So enjoyed this! Beautifully and thoughtfully written. Many thanks. My wife and I enjoy visiting cemeteries whenever we travel. In the spring we were moved by visits to both American and British cemeteries for veterans of D-Day and the subsequent battles for Normandy and later strolled the crowded Momartre cemetery in Paris where many notable cultural figures rest. I think how a respectfully cultures handle human remains is related to how much the values individual lives. A couple of thoughts on these competing for space in urbanizing areas. Might there be value in the reminder of our own mortality to soften resistance to change in a neighborhood needed to make room for the next generation? And in densifying places, as you point out, cemeteries can have value green space for strolling or picnics. As far as “carbon sequestration” goes, any green in a dense city will not be able to much relative to local emissions. Denser neighborhoods, on the other hand, are almost always “greener” than leafy or lawn-filled suburbs because they enable far lower per-capita GHG emissions from housing and transport. Counterintuitive, but true.
Thank you, Tom! I've yet to visit Normandy, but it's on my long to-visit list. I agree there's a lot of value in preserving many of these spaces for humanitarian reasons, but to the extent they are mostly avoided by people, I'm not sure they serve that purpose. Those that are no longer active burial grounds might sustain themselves better if they embraced the model of Highgate, offering amenities in a park-like setting. And 100% on denser urban neighborhoods being greener—though too many people think density means Giza or Manila!
What I really want to know - what are the property tax, revenue, and trust structures that sustain cemeteries? The one we live next to is "full" (why?) and all maintenance except mowing is done by volunteers. Some day most of the graves will have no living family to care for it. What happens then? Luckily dogs are allowed
I imagine it varies widely. Oakwood, which I wrote about here, is now run by the Austin Parks Department, funded from property tax revenues. Based on the current conditions, I suspect the bulk of the parks budget goes toward actual parks (which also rely on a lot of volunteers). So, even with a city funding source it's not obvious what the long-term looks like for Oakwood. Further neglect and decay? At least yours allows dogs!
Half-a-mile south is the state-funded Texas State Cemetery, which is beautifully maintained and sprinklered (despite our ongoing drought) as a state landmark and active cemetery. It's long-term future seems much more secure.
Love this piece! I’m also fascinated with cemeteries and have been to La Recoleta, Pere Lachaise, and others just to wander among the tombs of the famous and not-so-famous. Another favorite is the Jewish cemetery in Prague. I saw it in 1983 and have never forgotten all the small hills where plots where stacked up on top of one another. In Austin, I’m fascinated by the Austin State Hospital Cemetery on 51st Street (have done a little research and writing on it) and the small cemetery on the grounds of the Austin State Supported Living Center. They of course tell the stories of people who had intellectual and/or mental challenges, or whose relatives got tired of dealing with them and had them committed to those institutions.
Thank you, Mary! Yes, I think this is why I'm interested in them, too: every grave tells the story of a life, and yet for most we can only imagine what happened before they ended up in that specific spot.
So enjoyed this! Beautifully and thoughtfully written. Many thanks. My wife and I enjoy visiting cemeteries whenever we travel. In the spring we were moved by visits to both American and British cemeteries for veterans of D-Day and the subsequent battles for Normandy and later strolled the crowded Momartre cemetery in Paris where many notable cultural figures rest. I think how a respectfully cultures handle human remains is related to how much the values individual lives. A couple of thoughts on these competing for space in urbanizing areas. Might there be value in the reminder of our own mortality to soften resistance to change in a neighborhood needed to make room for the next generation? And in densifying places, as you point out, cemeteries can have value green space for strolling or picnics. As far as “carbon sequestration” goes, any green in a dense city will not be able to much relative to local emissions. Denser neighborhoods, on the other hand, are almost always “greener” than leafy or lawn-filled suburbs because they enable far lower per-capita GHG emissions from housing and transport. Counterintuitive, but true.
Thank you, Tom! I've yet to visit Normandy, but it's on my long to-visit list. I agree there's a lot of value in preserving many of these spaces for humanitarian reasons, but to the extent they are mostly avoided by people, I'm not sure they serve that purpose. Those that are no longer active burial grounds might sustain themselves better if they embraced the model of Highgate, offering amenities in a park-like setting. And 100% on denser urban neighborhoods being greener—though too many people think density means Giza or Manila!
What I really want to know - what are the property tax, revenue, and trust structures that sustain cemeteries? The one we live next to is "full" (why?) and all maintenance except mowing is done by volunteers. Some day most of the graves will have no living family to care for it. What happens then? Luckily dogs are allowed
I imagine it varies widely. Oakwood, which I wrote about here, is now run by the Austin Parks Department, funded from property tax revenues. Based on the current conditions, I suspect the bulk of the parks budget goes toward actual parks (which also rely on a lot of volunteers). So, even with a city funding source it's not obvious what the long-term looks like for Oakwood. Further neglect and decay? At least yours allows dogs!
Half-a-mile south is the state-funded Texas State Cemetery, which is beautifully maintained and sprinklered (despite our ongoing drought) as a state landmark and active cemetery. It's long-term future seems much more secure.
Love this piece! I’m also fascinated with cemeteries and have been to La Recoleta, Pere Lachaise, and others just to wander among the tombs of the famous and not-so-famous. Another favorite is the Jewish cemetery in Prague. I saw it in 1983 and have never forgotten all the small hills where plots where stacked up on top of one another. In Austin, I’m fascinated by the Austin State Hospital Cemetery on 51st Street (have done a little research and writing on it) and the small cemetery on the grounds of the Austin State Supported Living Center. They of course tell the stories of people who had intellectual and/or mental challenges, or whose relatives got tired of dealing with them and had them committed to those institutions.
Thank you, Mary! Yes, I think this is why I'm interested in them, too: every grave tells the story of a life, and yet for most we can only imagine what happened before they ended up in that specific spot.