspoiledand attractive coast is amongthe most significantsources of physicalbeauty and inspiration found in all of nature,

Naturalistic A closelyrelated value of the coastis the satisfactionderived from direct contact and physical immersion in it. Vast numbers of Americansengage in walking and exploringshores, beaches, and wetlands.The mental and physical benefits associated with height- enedawareness and contact with thecoast may be among the most ancient outdoor recreational activities known. The naturalisticappeal of the coastis probablydue to the abundantopportunities this environment provides for exploration and discovery.Celebrated expressions of this naturalisticattraction arefound in suchbooks as Thoreau's Cape Cod, Lindbergh's GiP from theSea, Carson's The Edge of theSea and Beston'sThe Outer- mostHouse to mentiononly a few.'~Each author powerfully artic- ulatedthe naturalistic wonder, mystery, discovery, and exploration of thecoastal context, well reflecting Edward O. Wilson'sinsight:

The [natural] world is rhe...domairi of the more restlessand paradoxicalpart of thehuman spirit. Our senseof wondergrows exponentially:the greater the knowledge, the deeper the mystery andthe morewe seek [experience] to createnew mystery...Our intrinsic ernorions drive us to search For new habirars, to cross unexploredterrain, but we still cravethis senseof a mysterious world stretchinginfinitely beyond.'

Thecoastal environment is an unrivaled habitat for exploring, discovering,and engaging feelings of wonderand mystery, in an almostchildlike manner independent of one'sage. Despite the strenuousphysical exertions often involved, many derive significant feelingsof relaxation,peace of mind, and an enhancedsense af creativityand imagination from this naturalisticexperience of the coast. I.nvirotvnenta/ Vali esand a Senseof Place ~ 55

Hu mant's tie The humanisticvalue is indicativeof strongfeelings of emotional attachment to individual elements of the coastal environment. This affectiveresponse is typicallydirected at particularlysalient aspectsof thecoast including large animals such as waterfowl and wadingbirds, or strikinggeological forms such as certain beaches, cliffs, or tidal marshes.People often expresspronounced attachment to theseelements of the coast,often invoking termsof en- dearmentnot unlike thosethey use toward other huinanswhen describingthe depth and quality of theiremotions. The therapeu- tic valueof the humanisticperspective of the coastcan sometimes bequite significant, most dramatically illustrated by theWestern traditionof seekingthe shore for solace and rehabilitation attimes of acutemental and physical stress. Conversely, it is not unusualto encounterextreme feelings of losswhen particular elements of the coastare despoiled or degraded,

Dotni nioitistie The coastcan also offer significant physical and mental challenges testingthe capacity of peopleto persevere in the face of formidable opposition.Both by choiceand necessity,people have long con- testedelements of the coastalenvironment and, in the process, demonstratedtheir ability to subdue,control, dominate, and mas- ter difficult and sometimesthreatening elements of the natural world. While this dominionisticrelationship may foster, particularly in the modern era, tendenciestoward excessivemastery and ma- nipulation,this recent capacity should not dissuadeus from recog- nizingthis value's more ancient and functional roots. Perhaps this intuitive understandingaccounts for the continuing interestin sportslike sailingor sculling,where vessels of anachronisticutility remainpopular because of thechallenge and skill embedded in theircontest with nature.The evolutionarystruggle has always ne- cessitatedsome degree of tnasteryand control over nature, and the prowessinvolved rarely results in the victim'scomplete destruction: in fact,much the oppositecan result.As HolmesRolston 111 56 ~ Par I: Values,Places, and Nature

suggests:"One reason we lamentthe passing of wildernessis that wedo notwant entirely to tamethis aboriginal element... Half the beautyof life comesout of it...The cougar's fang sharpens the deer'ssight, the deer's fleet-footedness shapes a moresupple li- oness...Noneof life'sheroic quality is possiblewithout this dialec- tical stress."'~ The coastalenvironment has long beena worthyand defiant adversaryfor humans.Even in the modernera, waterfowl hunters continueto seekthe competition of theircrafty prey, while home- ownersstruggle to withstandthe vagaries of themost unstable of all terrestrialenvironments. While anyexercise of dominionistic tendenciescan be brought to self-defeatingexcess, it may be a false arroganceto denythe legitimacy of thishuman urge to masterand controlnature. The inanagement challenge isnot to denythis do- minionisticvalue but to renderits expression safely within the eco- logicalcarrying capacity of thecoastal environment.

