Eric Jacobsen, On Orange Juice and Old People

Among Urbanists, there is an informal test used to ascertain whether a particular location qualifies as a ‘real’ neighborhood.  It is known as the ‘orange juice test’ and it involves determining whether a twelve year old son or daughter could be sent out on his or her own to get some orange juice for the family breakfast.  The ability to complete this simple test is contingent upon a number of factors that are thought to be essential for neighborhood life:

1) Mixed use zoning that allows commercial and residential buildings to coexist;
2) The existence of a coherent network of sidewalks and streets that give the pedestrian as much consideration as the automobile;
3) Enough ‘social capital’ among neighbors for parents to relax when one of their children is outside of the house and under no one’s direct supervision.

The idea of such a test is to determine whether a neighborhood is a welcoming and safe place for young people.  However, the issue is relevant to other population groups.  The presence of such factors that make a neighborhood hospitable for young people also makes it work for older residents as well.  According to Christopher Alexander the existence of both young and old is a requisite condition for vibrant neighborhood life:

"in every neighborhood contains a small pocket of old people, not concentrated in all in one place, but fuzzy at the edges like a swarm of bees.  This will both preserve the symbiosis between young old and give the old people the mutual support they need within the pockets" (A Pattern Language, 218)

What’s at stake here in looking at the experience of the young and old is whether or not those who cannot operate an automobile are invited to participate fully in everyday life through the mediating structure of the neighborhood.  The reason for even having such a test is to reveal the fact that for many so called family friendly subdivisions that have been built since WWII the orange juice test would not be passed and most people too young, too old, too poor, or too sick to operate an automobile would be dependant upon someone else to gain access to many of the amenities of daily life.   

This situation has become so commonplace that we haven’t even noticed the radical change that our society has undergone. Fifty years ago there were no ‘retirement homes’ because people could grow old in their own neighborhood and live relatively independent lives without operating an automobile. There were also no ‘soccer moms’ because kids could walk to the local park for soccer practice.

This is a remarkable change that our society has experienced in the past half-century and it is certainly notable that it seems to have happened without much notice among the American populous. But is it of any special concern for the Christian community? I for one think that it is. I think that the orange juice test and the presence of old people are part of the biblical vision of shalom.

Nicolas Wolterstorff reminds us that in the Western tradition, we have two or three primary ways to think about the good life (Until Justice and Peace Embrace). There is the notion of the good life as happiness that can be traced back to Aristotle. There is the notion of the good life as one that is entirely free stemming from the Enlightenment. And there is the notion of the good life as an ordered life based on Plato’s philosophy.

The biblical notion of shalom is probably closest to Aristotle’s notion of happiness, but it goes beyond it in many important ways. Shalom is present where “we enact our responsibilities to one another, to God, and to nature” and where we do so with both delight and joy (Wolterstorff, 124).

Shalom for Christians is both a promise for the future as well as a mandate for the present. It is what the exiles in Babylon are supposed to seek for their alien city and it is the central characteristic of the new life that we will experience when Christ returns. The Bible gives us a number of evocative images of shalom. My personal favorite is one from Zechariah:

Thus says the LORD of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of their great age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. (Zech 8:4-5)

I don’t know about you, but I’d have no problem sending one of my kids to the store in this particular scene. Surely there are a lot of ways to envision shalom, but I think that it is a pretty safe bet that a biblical account of shalom will always include both orange juice and old people.

© 2006, Eric O. Jacobsen.

Comments

[B.A.]

Eric,

This is great. It really causes me to consider the places that I have lived in. Particularly my experience living in Tokyo, Japan was where I experienced the closest thing to this aspect of shalom.

Thank you for exposing this perspective on one of the many facets of shalom that god wants us to experience.

What communities in the United States have you seen, heard of or studied that you believe have preserved their ability to pass the orange juice test?

[Tim]

So, as Christians seeking shalom, should we move into communities that pass the "orange juice test" or intentionally move into ones that don't? The former seems to be where younger evangelicals are headed...it is certainly cooler and easier to look for the properly functioning urban setting. Yet, the latter seems a bit more Christian, but not nearly as fun or safe. My neighborhood fails the 'o.j. test' miserably, and that is why I live there.