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Brendan, what is your favourite city? Please describe your favourite spot in that city.
I have a rather odd answer for this; or at least it\’s odd by American standards. My favorite city is Pittsburgh. The incredible topography - the towering bluffs and rolling hills with their sweeping views of the famed three rivers - caused the area to be developed as a series of towns that sort of melted together over the years through annexation into the contemporary city. As a result, every neighborhood is architecturally unique, and every corner of the city has its own distinct character. It is a city full of surprises - one of the greatest being that Pittsburgh is, in fact, a beautiful place. The steel industry, which gave the city its nickname (The Steel City, natch) and its infamous black skies in the first half of the 20th century, is long gone (though many Americans are clueless to this fact.)
There is a great sense of discovery that is part of falling in love with Pittsburgh. This is bolstered by the fact that Pittsburgh is quite possibly, the least pretentious place that I\’ve ever been. There is an intense honesty in the way that the city and its citizens present themselves. Not only is it refreshing, but it will serve Pittsburgh very well in a future that is likely to see people focusing more and more on personal development, and less on material wealth.
What is your vision of a perfect city in 2050?
The perfect city in 2050 is a city that has managed not only to highlight, but also to enhance its specific quirks and unique features. As the internet continues to shrink our planet, local economies, in the physical sense, will likely lose their significance as more and more people realize that they are able to pick their business up and live where they please. The perfect city in these times will be a place that is able to tap into the energy of electronic communities, which will become increasingly important as mobility becomes less of an issue for people who would traditionally stay put out of necessity. The perfect city will be a place with a spectacular natural setting, beautiful architecture, a distinct culture, and a vibrant street life - a place, in other words, that cannot be replicated. The mass production of place, the great geographic nightmare of our time, will be a thing of the past as cities focus more on their role as experiential environments, and less on being economic engines.
In your opinion, what are the current and future challenges of our cities?
As I mentioned in my previous answer, I believe that the internet will continue to increase the mobility of the human race. Cities, then, face the challenge of asserting their importance, as this planet-shrinking will make it just as easy to live on a mountainside or in a small village and still lead a highly productive, fulfilling life. Over the coming decades cities will need to learn more about their identities so that, when faced with the challenge of continually weakening geo-social communities, they can manage to create and promote neighborhoods that inspire their citizens not only to stay, but to keep the area healthy, over the long term, simply for the love of the places themselves.
Where do you see the functional responsibilities of architecture?
I believe that architecture is a reflection of societal values. The responsibility of architecture, then, lies of course with the architects. These professionals must take public sentiment and wrestle out of it a building that works well within its context. Especially in civic structures, architecture should challenge peoples’ ways of thinking, both about their society and themselves. For not only do our convictions about our world become apparent through the buildings we build, but we are also directly affected by the buildings that we produce. Change must come first from the arts, and architecture is the art form with the greatest impact on our day-to-day existence. If our buildings do not challenge us, what will? Since contemporary architecture is a dishonest, muddled mess, what does this say about how we understand our world? And what does it say about where we are headed? The answers to these questions are not pretty.
How do you define “good” urban design?
Urban neighborhoods, at their best, provide us with a very strong, distinct \”sense of place.\” I am fascinated by this concept–what, I have to wonder, creates this sense? It is far more than just architecture or public space. The human element is, I believe, what provides certain places with the \”X-factor\” that creates the types of vibrant experiential environments that make our cities so distinct. \”Good\” urban design, then, is design that manages to encourage spontenaity. \”Good\” design encourages human activity and interaction. It creates places that are unique and that engender in people who live there a real pride in place, building a natural community of people who share a common interest in their personal geography. \”Good\” design, then, is self-enhancing.
About the author:
Where do you live?
Chicago
How old are you?
21
What is your professional background?
I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a degree in Creative Writing. A childhood interest in architecture has grown, over years of independent study, into an intense interest in the urban environment and the contemporary urban experience. I am currently living in Chicago, serving for a year as an Americorps VISTA.
Do you have a blog or webpage?
I very recently started my first blog, \”Where.\” It can be found at www.thewhereblog.blogspot.com .
Brendan, thank you very much for this Interview!
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Hi,
how do you mean „X-Factor“ and this urban design consept? What is it?
And how do you really want to provide communities in megacities? It’s quite a challenge itself.
Anna
Hey,
i believe that u are very positive about the future of the cities because what i see is total disruption on the situations existing, people are minimizing the space of living eventhough there is more connection on the internet, there is the problem of a living space everywhere as population is getting higher everywhere.so the spectacular landscape, beautiful architecture and DISTINCT CULTURE are a bit …
Melat Assefa
Anna - “The X-Factor” isn’t so much an urban design term as it is a figure of speech. Essentially, the X-factor is a variable stand-in for that special something that can’t really be described. In this instance, what I was talking about was that combination of vitality, architecture, and spatial layout that creates what people refer to as a genuine sense of place. “Authenticity” is a big buzz word that people use nowadays, especially when referring to environments and experiences (I.E. a historic main street or independent coffee shop is “authentic” as opposed to “inauthentic” environments like Starbucks or a Lifestyle Center-type mall.)
As for the challenge of creating stronger communities in megacities: I think that figuring out how to do so will be one of the great challenges of our generation. It’s one of the main topics that inspired me to start my blog. It will be interesting to see how we handle the challenge. I have a pretty good feeling that no simple answer exists, and that what we’ll have to realize, on a societal level, is that community development is really something that has to be developed organically, at the local level, with local people involved. The changes have to come from both sides of the fence; regular citizens will need to start playing a bigger role in the development of their neighborhoods, and city governments will have to relenquish a bit of power to let them do so.
Melat - I don’t mean to be rude, and I genuinely want to respond to your comment…but I’m not entirely sure what you were trying to say. Could you possibly rephrase?
Brendan
Hey well to rephrase what i said its just that the internet or other means of technology might not make things better and you can see this by the way things are going in the city its making people further and further away from eachother not closer ,people are also spending more time travelling and being on the net rather than having social stuff to do and there is also the globalization problem which deletes out the other already existing cultures like for example its the places which are very remote that u find distinct culture not in modernized cities so is technology the best way? I hope this explains a bit of what im saying.
Melat Assefa
Thanks for explaining that.
I think that the internet is proving to be a powerful social tool; at least it looks that way from where I’m living. Websites like Idealist.org are bringing people together in cities across the world to work for social change. The ease of blogging is giving thousands of people a voice — and more than a few of them are making good use of this revolutionary outlet. The independent media is also flourishing on the internet, with sites like WorldChanging.com and AlterNet.com reaching wider audiences than any alternative publication ever would have been able to before the internet.
Social networking sites (Myspace, Facebook, et. al.) are a new phenomenon. While they’re fairly shallow at the moment, these networks will mature over time once people realize the power that a system like the internet gives them. In the meantime, the web has made it even easier to find volunteer opportunities and neighborhood organizations through the cheap and easy creation of websites.
As for your comment about distinct culture only existing in rural areas…you’re certainly entitled to your opinion, but I could not possibly disagree more. Culture is not something directly tied to geography (though I think that this is a common misconception.) The fantastic thing about cities is that they take many different cultures and weave them together into the “urban fabric.” Rural areas are sparsely populated and thus often have a fairly homogenous culture…thus I would argue that it is not the superior strength of these cultures that makes them seem so unique, but the lack of any sort of counterpoint.
Brendan