Foolish phobia
By: Bartley Kives / This City - Winnipeg Free Press
Human beings and rats are a hell of a lot alike, and not just because both mammals are pest species that breed like mad in urban environments.
Ordinary people and common rats both tend to be neophobic, which means they generally avoid new foods, new places or any new aspect of their physical or social environments if they have the option of sticking to what they know and already like inside established comfort zones.
As an evolutionary strategy, neophobia makes a lot of sense for both homo sapiens and rattus norvegicus. There's no point sickening yourself by scarfing down some exotic new foodstuff when you already know it's safe to eat something boring, whether it's a bowl of breakfast cereal or a crust of bread from a garbage can.
But the general impuluse to fear anything new does not serve humans or rats well when the local population undergoes some form of pressure. In times of scarcity, both species rely on brave or desperate individuals to put aside their neophobia and experiment -- with new foods or new places to dwell.
The ability to override neophobia explains how both rats and humans have populated most of the planet, even though common rats are content to spend their entire lives within 20 metres of their nests -- and ordinary people prefer to remain on their couches -- provided they have enough to eat where they are.
But it takes an awful lot for neophobic mammals to display a bit of bravery. Consider the Winnipegger, an unusual human subtype that initially experimented by adapting to a sub-Arctic climate before becoming mired in the complacency befitting of its species.
For decades, Winnipeggers were confronted with extremely slow growth, which meant their physical environment -- their streets and parks and neighbourhoods -- changed only incrementally over time.
Unlike residents of boom-and-bust cities like Calgary and Vancouver, where new subdivisions, condo towers and apartment buildings seem to materialize overnight, many Winnipeggers have enjoyed the luxury of enjoying the same physical environment for decades.
The problem is, this environment no longer suits the needs of a significant portion of Winnipeg's population. This city is beginning to experience a shortage of many forms of housing, but especially apartment buildings, which is the form of housing most attractive to Winnipeggers of modest means.
In 2008, developers managed to create a paltry 319 new apartment units in Winnipeg, which is preposterous when you consider apartment vacancy hovers around one per cent.
But this is not for lack of trying, as any new Winnipeg apartment development faces not just regulatory approval but neophobia, as ordinary people cannot get past their love for pre-existing urban environments.
An apartment tower at the corner of Fort Street and Assiniboine Avenue was denied for the sake of preserving a parking lot that may one day become part of an historical park. Larger apartment complexes along Templeton Avenue in West Kildonan and Whellams Lane in North Kildonan repeatedly face opposition from existing residents.
All of these projects propose to add density to a city in desperate need of apartment units. But neophobia continues to reign.
While unfettered development is idiotic, the desire to stop any form of growth is frankly insane.
Just like rats, Winnipeggers must learn how to live with change.
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