I love learning about how things came to be, and how things work. Recently I've been enthralled by the human brain -- how it came to be in its current evolutionary form, how it works, along with everything new we're learning about the brain with the help of technology. One might wonder what this has to do with "urban planning/design"... I believe it has a lot to do with it. Simply put, it's possible to create and design places that appeal to us and the human condition, that can grant us health and make us feel calm, safe, and happy. This theme is nothing new to my blog, but I suppose I'm coming at it from a different angle this time by looking at the brain.
My aunt gifted me an amazing book last year for my birthday, which is essentially what sparked my interest in connections between psychology and urban planning. Written by German neurobiologist Gerald Hüther, The Compassionate Brain: How Empathy Creates Intelligence speaks on the newest science of the human brain, written like a user's-manual. We now have a better understanding of how the brain works than ever before, and the fact that the majority of us do not use this knowledge to our advantage daily is nonsense!
While the book itself is unrelated to urban planning, it gives insight to the idea that there are certain elements in our lives, from behavior to environments, that are proven to cooperate with our brain chemistry and be beneficial to our well-being.
This post is meant to introduce these ideas and open up the conversation. And more from science, environment, health -- a Washington Post article from 2007: If It Feels Good to Be Good, It Might Only Be Natural, speaking on neuroscientific discoveries about morality having biological roots. "The more researchers learn, the more it appears that the foundation of morality is empathy." Hüther argues that compassion takes empathy one step further, as the next step in the brain's evolutionary process; compassion is a current peak in intelligence.
These two pieces of scientific literature back me up: what is or feels "right" and "wrong" is not "'handed down' by philosophers and clergy, but 'handed up,' an outgrowth of the brain's basic propensities." Whether we know it or not, and as we struggle to determine exactly what triggers those good feelings, pleasure triggers are inherent within our brains, and we're now discovering how to get there. I would like to be part of what gets us closer to some of these answers, specifically pertaining to human connections with outside city environments!
UPDATE!
Another blurb found on another blog:
"There might be a very good reason why it's been so damn hard to make things work the 'traditional' way. What's traditional in your culture might clash very strongly with your biological and emotional makeup."
____
Sources:
The Washington Post
The Compassionate Brain, Gerald Hüther
Raptitude Blog
A Planetizen article published in 2011 uses the case study of Athens to explore a "city without suburbs."
Athens, Greece started eradicating its suburbs in the 1970s and continued this densification goal through the 80s. There were four main reasons for this push: 1) confined land space, 2) a capitalistic political system, 3) developer lobbying, and 4) increasing population pressure. In 1981 the municipality peaked at a population of 885,000 with a density of approximately 60,000 people per square mile. Although its population has been on the decline since the 2000s, it remains one of the most dense urban areas in the developed world.
As the city's compactness and so-called walkability in the suburbs grew, car ownership did not decrease, and positive impacts for modes of walking, cycling, and transit were not reported. Between 1990 and 2000, public transit actually fell while private transport increased. To paraphrase the conclusion from the Planetizen article: "Athens exemplifies every single urbanist approach, yet fails to deliver anticipated results. Elements in the Athenian version of natural urbanism have produced
unwelcome outcomes; the pinnacle of urbanisn that achieved the eradication of suburbs came at substantial quality of life and environmental costs.
"Dysfunctional cases in any discipline trigger insights by demanding explanation.
Athens is a case of dysfunctional urbanism and offers a true laboratory for testing assumptions, principles, and theories toward a more robust model of an urbane city."
I will take it upon myself to address the last part of this article. The first and most important question is: was there a plan from the beginning? What was it? Was it simply to answer the demand for population increase, or were there additional, more comprehensive goals? At least from this article's information, the 4 reasons mentioned above seem to answer that question. The article points out that Athens ranks lowest on a quality of life ranking for Western European cities; it's filled with noise, traffic, and pollution. Traffic fatalities also rank among the highest comparatively. These are indications that the city may not have incorporated plans to manage the consequences of an increasing population.
My conclusion: Athens is not the case of dysfunctional urbanism, it's the case of dysfunctional planning, or lack thereof. The city's goal was to eradicate the suburbs and increase density - this was achieved. So it did succeed, if only in this way. It seems to me that quality of life was pushed under the rug in the attempt to attract and fit more people. Yet a place can immediately loose its appeal as social and environmental issues are sacrificed. Shelter alone won't cut it; people need connection and community as well. Athens may exemplify a few elements of urbanism very well, so while those can be used as a lesson, the case study as a whole can be used to see interconnectivity at work. And because of this dense web of connections, we will never get a complete story of the past, nor will we be able to predict the future. But we sure can plan with intention, holistic goals, and measurable targets towards better living situations and healthier lives for people in our cities and on this planet.
Food for thought: "If you build it, they will come" ...
Sources
Planetizen
newgeography
A great article from the Guardian (thanks Scott Moen aka Dad!) about how many cities are transitioning away from cars. The article digs into a couple different facets, but I decided to highlight the link between the "end of the car age" and the "digital age," as it relates directly to me.
Digital technology will have a major role in creating collaborative platforms for urban mobility:
"Digital information is the fuel of mobility,” says Gilles Vesco, the politician responsible for the city of Lyon, France's sustainable transport. “Some transport
sociologists say that information about mobility is 50% of mobility. The
car will become an accessory to the smartphone."
"The more that we have people sharing transportation modes, public space,
information and new services, the more attractive the city will be."
In order for cities to compete they will need to be increasingly interconnected and multi-modal: a variety of public transit and healthy lifestyle options that include bike-friendly roadways, cycle superhighways, bike-shares, car-shares, bus service, subways, trams, and increased walkability. This also means cities will need to focus on providing reliable technological infrastructure. Being well connected on a physical and city-wide scale is equally important today as being connected on a digital scale. All which will lessen car-dependence and make owning a private automobile inconvenient relative to the variety of options that are readily available at our fingertips and often times free (transit apps for smartphones) or less expensive.
"Generation Y, or millennials, now in their 20s and early 30s
who have come of age in the digital era, seem less wedded to possessions
than their baby boomer predecessors. Smartphones are prized objects and the future of transport is likely to be based not on individually owned cars but on “mobility as a
service.”
Consumers will, so the theory goes, use their smartphones to check
ultra-detailed travel news, locate car-club cars or bikes, check for
parking spaces, call up Uber drivers, and arrange shared rides. Who needs a personally owned car?"
This
may be part of a "theory" of reality in general right now and as far as
this article goes, but, on a daily basis I either walk, take a bus, request an Uber, check my real-time travel app, or locate and arrange a car club or share. I am living proof that this is happening right
now.
