cities: where children learn to fly

On August 3, 2014 By Chuck WolfeIn everyday urbanism, pedestrianism, placemaking, sustainability, urban views, urbanism without effort, vignettesLeave a comment

An entry in the new series, depicting the common sense dimensions of urban places

In Seattle’s Volunteer Park one recent evening, the landscape yielded expression befitting an urban open space—a reflection of childhood speculation that maybe, with adult guidance, we really can learn to fly.

As with the earlier two examples in this series, I was lucky to find a vantage point for another stage-set story, and captured this image with a small Panasonic LF-1, with telephoto extended.

Both home and abroad, this has been a meaningful summer for observation, full of images like these, showing cities as theater for display of simple, yet universal, human hopes and dreams.

For more information on the role of personal experience in understanding the changing city, see Urbanism Without Effort, an e-book from Island Press.

inadvertence as a first principle of urbanism

On July 5, 2014July 5, 2014 By Chuck WolfeIn everyday urbanism, pedestrianism, placemaking, urbanism without effortLeave a comment

An entry in the new series, depicting the common sense dimensions of urban places

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framing common sense moments in urban places

On July 4, 2014July 5, 2014 By Chuck WolfeIn everyday urbanism, placemaking, sustainability, urbanism without effort3 Comments

An introduction to the new series, depicting the common sense dimensions of urban places

A few days ago, in Moustiers Sainte Marie, France, I watched several shopkeepers return a lost young bird to a part of town closer to its natural habitat.

This small drama was a play of few acts, but reflected a pattern of human conduct embedded in urban life. I was well-positioned to capture the moment with a Fuji XT camera, and was immediately reminded that the complex issues of wildlife in the city are often first framed by common sense, ingrained patterns—a “let the bird go moment”—readily captured by watchful eyes.

I’ve made little secret in past writing of my strong belief that these simple, underlying patterns merit repeated attention and illustration as we attempt to set up best practices in the urban environment. Best practices often begin as first principles worth capturing, but the question remains how to recognize such “teaching moments” for use going forward.

I suggest that in many instances, these moments are obvious to the beholder, and essential to record and later evoke for illustration and discussion.

How we should capture such first principle, “teaching moments”? What tools should we use? What are the secrets of documenting compelling examples for posterity’s sake?

This series will answer these questions, and explain how to capture common sense portraits of the urban environments for later use, and why.

Stay tuned.

For more information on the role of personal experience in understanding the changing city, see Urbanism Without Effort, an e-book from Island Press.

why do we write about cities?

On March 30, 2014March 30, 2014 By Chuck WolfeIn everyday urbanism, infrastructure, placemaking, politics, sustainability, urbanism without effort1 Comment

When we write about cities, sometimes we do best when we take the metrics away.

In 2011, amid a visit to San Francisco and just back from Africa, I offered some thoughts about why we write about cities. Three years later, I’m not sure much has changed.

I continue to believe that visiting and photographing cities worldwide can take the metrics away, often amid economic boom, or bust, next to revolution or facing or remembering the challenge of reconstruction. In such settings, qualitative and interactive experiences and comparison seem more important than documenting carbon emissions, census data, rankings or ratings.

While data and catch-phrases have merit to enhance background principles and to support goals, so does the sense of wonder with which people explain where they live, and ask about how other places are different, day-to-day, at the human scale.

Witness the frustrated commuter, who will authentically share perceptions, no matter the transportation mode. People will earnestly talk about neighborhood safety, a sense of economic well-being or challenge and satisfaction or concerns about a child’s education. With sincerity, others will refer to the weather, green or water surroundings or the music of place and time.

And transfixed, the world listens to and watches revolutions and disaster, where the urban setting is entirely disoriented and must rebuild again.

The fundamental reason that successful cities resonate is because they satisfy and/or complement some very basic human needs, often related to mental and physical health: congregation, safety, and the three “e’s” of education, environment and economy. In our policy and regulatory discussion of such urban settings, I continue to think we might perform at a higher level by starting with reminders of the core: the basic human needs which cities can give, or frustrate.

Only after acknowledging the fundamentals—and pausing to watch and listen— should we debate the circular arguments of ends versus means.

For more information on the role of personal experience in understanding the changing city, see Urbanism Without Effort, an e-book from Island Press.

capturing underlying patterns of urban street design

On March 19, 2014March 19, 2014 By Chuck WolfeIn compact development, everyday urbanism, infill development, infrastructure, pedestrianism, placemaking, sustainability3 Comments

Have you ever wondered why some places seem built for automobiles as opposed to humans?

In a recent study, J. Alexander Maxwell and fellow researchers from the University of Strathclyde’s Urban Design Studies Unit found evidence that before the rise of the automobile, cities developed on a walkable “human” scale, with main streets that rarely exceeded 400 meters (a little more than 437 yards).

I recently joined Mr. Maxwell as co-author of an article in the London School of Economics and Political Science American Politics and Policy Blog. Together, we argue that this uniformity reveals an underlying pattern to pedestrian city settings, which merits renewed attention in contemporary urban design and policies.

Read our article here.

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Category: everyday urbanism

cities: where children learn to fly

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inadvertence as a first principle of urbanism

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framing common sense moments in urban places

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why do we write about cities?

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capturing underlying patterns of urban street design

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