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Aaron Brown
Portland, Oregon
Geography
I’ve always had a geeky interest in cities
and transportation. As a child, I fell asleep
each night over subway and transit maps.
Discovering how difficult it was to bike to
my suburban school, and reading urban
activist Jane Jacobs, caused me to arrive
at Macalester fascinated with questions
of how transportation systems impact
the social, environmental and economic
landscape. How does a progressive city
prepare itself for transportation in an
age of peak oil, geopolitical strife, social
inequities, and climate change? I think the
answer has two wheels. It’s a fantastic feeling
to bike over an interstate traffic jam,
knowing that you are saving money, exercising,
carbon free, and traveling faster
than the cars below.
 A young
demographic,
beautiful lake
scenery, and
civic traditions of
environmentalism
and outdoor
recreation have
made the Twin
Cities a nexus
of biking.
—Aaron Brown ’10
The confluence of a young
demographic, beautiful
lake scenery, and civic
traditions of environmentalism
and outdoor recreation
have made the Twin
Cities a nexus of biking,
and after taking fantastic
courses at Mac including
“Urban Geography” and
“The Automobile and the
American Environment,” I
decided I needed to apply
my academic work for the
benefit of the Twin Cities,
which had warmly adopted
me as a new citizen.
With the Chuck Green Fellowship and my
interest in non-motorized transportation,
I partnered with the Bike Walk Twin Cities
branch of Transit for Livable Communities,
a nonprofit organization advocating new
transit options in the Twin Cities and
Minnesota at large. The group is currently
administering a $20 million federal pilot
program to improve biking and walking
in the Twin Cities, funding everything
from bike lanes to community education.
Equipped with an academic background
about cities, a few weeks into my summer
partnership I found myself at Minneapolis
City Hall with my organization, talking to
the city’s Bike Walk Advisory Committee
and giving out summaries of proposals
that I had compiled.
In the spring seminar that accompanies
the fellowship, I quickly got to know the
other 2008 fellows. We formed an unlikely
bunch with different backgrounds, different
courses of study, and different heroes,
from Saul Alinsky to Cesar Chavez to
Barack Obama.
The Chuck Green program exemplifies
Macalester’s values; students are first
enabled with the social and academic
resources to enact positive community
change, and then pushed out the door
to make it happen. It was so satisfying to
meet with my Chuck Green peers throughout
the summer. The achievements of 12
friends exemplifying responsible citizenship
left me awestruck, and I can say with
confidence that the ideas, values, and
projects we brought to our organizations
will continue long after the end of our fellowships,
just as my experiences with the
fellowship will undoubtedly help shape
my future and my engagement with the
community.
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