Slog
News & ArtsWednesday, June 15, 2011
Architecture The Ethic of Being Together
Posted by Charles Mudede on Wed, Jun 15, 2011 at 11:54 AM
This Gizmodo infographic shows us exactly why Paris is a smart big city and Houston is a dumb one. The intelligence of a city corresponds with its density. It is the genius of a big city to be very dense. Country people want space; city people want people. "Man is a god to man." Jonathan Golob put it perfectly in something he wrote for Arcade Journal:
Shared walls are green; detached walls are not. Living with the wind as your neighbor is a complete disaster in terms of energy efficiency. Sharing surfaces is the thing to do. To be a better human being, we must seal the gaps, the empty spaces that separate us from other human beings. The more we have in common — walls, floors, ceilings — the more we improve resource conservation. An urban ethic that is scientifically valid: Attachment (being with others, or better yet, being close to others) is good; detachment (living apart or at a distance from others) is bad.I love this urban ethic; I love apartments; I love being with others, lots and lots of others.
1
Unless your neighbors are insane.
My first floor neighbor in Queens, NY was a fucking psychopath. I would have preferred his walls to be far, far away from my walls. Rikers Island prison would have been a good start.
My first floor neighbor in Queens, NY was a fucking psychopath. I would have preferred his walls to be far, far away from my walls. Rikers Island prison would have been a good start.
2
Urgutha's hit on it...according to Golob/Muede, the ultimate expression of "green density" is prison.
4
I loved living on Capitol Hill for that reason. I used to like to say, "Packed with people, this neighborhood really satisfies."
5
I hate my present geographical isolation, but I won't be completely thrilled about a return to urban living either, until walls, floors, and ceilings are gigantic bio-mimetic solar-powered noise-canceling membranes. When the fuck are people going to stop clomping around like a bunch of Clydesdales, buying 10-speaker subwoofer-enhanced home theater systems for their 400-square-foot studios, and arguing at 3 a.m. like they're on opposite sides of the Strait of Hormuz?
6
We need to dramatically improve our building codes for apartments and condos, though. We need much thicker walls.
Also, while doing some research the other day I ran across the 2011 Community Preference Survey done by the American Association of Realtors, which finds that 80% of Americans prefer single family detached houses. Sigh.
Still, though, there is heartening data about transportation, preferences for walkable and bikeable communities and suchlike.
Also, while doing some research the other day I ran across the 2011 Community Preference Survey done by the American Association of Realtors, which finds that 80% of Americans prefer single family detached houses. Sigh.
Still, though, there is heartening data about transportation, preferences for walkable and bikeable communities and suchlike.
7
@ 6, one of the Stranger's biggest proponents of density lives in a single family detached house. I'm always reminded of that by these posts. (In this case, I'm also reminded that Charles likes to ignore logic in the interest of riling up sloggers, but that's beside the point.)
8
@6 Social conditioning. The "American Dream" since the 50s was built on buying a single family detached house. When people like Kemper Freeman and the so-called libertarians use public infrastructure investments as examples of social engineering, I like to reference the GI Bill and so many government sponsored programs of the 40s and 50s as real social engineering.
9
I agree in spirit, though I think there is a point where more density becomes a strain on people's general well-being. Personally, I think Berlin or Chicago, cities I've lived in, are good compromises; Paris or New York, which I have only visited, would be a bit much for me in the long run...not to speak of Cairo, where I have spent two months, which is fascinating, but very exhausting in the long run...
10
Right on. I can't imagine living without other people within earshot. That doesn't mean some walls couldn't stand to be thicker. Bookcases and cork tiles are good for that.
11
@1,
I bet prisons are very energy efficient.
@5,
Oh my God, don't get me started. My former upstairs neighbor apparently had a club foot. The cruel irony is that I deliberately walked around quietly, knowing how disruptive stomping can be, but my downstairs neighbor still hated me because the floor was horribly squeaky.
I bet prisons are very energy efficient.
@5,
Oh my God, don't get me started. My former upstairs neighbor apparently had a club foot. The cruel irony is that I deliberately walked around quietly, knowing how disruptive stomping can be, but my downstairs neighbor still hated me because the floor was horribly squeaky.