Moralistic Thecoastal context frequently evokes strong ethical and moralistic affinitiesfor nature.These sentiments can be so powerfully manifest that they sometimeslead to an attitudeof reverenceand even spiritualawe for thenatural world. The basis for thispowerful bonding with the coastalenvironment remains elusive and, to a degree,inexplicable. Yet,one supposes the intense expression of life in theseemingly int'egrated coastal context may be associated withthis moralistic wonder and reverence. This nearly religious re- sponseto thecoast is powerfullyarticulated by JohnSteinbeck whenmusing upon life in thetidal pool:

It seemsapparent that speciesare only commasin a sentence, thateach species is at once the point and the base of a pyramid, thatall life is related....And then not only the meaning but the feelingabout species grows misty, One inerges into another, groupsme!t into ecologicalgroups until thetime when what we know as life tneetsand enterswhat we think of as non-life: bar- nacleand rock, rock and earth,earth and tree,tree and rain and FnvironmentalValues and a Senseof Place ~ 57

air.And the units nestleinto the whole and areinseparable from it.... And it is a strangething that mostof the feelingwe call religious,most of the mysticaloutcrying which is one of the most prizedand used and desired reactions of our species,is reallythe understandingand the attemptto saythat manis relatedto the wholething, relatedinextricably to all reality,known and un- knowable....That all things areone thing and that one thing is all things a plankton,a shimmeringphosphorescence on the seaand the spinning planets and an expanding universe,'~

Negativistic Thisattempt to delineatevarious coastal values has largely empha- sizedpositive attributes derived from intimate contactwith this naturalenvironment. Like any habitat,the coastcan alsoconnote negativevalues including fear, aversion, and disdain. Even from this negativisticperspective, one is struckby the capacityaf the coastto provokeunusually strong human responses to a degreenot of'tenencountered in other environments.Most people,for example, expressconsiderable fright in the faceof a furiouslyraging coastalstorm, or towardthe dangerposed by predatorssuch as crocodilesor sharks,or when confronted with the seemingly malarial,disease-ridden sight of a stagnantmarsh or thedetritus of a decomposingswamp, These and other featuresof the coastalen- vironmentcan provokeavoidance and evenalienation from this habitat, While suchsentiments of fear,aversion, and antipathycan foster unwarrantedharm and destruction,they can also resultin a healthydistancing and even respect for thisnatural environment. Negativisticsentiments reflect a functionalevolutionary process when manifest at a reasonablelevel of occurrence, Avoidance of in- jury and harm in natureis oneof the mostancient biological ten- denciesof any species,and a realistictension between humans and the threatposed by the coastalenvironment is to be expectedand sometimeswelcomed. This fear may even,at times, nourish a healthydeference and avoidanceof certainhabitats and admira- tion for the powerfuland menacingin nature. 58 ~ Part I: tilries, Places,and Natiire

A SENSE OF PLACE IN THE COASTAL CONTEXT Thesediverse coastal values reflect a deephuman need to associate with natureand they collectivelyreflect the material,intellectual, emotional,and even spiritual bases for thehuman attraction to the coast.These relationships, in otherwords, express a matrixof subtle and complexhuman interdependencies with nature,which al- low peopleto developintimate and abidingattachments to their coastalcommunities as secure, familiar and meaningfulplaces. For this levelof relationshipto occur,however, at leasttwo con- ditionsseem necessary. First, coastal environments must be ecologicallyhealthy, aesthetically appealing, and materiallyproductive. Second,the humanpresence in the coastallandscape must be intimate,functionally meaningful, and economically sustainable. The coastal context must, in other words, meet the conditions for vi- able communitieswhere people are neither outsidersnor a de- structiveor debilitatingforce. Unfortunately, both conditionshave beenseriously eroded in contemporaryAmerica, the result being a significantlydegraded capacity of the coastalcontext to providea secureand meaningful sense of placefor manypeople. The foremostproblem has been the physicaldegradation of the coastalenvironment, a situationdescribed in greatdetail elsewhere.Yet, if brieflyexamined in light of the biophiliavalues de- scribedabove, one can obtain another perspective on the harm that hasbeen incurred, Ecologically, extensive poll.ution, chemical contamination,habitat destruction, resource overexploitation, and the widespreadinvasion of exoticorganisms are among the more seriouscauses for decliningbiological carrying capacity and pro- ductivity in many coastalenvironments, From a more practical perspective,these environmental insults have resulted in serious health hazards, declines in commercial fisheries and other resource production,and the deteriorationof suchcritical ecological ser- vicesas decoinposition, flood control, storm protection, water pu- rification and recharge,and the control of soil erosionand sedi- ments. Aesthetically,the almostmythic beautyand physicalattraction of the coasthas been replaced in manyareas by congestion,litter, EnvironmentalValues arid a Aens

