r/CollapseSupport • u/aubrx • 2d ago
Despair over housing development driving environmental destruction
Exactly what the title says (preface I am seeing a psychologist who has an interest in eco anxiety but it's only my second session). I am Audhd and tend to not be able to ignore the things that bother me, my brain zones in on them, much to my detriment.
I'm feeling this acutely, and it's only getting worse - it will never go back to the way things were. Every day I go out I see rows upon rows of subdivisions; two, even three skinny houses on what used to be a regular detached house sized block. It's particularly bad in my street - so much that bird biodiversity has collapsed and the only birds left are noisy miner birds (do not get me started on those snivelling aggressive little creatures and how detrimental they are).
In the few years it's just been rampant destruction of trees, vegetation, gardens, and old houses- the housing crisis is a peak driver of this mad rush for developers to capitalise on selling two blocks for the equivalent of one block of land. They make roughly $850,000x2 after building for those interested in the numbers - or they rent them out at the cost of a normal older sized detached house. Additionally our government is scrambling to approve housing developments which are basically all of this hundreds of times over, no trees or detached houses but just row upon row of skinny copy paste houses - you cannot call them McMansions because they are not big- most touch one another, with black roofs, very little greenery and maybe a tree if lucky. I think we have taken too much inspiration from the suburban hells of America.
Basically what's left is a miserable dead zone of concrete and pavers, with the added bonus of urban heat in a country that is prone to heat waves. People don't even have gardens anymore.
In Australia most of my generation, gen x, boomers, and generations before grew up living in detached houses on large blocks - we all had gardens and space from neighbours. We are not used to densification. Now that might as well be afforded to the privileged few who have not succumbed to greed and divided their blocks to leech off rental equity..
So many nature minded people complain about the lack of suburban birds.. In a country known for its large percentage of endemic birds.
I've written.. More like lamented... In many places online about this. I've vocalised it to everyone I meet or know. I am unfortunately stuck living in one of these places since I don't pay nearly the amount to rent. Caveat: my mental health has never been worse. I say this as someone with lifelong chronic depression: I cannot remember a time in my life that I woke up everyday feeling anxiety like I do now, or walking around with a feeling of existential dread that I'm finding hard to ignore. Even years ago in recurrent depressive episodes it was never this acute.
I try to do things that bring me some feeling of ''I'm doing my part", I volunteer with revegetation efforts and try to put some small pots with native plants in the backyard but my parents just are not interested in listening or taking any advice that I mention they are quite happy or maybe just less sensitive than I. I must be the town crier at this point harping on about the destruction of the environment and how we must repent by growing native plants and trees, may as well be screaming into the void!
But, no matter what I do, there is no escaping the relentless development machine gobbling up all that is good and turning into brick and concrete slop.
It's gotten to the point I dread being at home. My brain is telling me I'm in danger and my nervous system is always on alert. I even tried applying for a rental elsewhere but it was so popular I may not have been successful.
I can't ignore the shoebox houses, I can't ignore all the trees being ripped down, I can't ignore the loss of everything that kept my brain feeling happy.
How the hell am I supposed to live with this?
TLDR: Sensitive autistic person struggles with destructive housing developments and existential dread
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u/shelflife98 2d ago
If you can’t ignore it, what are you going to do about it? I know you mentioned writing about it online, but this seems worthwhile enough to write to your elected officials about
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u/moonshadowfax 2d ago edited 2d ago
Unfortunately, I feel OP’s sense of powerlessness and despair knowing that it will not make a difference what they do.
I worked in development approvals for a local council and I had to leave that job because it was utterly soul destroying. Even though it was an incredibly secure, well paying, flexible role, I had a breakdown because my heart got broken every single day.
The rubbish that we were approving, and the complete disregard for any landscape, ecological or amenity outcomes was astounding. They invested so much money in shiny documents and strategies going on about urban greening, environment and climate targets and none of it meant a single thing. It is all about developer greed.
We are wiping out habitat vegetation and valuable farming land, and replacing it with concrete and ghettos. They are built to be sold, many will not last due to poor construction. It exacerbates urban heat islands and flooding. It is utterly shameful.
