VPT Online: Livable Landscapes: By Chance or By Choice?






	Livable Landscapes: By Chance or By Choice? Airs Wed., April 20 at 10 pm Repeats Sun., April 24 at 3 pm Livable Landscapes: By Chance or By Choice? explores the changing relationship between people and the land in northern New England. The program features stories of average citizens taking a stand against sprawl and making positive choices about their communities' growth and change. From urban downtowns to village centers and working lands, there is hope: a seacoast farmer survives in one of the fastest-growing parts of the region; a developer in Maine creates a new New England village instead of a cookie-cutter subdivision; a Main Street in New Hampshire is revitalized; and a optimistic group of Vermont farmers have reinvested in their farms. The program illustrates how the landscape is a product of collective choosing. It explores the culprits of sprawl, including automobiles, large-lot housing, big-box retail and globalization. The program also asks how Americans can make healthier choices for the landscape, communities and citizens. LIVABLE LANDSCAPES will also air Sunday, April 24, at 3 pm, to be followed by a taped rebroadcast of Sprawl in Vermont: An 'Outdoor Journal' Special at 4 pm. Your Community Connection Two of the segments focus specifically on Vermont: Addison County agriculture and Chittenden County transportation. The Vermont Forum on Sprawl (VFOS), which works to preserve Vermont's unique landscape and quality of life while encouraging economic vitality, participated in the creation of this documentary. The VFOS also developed a Viewer's Guide which can be used by citizens and local planners to spark community discussion and examine the land use issues their towns are facing. The Viewer's Guide was developed in the hope that viewers will use the documentary to spread the word about smart growth. The guide includes general and specific discussion questions, as well as an online resource guide. (Printable versions of these materials are also available at the website.) Don't miss this in-depth look at an important issue facing all Vermonters. And be sure to use the Viewer's Guide to get involved!