Muchof what we deplore about the human subversion of nature and fear about the destruction of the environment has to do with theloss of placeswe keep in sharedrnernory and cherish with instinctiveand collectiveloyalty. It hasto do with [the] loss of...securityone has when one relies upon the characteristicas- pectsof placesand communitiesone knowswell. %'hat inay worryus most is theprospect of becomingstrangers in our own land

Variouselements of coastalenvironmental degradation congestion,aesthetic deterioration, habitat destruction and fragmenta- tion are alsoassociated with increasingalienation and separa- tion fromthe coastalcontext. Human estrangement from the coastallandscape is furtherexacerbated by declinesof regional economies,the increasein what could be termedthe "suburban- ization and commuterization" of the coast, even the expanding 60 Part l; Valises,Places, and <%attire number of isolatedand restrictedprotected areas. Collectively, thesefacrors all conrributeto theseparation and distancing of people from the coastas a secureand meaningfulplace of human habitation. Ironically,more people reside in coastalcommunities than ever before,although the greatmajority seemdisconnected from this environmentas a sourceof food, energy,or experience.This disas- sociationfrom the basicprocesses of life seriouslylimits the capacity of the coastto bea meaningfulplace, no matterhow aesthetically attractiveit maybe. Communities elicit loyaltyand attachment, DavidOrr suggests,when they "reweave the local ecology into the fabricof economyand life patterns."'Sustainable and vital coastal communitiesrequire more than just protectionand restorationof natural landscapesor the preservationof aestheticattractions. Theseareas must alsobe placeswhere people can, to quote Orr, "find... sourcesof food, livelihood,energy, healing, recreation and celebration."' ~ We havetoo oftenassumed the only meansfox arresting the deteriorationof the coastis to establishmore protected and restricted areas.While this option inay at timesbe ecologicallynecessary, its fundamentalflaw is the relegationof humansto the role of'out- sider and transient. Preservation efforts are often unavoidable in the faceof continuingcoastal degradation, but theyrepresent a biocentricapproach to landscapeprotection, failing to addressthe anthropocentricheart of the malaisecaused by the declineof the coastalenvironment as a sitefor humanexperience and community. They fail to recognizethe human needfor intimate, sponra- neous,and ongoinginteraction with nature.Without this levelof familiar, unrehearsed involvemenr, the coastal environment be- comesmerely pretty, a placero admire from afar, with typical aloofness.As Pylesuggests.

Intimate associationis necessary...A face-to-faceencounter with a bananaslug means much morethan a komododragon seen on television...Nature reserves,arenot enoughto ensureconnec- rion. Such places,important as they are, invite a measured,restricted kind of contact...There need to be places,wherewe Environmenra/Values and a Senseof Plare ~ 6l

canwander off a trail, lift a rock,poke about,and merelywon- der 20

This deeperlevel of connectionmeans integrated access with an aestheticallyappealing, ecologically productive, and economi- callyviable coastal environment. Modern economies necessarily precludereturning to thebucolic fantasy of a self-'sufficientcoastal landscape.For the foreseeablefuture most energy, food, and material resources will continue to be obtained from elsewhere and transportedover long distances. Still, the restorationoF meaning, community,and placein the coastalcontext will necessitatesome revitalizationof regionaleconomies, the assurance that some sub- stantialelement of primaryproduction remains available for sight, smell,touch, and participation. As Jaquetta Hawkes remarked, this means"relearning... a patient and increasingly skillful love-making that[persuades] the land to flourish."z' The preservationand restoration of bioregional economies ne- cessitates,as Orr suggests,some degree of willingness,"to rediscov- er and reinhabitour... family farms,rural villages,towns, commu- nitiesand urban neighborhoods." This processof sinkingdeep rootsinto a placeentails nurturing our interdependencewith nature,allowing the coastalenvironment to becomean integralas- pectof our personaland community lives, and a sourceof material sustenanceand well-being. As Sagoff suggests, "A natural landscape becomesa place...when it is cultivated,when it constrainshuinan activityand is constrainedby it, whenit functionsas a centerof felt value, becausehuman needs,cultural and social aswell as biological,are satisfied in it." . The utilitarian valuemust neverbe achievedat the expenseoF theother ecological, aesthetic, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual valuespreviously associated with a richand rewardingcoastal environment.Antagonism between economic and noneconomic environmentalvalues, however, is almost alwaysavoidable and rarelyan intrinsic conflict. More often than not, discords between natureand economy are a consequenceof an unnecessary economic narrowness.As the economistMalcolm Gillis suggests,"Good econoinicsnot only is goodecology but indeedis requiredfor 62 ~ Part I: Values,Places, attd Nature

