Walkable cities are pretty great. So is public transit. So is having enough people that you can have subcultures (art stuff, music scenes, queer spaces, etc). Cities have many reasons for being.
If I have to be in a city I’d rather it be walkable with public transit. But since I don’t have to be in a city for work they’re just nice things for people who still live in cities. If the city stopped existing it wouldn’t matter if it was walkable and had mass transit.
Culture is really the only reason I go to a city, but I don’t think that’s enough to sustain them economically. Especially because there’s vast Internet subcultures and you can stream concerts to your house.
Streaming a concert to your house is really not the same experience at all as going to a concert. There are still many things that can’t really be replicated on the internet. During the pandemic my job tried to do an online dance party and it was extremely sad. Also I remember reading an interview with someone who ran events professionally, and the interviewer was like “What can’t you do online?” and the interviewer just replied “Have sex with people.”
Cities have been a thing since nearly the dawn of history. We might need to rethink some parts, like making them less car-focused, but I’m confident they’ll be around.
I agree totally that cities have been a thing since the dawn of history. But now that we don’t need to hire street urchins to run messages to people anymore there’s one less thing pushing people into them.
And cities aren’t very nice, even the nice ones. Dealing with strangers is not fun. There is a line for everything. Everything is twice the price. The subway never, ever, ever smells good.
But that’s me, and every four years I learn how weird I am. So maybe cities have a hope. Which would be nice because the exurbs are plowing under a lot of nice farmland.
I mean, different strokes, I guess. I love living in new york. I’d say it’s perfectly nice.
The lines and prices aren’t as any worse than when I lived in NJ. The subway is fine. Especially the ones that are above ground. But more importantly you can walk places. Like, I walked out of my apartment to do some christmas shopping today. I stopped at a target, a discount shop, looked at some other independent places. No unusual lines. And then I got a slice of pizza (veggie slice, pretty big. it’s basically a meal) for $4 from a place on the corner. Doing that out in the 'burbs would’ve been a ton of driving, traffic, and parking, plus I’d be less likely to casually poke into an interesting looking shop.
Also I like when there’s people around. Whenever I’m out in the suburbs and there’s no one out and about, it feels like a horror movie. I feel safer when there’s people around.
Don’t get me wrong: I don’t want to live in the suburbs either. There’s still too many people and instead of lines of people they’re lines of cars. They’re awful.
I want a hole in the side of a mountain, where I can look out on a dark night and see no lights except the stars. Where there’s no human within earshot, and it’s a ten mile walk to get to anything resembling a store.
Humans are the most dangerous animals on the planet and I don’t feel safe with them as neighbors.
Walkable cities are pretty great. So is public transit. So is having enough people that you can have subcultures (art stuff, music scenes, queer spaces, etc). Cities have many reasons for being.
If I have to be in a city I’d rather it be walkable with public transit. But since I don’t have to be in a city for work they’re just nice things for people who still live in cities. If the city stopped existing it wouldn’t matter if it was walkable and had mass transit.
Culture is really the only reason I go to a city, but I don’t think that’s enough to sustain them economically. Especially because there’s vast Internet subcultures and you can stream concerts to your house.
Streaming a concert to your house is really not the same experience at all as going to a concert. There are still many things that can’t really be replicated on the internet. During the pandemic my job tried to do an online dance party and it was extremely sad. Also I remember reading an interview with someone who ran events professionally, and the interviewer was like “What can’t you do online?” and the interviewer just replied “Have sex with people.”
Cities have been a thing since nearly the dawn of history. We might need to rethink some parts, like making them less car-focused, but I’m confident they’ll be around.
I agree totally that cities have been a thing since the dawn of history. But now that we don’t need to hire street urchins to run messages to people anymore there’s one less thing pushing people into them.
And cities aren’t very nice, even the nice ones. Dealing with strangers is not fun. There is a line for everything. Everything is twice the price. The subway never, ever, ever smells good.
But that’s me, and every four years I learn how weird I am. So maybe cities have a hope. Which would be nice because the exurbs are plowing under a lot of nice farmland.
I mean, different strokes, I guess. I love living in new york. I’d say it’s perfectly nice.
The lines and prices aren’t as any worse than when I lived in NJ. The subway is fine. Especially the ones that are above ground. But more importantly you can walk places. Like, I walked out of my apartment to do some christmas shopping today. I stopped at a target, a discount shop, looked at some other independent places. No unusual lines. And then I got a slice of pizza (veggie slice, pretty big. it’s basically a meal) for $4 from a place on the corner. Doing that out in the 'burbs would’ve been a ton of driving, traffic, and parking, plus I’d be less likely to casually poke into an interesting looking shop.
Also I like when there’s people around. Whenever I’m out in the suburbs and there’s no one out and about, it feels like a horror movie. I feel safer when there’s people around.
Don’t get me wrong: I don’t want to live in the suburbs either. There’s still too many people and instead of lines of people they’re lines of cars. They’re awful.
I want a hole in the side of a mountain, where I can look out on a dark night and see no lights except the stars. Where there’s no human within earshot, and it’s a ten mile walk to get to anything resembling a store.
Humans are the most dangerous animals on the planet and I don’t feel safe with them as neighbors.