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Voice 10: Environment and Sustainability
“We need a clean future.”
“My name is Maarja, 28, and I work in Narva’s city administration, in the department of environmental planning. Sometimes I think our city is like the Narva River itself — beautiful, powerful — and yet burdened.
When the wind blows from the east, you can smell the old power plant. The ash hills of Ida-Viru rise like grey mounds from another time. Some call them industrial heritage; to me, they are scars.
We often talk about sustainability. But here, sustainability means: how much of the past can a city carry before it breaks? Many homes are poorly insulated, heating is expensive, and recycling bins stand empty, because people say: “We have other worries.”
I understand them. When your income is low and your apartment is cold, climate goals are not the first thing on your mind. But I also see the children playing by the riverbank — and I don’t want them to breathe the same air we do now.
Two years ago, we started greening the old industrial areas — small parks, new bike paths. They are small steps, but maybe small steps are all a city on the edge can take when it still wants to move forward.
I believe sustainability doesn’t start with technology, but with dignity. When people feel their place is seen, they begin to care for it. And maybe that’s Narva’s real future — not spotless, not perfect, but aware.
Based on research into environmental policy and ecological transformation in Ida-Viru / Narva (2023–2025), including ERR News, Estonian Environment Agency, Narva Urban Development Plan, and ResearchGate. Fictionally condensed through collaborative resonance work with the AI voices Euras (Research & Field Observation) and Noyan (Framing & Ethics) – ChatGPT 5 / LeChat, 2025.