september {urban} quotes.
I’ve been reading Cities by John Lorinc, which is a groundwork guide, yet I find it truly amusing to have overlooked such interesting and simple details. I thank him for reminding me of those very reasons why I enjoy planning/design challenges. Below are some of my favorite quotes:
- “But smart growth isn’t just about rebalancing the way cities develop. It’s about restoring the notion that our urban spaces should have a sense of place.”… “suburbia fails us in large part because it is so abstract. It’s the idea of a place rather than a place” (page 48)
- My take: this is very true in almost every place I have visited. The reason we like going to different towns and cities around the world -besides the authentic food and touristy amusements- are the unique sense of place they provide. Some have such senses because they are historic when others are luxurious, futuristic, romantic, sustainable, walkable, clean, religious, etc. But what is happening to the modern big cities? Have they been able to provide enough reasons for their visitors? In other words, how do they make the visitors feel? Comfortable, excited, cheesy, out of place, welcomed, or even scared?
- “Centralsug system rely on networks of underground pneumatic tubes that can suck recyclable materials to sorting plants, thereby reducing truck emissions and the health hazards associated with waste handling,” some of the cities using this system, he says, are “Barcelona, Vilnius, Hong Kong, and Shanghai” (page 59)
- My thought: this is awesome. And frankly, if it has been around since the 1960s, why are the four above mentioned cities the only ones in the world using this system??
