12: Urban Life

Caroline Ware, Greenwich Village

- People face conflicting culture

- Isolated individuals, rather than a social whole

Jane Jacobs, Death and Life of Great American Cities

- Urban life

- Put people downtown rather than attracting them there

- Community was replaced by a dormitory

- Successful cities need a diversity of uses and users

Georges Perec, An Attempt at Exhausting a Place in Paris

- 18-21 October 1974

- Sat at Saint-Sulpice and took note of everything he saw

- Everyday social interactions and happenings

- Infraordinary

What did Georges Perec mean by the "infraordinary"?

Interaction effects that often escape our attention

Whose writings inspired The Human Scale City?

Jane Jacobs, Jan Gehl and Richard Florida

What is the aim of the Human Scale City?

returning to local ways of life and interactions- innovation requires people, activities and places to be in close proximity

3 Ideas that advocates for the Human Scale have for making urban life more focused on the local and place-based offerings

1- neighbourhoods must be designed so that everyone has access to all essential human needs within a 15-minute walk/bike ride.

2- rhythm of the city should follow humans, not cars.

3- every square metre should serve multiple purposes

What are Activated cities?

cities that already had existing infrastructure

What makes an ideal activated space?

centrality, affordability, and flexibility

A 4 Step Solution

1) observe where people in community struggle

2) what can be done right now right now

3) do that thing right now

4) go back to step 1 and repeat