“HAVING laid out the alleys and determined the streets, we have next to treat of the choice of building sites for temples, the forum, and all other public places, with a view to general convenience and utility.”
—Vitruvius, The Ten Books on Architecture, Book 1, Ch. VII, ca. First Century BC
Rock Port, Missouri generally gets credit as the first wind-powered city in the United States.
But the aesthetics of such sustainable examples–modern wind turbines–often lack the flair of dreams.
What if the edge of a wind-powered city looked more like the Greek island town of Mikonos?
After reading Eric de Place’s commendable mini-history of the “War on Cars” in Sightline last week, I started thinking about an alternate reality, where humans do things differently, like somehow delivering heavy, bulky items without reliance on motorized vehicles.
What would that look like?
It would look like Seattle 105 years ago.
Thanks to Sherman Clay, Seattle (via Oscar Spidahl) for photo use.
Blog posts can be notorious both for novelty and content, and therefore downright experimental.
In that spirit, live at 35,000 feet, here is a question. Is the sky the place, or the high density, city-microcosm within the airplane cabin?
(Posted while airborne, January 3).
Last September, in reclaiming the urban memory , myurbanist profiled legendary photographer Burton Holmes, his dramatic imagery, international travelogue presentations and the implications of his work for today’s urbanism.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Holmes’ urban chronicles also had a domestic element, which centered on the New York skyline, and his classic, breathtaking city view.
Bearing an apt explorer’s moniker, his New York apartment on the west side of Central Park was called “Nirvana”. Not unlike his depictions of urban scenes abroad, Holmes once described–and photographed– the “wondrous” perspective on city life looking out from his home base:
Some day I will attempt a lecture on New York City, a subject no lecturer possessed of half an eye or half a tongue could really fail to put across to an audience.
Thinking thus, I gaze from my own apartment windows which look down on Central Park. I see beyond that spacious playground…
Who in all the world could not be thrilled by such a sight as all this.
–Burton Holmes, as quoted by Genoa Caldwell in The Man Who Photographed the World, 1977
Under copyright of the Burton Holmes Historical Collection (BHHC), here is Holmes’ photo, surveying Central Park South, and, by special permission from BHHC, newly enhanced with dimensions of music and motion.
Our goal? To complement Holmes’ already remarkable words, images and urban portrayals, in order to further focus the senses on all that a city can be.
Original photograph ©2006 BHHC, enhanced by myurbanist. Restricted use. Do not copy.