Sep
29
Make Like Your Early Hominid Ancestors!
September 29, 2008 |
Just as the turning of the previous century brought massive changes to the way in which we lived, worked, communicated, shopped, traveled and a whole host of other things, so to will the turning of this century. This month, Wired Magazine released its 2008 Smart List: 15 People the New President Should Listen To. The only article that really deals with the built environment Redesigning Cities from Scratch is written by Mitchell Joachim who is described in the article as, a “kind of Frederick Law Olmsted for the 21st century.”
While I would argue that starting from scratch is a bit dramatic, okay waaay to dramatic, I think that in the coming decades preservationists will face some really profound challenges as we try to adapt 18th, 19th and 20th century cities to the 21st century and meaningfully address climate change. It is an interesting and thought provoking article. I lthought what he has to say about cars was interesting as was the concept of the edible house. The car v. city battle has always been a thorn in my side. I grew up in Chicago, in the city, and we were a one car family, one car that my dad used to get to and from work. That left us carless. No worries. There were stores, a bakery, a hot dog stand, restaurants, public library and our grade school within walking distance. We lived between two “L” stops. Downtown and its museums and department stores was a short train ride away. In high school I took the train or bus to school. I didn’t have a car until college. It is amazing how quickly I got soft. Before I knew it I was going to meet friends and rather than hoping on the train or a bus, I found myself driving around looking for parking and cursing all the other people that were already parked. Yes, a car is convenient, but when your are not using it, you have to put it somewhere and cars aren’t like purses, they can’t be stashed under the table, in a desk drawer or in a locker. They need space and lots of it. Indeed, many iconic Chicago buildings were lost to the perceived need for more parking. Here is what Joachim says on the matter of cars and the city:
“‘At the top of the agenda, Joachim says, is mobility and its inefficiencies. Citing US Department of Energy statistics, he says that while 29 percent of the nation’s energy expenditure–what he calls “the suck”–now goes toward getting around, ‘in 50 years that will double.’ Among the biggest sources of waste, he argues, is the automobile–not only in energy but in the space it occupies (cars, he notes, spend more than 90 percent of the day parked). For nearly a century, Joachim says, “cities have been designed around cars. Why not design a car around a city?’ So he did just that. One of his concept vehicles, the City Car , was named to Time magazine’s Inventions of the Year list in 2007.”
Ninety percent…Think about all we do for cars. We build houses for them (garages), storage spaces (parking lots and garages), places to bathe them (car washes), their very own roadways on which pedestrians are forbidden (highways and expressways), shops for them (name your favorite), hospitals (mechanics) and restaurants (gas stations). It is not just the space to store the cars but all the services they require that is astounding. Think about the impact that all this accommodation has had on the historic fabric of American cities
I agree that we need cars for cities but it will take a long time for this to happen. We forget the history of our cities, that many were built before the introduction of the automobile, people were dependent on rail, horse or their own two feet to get from place to place. Today, the average American makes thirteen, yes THIRTEEN car trips a day and half of them are under three miles! When it comes to reenvisioning our future, I heartily agree that we need to think big, but perhaps we can start by reconnecting to a part of our past. Since horses and street cars are not necessarily a viable option, I mean walking. This is how we, from our early hominid ancestor Lucy to homo sapiens sapiens, have experienced their environment. If we are going to lament the impact of cars on our cities, shouldn’t we try to minimize our use of them? This can be challenging; time, safety, convenience, the lack of viable public transit and a host of other factors lead to a dependence on cars. All these issues can’t be solved just by designing better cars, although they certainly can’t hurt. But more urban walkers and bikers means less cars. I never have stoplight rage when I am walking and seldom do I curse out my fellow pedestrians, besides it is a great way to experience your community. With a Walk Score of 86, Savannah has been voted one of the most walkable cities in America. Some neighborhoods of Savannah are much more walkable than others, check out your neighborhoods Walk Score here.