Tue 26 Aug 2008
cities…up or out?
Posted by timezoneone under warm fuzzy, Global, The New World
Christchurch is my favorite city/town in NZ, but like most other cities in NZ it is rapidly becoming a sprawling web of suburbia.
Boulder had a very similar feel to Chch but with one difference. I could’nt imagine that a town with a mear 98,000 residents could feel bigger than Christchurch pop. 348,435. Perhaps Christchurch could learn somthing from cities like this, Boulder has a rule that the city cannot grow/develop out any further, therefore creating a tighter community and bigger “breathing” city feel. In Comparison to Christchurch, so spread out, even on a friday evening the city streets are as silent as a mid week church visit.
There’s an amzing book “Lifestyles by Bruce Mau “, but gruelling read, where he encourages low density metropolitan life. Decreasing suburban sprawl, building cities up , not out and living together as tighter communities to minimise societies impact on the planet.
On a lighter note he has a whole load of manifestos or “life mottos” about creativity and design. Some of my favorites are:
Think with your mind. Forget technology. Creativity is not device-dependent.
Stay up late. Strange things happen when you’ve gone too far, been up too long, worked too hard, and you’re separated from the rest of the world.
Power to the people. Play can only happen when people feel they have control over their lives. We can’t be free agents if we’re not free.
Brett King
