Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Urban rhythms 1: anonymity
See here for introduction to the urban rhythms series. (10 September 2006)
'Great cities are not like towns, only larger. They are not like suburbs, only denser. They differ from towns and suburbs in basic ways, and one of them is that cities are, by definition, full of strangers...'
Jane Jacobs, The Death And Life of Great American Cities (1961)
Spatially cities are complex, dense and congested. The simple fact of so many people living and working within a limited area means personal space is difficult to find. Thus we have invented devices and modes of behaviour to find refuge in our own spaces. iPod’s, mobiles, PDA’s and laptops provide electronic connections to other spaces or connections to electronic space. We have space to retreat to within the flux of everyday life. These devices allow us to be mobile and anonymous, to get on with our own plans with minimal interruption, to live out our chosen rhythms. They betray our psychological need to somehow deal with all of those people that surround us.
Our desire for personal space is also worked out at a grander, collective urban level. The locks on our front doors help keep out those we do not wish to meet and provide us with sanctuary. Gated communities (an extension of the lock on our front door) similarly keep out those who are unwanted. They allow us to control who we wish to be associated with and who we invite into our space. A building developer will be reluctant to mix up social and private residents for fear of not being able to sell the private space to those who would rather not mix with ‘others’. Market conditions extend further into public spaces to become an extension of corporate branding: going out for a run helps Nike to ‘Run London’ and busking on the Underground is underpinned by a Carling Stage. City life is appropriated for commercial ends. Even our own government exerts a zone of control outside Westminster to keep out unwanted opinion and disturbance.
One of the hallmarks of the city is that it is place where we can be anonymous. We can be here and do our own thing and no one will be concerned. Whilst helping us achieve our own aims they, by definition, dull our awareness of the needs and rhythms of others. Rather than the public spaces of the city being places of freedom, expression and exchange its spaces risk becoming ‘single minded’ rather than ‘open minded’ (Rogers), encroached upon by the rhythms of the market, government and our own psychology.
presence | acceptance | balance | creativity | accountability | hospitality
Image: Private Public, Joe Maila.
tags: rhythm of life, moot, London, urban, urban rhythms, anonymity
'Great cities are not like towns, only larger. They are not like suburbs, only denser. They differ from towns and suburbs in basic ways, and one of them is that cities are, by definition, full of strangers...'Jane Jacobs, The Death And Life of Great American Cities (1961)
Spatially cities are complex, dense and congested. The simple fact of so many people living and working within a limited area means personal space is difficult to find. Thus we have invented devices and modes of behaviour to find refuge in our own spaces. iPod’s, mobiles, PDA’s and laptops provide electronic connections to other spaces or connections to electronic space. We have space to retreat to within the flux of everyday life. These devices allow us to be mobile and anonymous, to get on with our own plans with minimal interruption, to live out our chosen rhythms. They betray our psychological need to somehow deal with all of those people that surround us.
Our desire for personal space is also worked out at a grander, collective urban level. The locks on our front doors help keep out those we do not wish to meet and provide us with sanctuary. Gated communities (an extension of the lock on our front door) similarly keep out those who are unwanted. They allow us to control who we wish to be associated with and who we invite into our space. A building developer will be reluctant to mix up social and private residents for fear of not being able to sell the private space to those who would rather not mix with ‘others’. Market conditions extend further into public spaces to become an extension of corporate branding: going out for a run helps Nike to ‘Run London’ and busking on the Underground is underpinned by a Carling Stage. City life is appropriated for commercial ends. Even our own government exerts a zone of control outside Westminster to keep out unwanted opinion and disturbance.
One of the hallmarks of the city is that it is place where we can be anonymous. We can be here and do our own thing and no one will be concerned. Whilst helping us achieve our own aims they, by definition, dull our awareness of the needs and rhythms of others. Rather than the public spaces of the city being places of freedom, expression and exchange its spaces risk becoming ‘single minded’ rather than ‘open minded’ (Rogers), encroached upon by the rhythms of the market, government and our own psychology.
presence | acceptance | balance | creativity | accountability | hospitality
Image: Private Public, Joe Maila.
tags: rhythm of life, moot, London, urban, urban rhythms, anonymity