goodecology, The dichotomythat manyperceive to havearisen betweeneconomics and ecology isfalse and has persisted primarily because of bad economics." Moreover, it is not unusual to encounter economic decision- makingthat seeks ro maximizethe experience of noneconomic environmentalvalues, even where monetary incentives suggest other- wise.Businesses often relocate in environmentallyattractive and healthyplaces, despite the presenceof alternativelocations over- flowingwith industrialadvantages, a myriad of taxincentives and elaborareinfrastructural and logistical support. Many environ- mentallydegraded communities, for example,have unsuccessfully marketedthemselves on the basisaf monetaryincentives alone, onlyta fmdcorporations relocating in areaslacking equivalent rax andinfrastructuial benefits but brimming with an array of positive environmental attributes. ln other words, economicsoften follows ecologicallyhealthy and attractive communities, and many munic- ipalitieswould be well-advisedto improvetheir environmental amenities for economic reasonsalone. Advocacyof a meaningfulsense of placein thecoastal context emphasizesthe importance of protectinga rangeof environmental values,as well as the sustainableconnection betweencoastal habi- tatsand local economic and social structures. One potentially mis- leadingpossibility is thatit maysuggest to somean idealization of the rural landscape,and the relatedinsinuation of urbanlife asin- trinsicallyharmful to humanemotional, intellectual, and aesthetic linkswith the coastal environment, The view presented here might be regardedas romantic, elitist, and denigrating toward those miredin povertyand residing in theinner city. This interpretation would be erroneous.The environmental valuesand socioeconomic structuresadvocated here, while perhaps less obvious and readily accessiblein the urbancontext, represent more a problemof design and opportunity than a matter of irrelevancefor an entire classof people. Thecoastal environment can enrich the human experience just asmuch in theurban context as it canon the rural shore. Society's challengeis not to lamentthe degraded state of thecoast in many Fnvirornnen al Values and a Sense of Place ' 63 of our urban settingsbut to renderits positiveexperience more readilyaccessible, ecologically healthful, and socioeconomically meaningful.This means integrating environmentally sound coastal areasinto the design of urbanneighborhoods and built structures, rehabilitatingdegraded coastal wetlands and parks, restoring coastalregional economies and livelihoods. Many cities have be- gunto marshall this capacity through the creation of community gardens,urban forestry programs, wetlands and harbor restoration, enhancedwatershed protection, and coastal greenways.~~ These are onlya fewexamples of creative pursuits designed to improvethe modern coastalcity. It will not beeasy to arrestmany of thecurrent forces of eco- logicaldecline or achieve the restoration of degradedenvironments in coastalcities, towns, and villages. A necessarybeginning is the recognitionthat a secureand meaningful sense of placein the coastalcontext must be addressedacross all the value dimensions described.Living diversity and the ecological process that support it arenot just a matterof materialwell-being, but also the founda- tion for our emotional, intellectual, aesthetic, and ethical existence.The human species evolved in a rich,diverse, and produc- tivenatural environment and this condition remains necessary for ourpersonal identities, community structures, and sense of meaningfulplaces. The restoration and enhancement of this potential meansnot just restoring the health of thecoastal environment, but alsoits capacity to animatehumans aesthetically, to nurture them ecologically,to awe and frighten them with its grandeur and mag- nificence,and to inspiretheir varied capacities for explorationand wonder,affection and bonding, challenge and physical fitness, and spiritualinspiration and solace. These represent the basic goals of environmental enhancementand remediation in the coastalcon- textand should guide management efforts whether they be in the areasof pollutioncompliance, ecological restoration, land and speciesprotection, integrated conservation and development, humanpopulation control, or publiceducation and awareness. Thegreatest challenge isto expand and enrich the understand- ingof howthe human personality depends on the natural environ- 64 ~ Part I: Va mes,Places, and Nature mentfor emotional and spiritual, as much as physical, well-being. Weneed to cultivateawareness of how humans depend on anintimate connection with their natural context in order to achieve the goalsof communityand security. The challenge isas much one of changingvalues as of expandingscientific knowledge or engineer- ing capacities.The restorationand enhancemeritof the coastalen- vironrnentas a meaningfulplace oF human habitation depends on howmuch we recognize that nature and biological diversity are a criticalbasis for whatit meansto befully human.