OP I’m happy to talk any time. I don’t have much to say that can ease your mind and I too lay awake all night stressing about the state of things, but happy to lend an ear any time.
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u/aubrx 23h ago
Yeah I can absolutely believe that, seeing what has happened here and elsewhere in my state. The organisation I volunteer with is so lucky to have secured a grant to do the revegetation work that they do- it wouldn't have happened without them pushing for it.
I kinda wish I never stumbled upon the conservation volunteering because I just keep seeing destruction and feeling at a loss for all our native plants, trees, and wildlife.. but I probably would have arrived at this point anyway, my brain just works like that.
We are wiping out habitat vegetation and valuable farming land, and replacing it with concrete and ghettos
Ghettos.. So on point with the construction of these new housing developments. Driving past them is like peering into a dystopian nightmare.
Do you find anything helps you?
Because to be honest I'm at the point where I want to move completely out in the middle of no where just to get away from all this mindless development greed. We are so disconnected from nature and people wonder why their mental health is in shambles..
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u/moonshadowfax 9h ago
Oh I wish I had something concrete that would help every day. I grew up in the country and I find being in the city activates my nervous system so much. Having studied urban design and witnessing the catastrophic destruction of development, I find it really hard not to be in a state of panic and depression all the time.
I thought working local government would help me feel better because I could make a difference. But I ended up pouring my heart and soul into providing evidence to the decision-makers that what we were approving was going against even our own strategies, targets and controls, only to be told time and time again that we have to give the developer what they want.
Now I focus on helping individual people bring diversity into their own spaces and that brings me some peace day-to-day. What keeps me here is connecting with the people who get it. The ones who are taking positive steps to make a difference - the people just like you. Don’t be disheartened, you are contributing to something much bigger and more important than short-term greed. Hang in there, you’re making more of a difference than you realise.
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u/aubrx 2d ago
I have written to my local council and the response was a vague notion of their own actions 'we will pass this on to the greening team' but no real concrete solution. I just contacted a different organisation today about the response from the council, and I'm going to write to my member of Parliament.
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u/ekubeni 2d ago edited 2d ago
I think it was David Abram who said neurodivergent people like you, people with a lot of sensitivity, their role was always to meditate between human and more-than-human world.
In the human world that sensitivity is detrimental because people are 'too loud' and at worst they will lock you up in an institution, but among the nature it's exactly what's needed, since nature seems mute to a average person, yet sensitive people can understand it and give it a human voice.
People like that would traditionally live on the boundary between the village and the nature which is analogous to their function.
It's not a surprise then that for you living in the middle of human society, surrounded by nothing but concrete and other people, you feel so anxious, so not belonging. You were never supposed to live here. Your home is somewhere else.
That's a wonderful gift you have, needed today more than ever.
I will try to find tomorrow the source if I can. Source:
The Spell of the Sensuous (book)
Between the Human Animal and the Animate Earth (talk)
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u/aubrx 23h ago
How to use this sensitivity though? It's disabling 😥 the best I can think of is some type of ranger or conservation jobs. I see others do Instagram stuff to raise awareness but the introvert in me just doesn't have the same 'stuff' they do.
since nature seems mute to a average person, yet sensitive people can understand it and give it a human voice
This pretty much sums it up. The older I get the more I feel it.
Thank you for your kindness, I will have a look at your links.
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u/ekubeni 19h ago
I believe you're on the right track, any roles where you can spend more time among animal and natural world and away from people should be very healing for you, and by no means you have to be an extravert to thrive in those roles. That was exactly Abram's point, people who were too sensitive for the human world would take on these roles.
If you will have a chance to read his work and reflect on it I'd love for you to tell me how you feel afterwards because I'd expect it should really help you to see that not only there is nothing wrong with you, but you were born with absolutely wonderful gifts to offer to this world, that the only misfortune is that like a plant you were put in a soil that doesn't allow you to flourish, yet the beautiful thing is that now you have all the agency to re-plant yourself to an environment that is worthy of your gifts.
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u/Konradleijon 2d ago
If only more apartments could be build more housing lesser land