Sifting Through Year’s Opinions

D uring 1988, various Orange County residents wrote about their feelings and thoughts in articles submitted to our Sunday commentary columns. As we look back, some of those thoughts are recalled:

Ralph J. Martin on urban villages:

Don’t Southern Californians want to keep their homes and jobs far apart--and to enact zoning ordinances to ensure that never the twain shall meet? Not any longer. This rigid separation of land uses does not make sense any more, particularly for Orange County residents, many of whom have lengthy commutes between home and job. In our post-industrial age, people are willing to live next door to employment centers. These changing attitudes could not have come at a better time. Our metropolitan area has evolved into a network of urban villages that are work, residence, shopping and entertainment mini-downtowns amid the urban sprawl. If more Southern Californians encourage different uses to locate in close proximity, we can scale back our vast metropolitan area into smaller, more functional urban villages. The sooner we do this, the sooner we can improve the quality of our lives.