how attention to overlays enhances our understanding of cities

On January 5, 2014January 12, 2014 By Chuck WolfeIn everyday urbanism, infill development, infrastructure, lessons learned, pedestrianism, placemaking, urban juxtapositions, urbanism without effort1 Comment

Second in the new series, in the urban world, juxtapositions matter

On New Year’s Day, I suggested that juxtapositions, or overlays, are key to an understanding of cities, and offer focal points for discussion and resolution. The first example was of a physical juxtaposition that evoked the classic contrasts of old and new, nature and the built environment and natural and artificial light.

Today’s example bridges other urban qualities.

The photograph above is an intentional contrast of a static place and movements of both bus and musician. It also shows the common incursion of simple commerce in a public place—a subject of evolving regulatory focus in American cities—and an overlap that we should approach with a catalog of such imagery in mind.

Finally, the photograph suggests once again that the core of urban understanding is often in the small vignettes we all experience everyday—which, as I have often written, supply the basis for our own perspectives about city life.

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

in the urban world, juxtapositions matter

On January 1, 2014January 12, 2014 By Chuck WolfeIn everyday urbanism, infill development, placemaking, sustainability, urban juxtapositions, urban views12 Comments

First in a new series. Next installment appears here

The photograph above is an early evening rendition of an urban mixed-use project underway, next to an abandoned house.

Nearby streetlights highlight the shadows of branches against both new and old construction. This is an urban juxtaposition of the physical variety, that overlays new and old, trees and houses and natural and artificial light.

I have thought a lot about such juxtapositions on New Year’s Day, and why they are points of context, focus and catalysts for today’s urban issues and debates.

These overlays align us towards discussion of sudden and gradual change, generational differences, public and private preferences, merger of cultures and business types, and mixing of land uses, transportation modes, and housing approaches. They are more than transitions, but focal points for who decides the urban agenda and who gets versus who pays. Accordingly, they drive urban politics and professional services—and we should know how to recognize and work with them.

Consider a handbook of urban juxtaposition types and associated guidance, from case studies to typologies to regulatory reform.

But first, we need to read the city to see where the juxtapositions are. As the photograph shows, they are often in plain sight, in familiar patterns of overlap and/or interdisciplinary layers. Look at a juxtaposition—and see confronting dilemmas, flashpoints and ripples in time—all of which are recognizable in the faces, spaces and places of everyday life.

In such imagery we can predict policy debates, neighbor opposition, conflicts of parent and child in a way that can inspire dialogue, a search for consensus, or outright conflict and confusion.

In the weeks that follow, you’ll see examples and further discussion as part of an ongoing series. For now, it’s a tease, with a vernacular photograph to think about and consider. Stay tuned for more.

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

placemaking masters, part 3

On October 16, 2013 By Chuck WolfeIn everyday urbanism, infill development, pedestrianism, placemaking, urban viewsLeave a comment

Senior placemakers ascend to the entry of a former Roman amphitheater, providing human contrast to indigenous colors of the morning light.

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

finding urban ‘tethers’ in city places

On October 14, 2013October 14, 2013 By Chuck WolfeIn everyday urbanism, infill development, infrastructure, lessons learned, pedestrianism, placemaking, urban views, urbanism without effortLeave a comment

In London’s Russell Square one recent morning, I saw the human-scale “tether” illustrated above. Whether for safety or togetherness, parent and child traversed the square, each with strap in hand.

“Is this a cultural thing?”, I wondered while watching. Or was this just big-city caution on display, during travel from here to there?

In contrast, just days before, in Bastia, on the French island of Corsica, a more removed and indirect “tether” was clearly at play. In the wide-open Place Saint-Nicolas, two boys, seemingly alone, consulted without fear.

Unlike the Russell Square example, the physical distance between parent and child in Bastia seemed surprisingly trusting, fully immersed in the surrounding urban environment.

In the tradition of the open square, “eyes on the street” were everywhere in Bastia. If Russell Square was a path across green, then Place Saint-Nicolas was stage without curtain.

The inset in the photo above (as well as the larger photo below) show aerial views of the square, with arrows depicting viewpoints of parents who elected the more permissive, visual “tether” on that late summer day.

Notably. the flanking cafés along Boulevard du Général de Gaulle enhanced this captive, stage effect. The outcome honored any urbanist’s nostalgic quest for a livable public place. In the Place Saint-Nicolas, the view from its many vantage points stood in for the physical “tether” in the London example.

These photos and Google Earth aerials illustrate how culture, weather, purpose and urban form combine to define particular “tethers” between parent and child in the city. Sometimes literal and sometimes more subtle, such relationships are key to the rhythm of urban places today.

Images composed by the author in London and in Bastia (Corsica), France. Overhead views courtesy of Google Earth. Click on each image for more detail. © 2009-2013 myurbanist. All Rights Reserved. Do not copy.

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

the unstaged beauty of urbanism without effort

On July 13, 2013 By Chuck WolfeIn everyday urbanism, infill development, infrastructure, pedestrianism, placemaking, sustainability, urbanism without effortLeave a comment

I have become a zealous advocate for each of us carefully observing the fundamental relationships between people and cities, particularly when it is possible to capture moments that work, seemingly without effort.

Here we see a downtown public space, and simple chess board intervention.

Witness the result, including the camaraderie of strangers and astute observers. The family at play seems as important as the post-match decorum, not to mention the transit stop in the background.

This is not a staged photo. But I would venture that it shows, spontaneously, the very stage sought by over-complex formulations and the populist tenets of today’s urbanism.

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

myurbanist

Category: infill development

how attention to overlays enhances our understanding of cities

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in the urban world, juxtapositions matter

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placemaking masters, part 3

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finding urban ‘tethers’ in city places

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the unstaged beauty of urbanism without effort

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