12
To be a better human being, we must seal the gaps, the empty spaces that separate us from other human beings.
If you believe that humans must at every turn make the greener choice, then we should share apartments, not walls, with our neighbors. If you and your neighbor move in together, that's half as much space to heat/cool. Imagine how green it'd be if everyone on your floor moved in together!
Oh, and turn off your computer!
If you believe that humans must at every turn make the greener choice, then we should share apartments, not walls, with our neighbors. If you and your neighbor move in together, that's half as much space to heat/cool. Imagine how green it'd be if everyone on your floor moved in together!
Oh, and turn off your computer!
13
The intelligence of a city corresponds with its density.
Is that why Einstein and Godel both worked in the country at the Institute for Advanced Study?
http://goo.gl/LpMiP
And I have yet to see a tribal society with two-story huts....
Is that why Einstein and Godel both worked in the country at the Institute for Advanced Study?
http://goo.gl/LpMiP
And I have yet to see a tribal society with two-story huts....
14
I love it, too, Charles. The house I live in is 100 years old and has six suites. The landlords do their jobs, so the house is taken care of and the renters are stable and respectful. Yes, sometimes there's noise, or stray cigarette smoke, or parking issues, but we're all neighbours, and we deal. Being surrounded by people makes me feel safe. Across the street, the snooty neighbours (single wealthy family) finally sold their house, and now it's rented and filled with people and life -- children, a guitar player, an accordion player, a baby, a dog, a hammock, a gorgeous vegetable garden messing up the lawn. My only gripe is that so many people still have cars, and they fill up the street. Shared cars (and more bikes) is what we need.
15
This is an interesting exercise until you consider the amount of agricultural and wilderness land that necessarily supports the urban population. More interesting to me would be to map the world's population onto areas that are already at suburban density or greater, so that you'd effectively be seeing how small the footprint of the developed world could be if we just used the parts we already live in more efficiently. How much wilderness land could we reclaim if people lived in cities and the agricultural areas were reconfigured to use some of the wasted half-developed space we have now? One thing we often forget is that the experience we call nature is a byproduct of civilization, and if we did civilization right we would have more wilderness and not less.
16
I agree with @6: We need thicker walls. A great many more people would live in townhomes, condos and apartments if they didn't have to fear noisy neighbors.
17
@12,
As an added bonus to that, when the homicide rates skyrocket there'll be more food, water, and energy for the rest of us.
Murdering your obnoxious, resource-consuming, live-in neighbor is greenest of all!
As an added bonus to that, when the homicide rates skyrocket there'll be more food, water, and energy for the rest of us.
Murdering your obnoxious, resource-consuming, live-in neighbor is greenest of all!
18
After ten years of (small) city living, I now live in a small, modest house in the suburbs, with a yard and woods in the back that give me a ton of privacy. You can take it from me when you pry it from my cold, dead hands, Charles. Enjoy the noise and the insane people!
19
When people stop being assholes to each other, density may become desirable. Until then, I'll do dense in the city to survive, but escape often to a lonely place to actually have some life.
It's not "green" if it makes my environment unsavory.
It's not "green" if it makes my environment unsavory.
20
I think you've got it backwards Charles. We yearn for what we do not have. Country people want people; city people want space.
21
We need standard building codes for all apartments and condos that include quality and sound levels. Seriously, I'll bet the standard apartment in most European countries are better than ours.
22
You'd love to live in my building. My upstairs neighbor plays his "music" from 09:00 to 22:00 and constantly plays stuff that repeats and repeats and repeats and repeats constantly for half an hour.
23
I like living in the city because I'm anonymous here. People around me knew me much better when I lived in the burbs, let alone when I lived in a town of less than 2000 people when I was young.
24
I wish I was on a farmlet miles from the nearest neighbor or paved road, as long as I could have broadband! I've lived in an apartment building on the edge of the urban area for ten years, putting up with breeders and their delinquent brats. Most of my friends live far away, nobody here is interested in a middle aged gay widower much. Fuck density, how about just making fewer babies??? I've never been to Yurp, my share of the kerosene would be enough energy to run my car and my apartment for over a year. Guess I'm grumpy this morning.
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