Monday, April 13, 2009
Choice and the city
"The point of cities is multiplicity of choice."
-Jane Jacobs
When I was in Paris last fall, we stayed in a small apartment just off of Rue de Montorgueil - an incredibly vibrant street in the second arrondissment. Lined with bakeries, restaurants, cafes and countless types of food, I was struck by the diversity of choice this one street represented. Within just a few blocks, I could purchase fish, cheese, wine, bread, gelato, fill a prescription, pick up a pair of jeans, sit down for a coffee or enjoy a meal on a sidewalk patio. To move along Rue de Montorgueil, I had the option of walking, taking a bike or riding a scooter. If I wanted to go beyond this area, I also could take a taxi, hop on a bus or take the metro. In my time there, walking was the mode of choice. It allowed us to take in the beauty of life in Paris. It didn't hurt that this was the best way to burn all the calories we consumed at the aforementioned food shops either.
All too often, we build our cities without consideration of real choice in mind. Whether the types of housing to live in, how to move around the city, or where we are able to interact with each other, all these aspects of city life are limited to a small number of choices in a way that is segregated rather than integrated. Work here. Get in a car. Live there. Get in a car. Socialize here. The result are places that are often lifeless and sterile because they don't offer any reasons for people to choose to be there for large parts of the day. Life in these places is often disconnected. The best places to live allow you to integrate parts of your life.
I decided to take a time lapse video of Rue de Montorgueil to study how one area can actually be alive for much of the day. The diversity of choices give people reason to be there throughout the day from morning until night.
- John, April 14, 2009
Labels: cities, complexity, sustainability
¶ 9:36 PM
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