NQTEs 1. MarkSagoff. 1992, Settling America or theconcept of placein en- vironmentalerhics, Journal of Energy,Natural Resource 8i Envi- ronrnentalLaw 12!:351-418. Quotation p. 389. 2. SimoneWeil. 1971 952]. TheNeed for Roots.Harper Colo- phon,New York, p. 43. 3. Alan Grussow. 1972, A Senseof Place:The Artist and the Ameri- canLand. Friends of theEarth, San Francisco, p, 27. 4. HenryBeston. 1971, The OuterrnosrHouse. Ballantine Books, New York,p. 394. 5. RobertM. Pyle.1993. The Thunder Tree. Houghton-Mi&1in, Bos- ton, p. 145. 6. SusanM. Wells,Robert M. Pyleand N. MarkCollins. 1983. The IUCN InvertebrateRed Data Book.IUCN, Gland,Switzerland. 7, StephenR. Kellertand Edward O. Wilson.1993, The Biophilia Hypothesis.Island Press, Washington, D,C. 8. Pyle,op, cit., p. 147. 9. Kellertand Wilson, op. cit,, and Wilson. 1984. Biophilia: the Hu- man Bondwith OtherSpecies. Harvard University Press, Cam- bridge, 10. StephenR. Kellert.1993. The biological basis for humanvalues of nature.In Kellertand Wilson, op. cit., pp.42-69, 11, RobertDeGroot. 1992. Functions of Nature.Wolters-Noordhoof, Amsterdam. Fnvlronn>en al Values and a Sense of Place ~ 65

12. Stephen.R, Kellert.1993. Values and perceptions of'invertebrates ConservationBiology 7!:845-55. 13. HenryDavid Thoreau. 1987 [1865]. Cape Cod. Pengui~ Books, New York;Anne Morrow Lindbergh. 1955. Gift Fromthe Sea. RandomHouse, New York;Rachel L. Carson.1955. The Edgeof the Sea.Oxford UniversityPress, New York;Henry Beston.1971. The Outermost House. Ballantine Books, New York. 14. Wilson, op. cit., p. 76. 15. Holmes Rolston III, 1986.Philosophy Gone Wild. Prometheus Books,Buffalo, p, 88, 16. JohnSteinbeck. 1941. Log Fromthe Seaof Cortez.P. P, Appel, Marnaroneck,New York,p. 93. 17. Sagoff,op. cir., Quotationpp. 352-3,358. 18. David Orr. 1993.Love it or loseit: the coming biophilia revolu- tion. In Kellertand Wilson, op. cit., pp, 415-440.Quotation p. 432-33.

19. Ibid. 20, Pyle,op. cir., pp. 146-47. 21. JaquettaHawkes. 1951. A Land.Random House, New York,p. 202. 22, Orr, op. cit., p, 433. 23. Sagoffop, cit,, p. 358. 24. Malcolm Gillis. 1991. Economics,ecology and ethics:mending the brokencircle for tropicalforesrs. In F, HerbertBormann and StephenR. Kellert eds.!.Ecology, Economics, Ethics: The Broken Circle.Yale University Press, New Haven,pp. 153-179.Quotation p. 159. 25. Twoexamples of suchcities are New York and Baltimore. For New York'scoastal. parks, see, for example,Michael A. Matthews, RobertP. Cook, John T. Tanacrediand Joseph J. Pane.1991. Inter- agencycooperation in restoringfreshwater wetlands in an urban national recreation area. National Institute for Urban Wildlife, Columbia, Maryland,In Baltimore,river coursesemptying into the Harborare part of an urbangreenway system and the city's Critical Arearegulations provide for restorationof wildlife habitat 66 ~ Part I; l~alues,P/aa's, antI Xarure

wherepossible, and for publicaccess to theentire peritneter of the InnerHarbor, The Harbor-cityinterface is onceagain a focusfor citizensand visitors alike. See, for example,Department of Plan- ning, Baltimore,Maryland. 1992.Baltimore City's Critical Area ManagementPlan.