As a driver I try to pay extreme attention to cross walks, turning right, and pedestrians crossing in the middle of the road. I really feel that ALL pedestrian cross walks should have flashing lights that the pedestrians push to activate. As a pedestrian, I know some drivers do not stop, cannot stop because they are yakking on their phones, or doing who knows what, so I am very careful crossing streets, even when I have the walk sign.
There's a new "distracted driving law" in Ohio. I don't know all of the prohibitions, but you cannot hold your cell phone in your hand if your vehicle is moving.I don't know how routinely it is enforced, though. Drivers still speed...
And then you see the little trucks in Europe with equivalent bed space but instead of a battering ram/war ship front area, they have a small cab and proportionate engine.
Thanks for the thoughtful comparison, Blake. Europe has learned to work within their small spaces, but I guess America still likes to embrace our myths of limitless land...even in crowded cities. I love your description of those front "grills" as "battering rams or warships". There is something deeply wrong with everyday cars emulating war machines. How do we individually and then collectively change that mindset?
Joan, thanks for a brilliant post. If we could start again, knowing what we know now, we would plan to have any form of projectile excluded from the immediate vicinity of a residence, including e-scooters and skateboards. If people walked the last 150 meters to their front door it would provide a safe place for children to play and reduce the concern that weighs on mothers and grandmothers. Then, think about having a pre-school and a primary school inside the safe space so created. If the load is heavy, use a wheelbarrow, a light cart, a wheelchair, or a rickshaw and as a last resort allow a powered vehicle to enter. Think about the gain in terms of casual social interaction and the building of communities. To take it a step further allow a range of home occupations. Allow a commercial use below the house and we would approach the convenience that is afforded by a community that is the result of the sort of unplanned, organic, growth that predated the era of heavy-handed town planning. It should not be beyond the wit of man to arrange a retro fit. This would be a sort of gated community with only the autos excluded.
Thank you, Erl. Your points sound like positive and very workable ideas. Are there any communities embracing the "organic " approach as you describe as pilot programs? Or is that idea contradictory?!
Hello Joan, The organic approach went out the window when people decided that town planning was a good idea. I guess there has always been an element of town planning but a century ago it was nowhere as intrusive as it is today. The vehicles needing to get down the streets were smaller, and they travelled at a slower pace. When I visit a rural French, a German or an Italian village I can't help but notice that there will be places where you struggle to get a car through, and two cars require more space than the builders happened to leave. I actually love the organic feel of the villages that were created five hundred years ago when most of us were farmers and pastoralists and people used stone to create the walls of a house. I have fond memories of visiting a village in Bulgaria called Melnik that gave its name to a particular grape vine that I was interested in because I am a grape grower and wine maker. I remember being fascinated by the sight of a shepherd heading for the mountain pastures in the early morning, picking up a few goats here and a few there, from each household as he found his way through the village and up the hill. There were very few, if any cars in the village. Mostly people relied on a bus service that brought people to the town. As you point out, the nature of the projectiles that travel through these places has changed in more recent years with the emphasis on larger and larger, tank like, vehicles. I wondered what the world was coming to when I saw the first Hummer.
The idea of a village without cars is just an idea in the back of my head that I would love to create if I have the chance. I see it as an experiment that is worth doing to observe the ways that people interact when they have to move past each other on a daily basis. I live on a rural property with a few tenants. One of them is a guy who is named by his wife as 'Have a chat Kev.' This guy is a builder of community. He is a carpenter who is never short of work. Like me, he is well past normal retirement age, but can't stop working.
I'm thinking that my village might be made up of two-story houses with a commercial or a meeting place below and a residence above without fences, each building or perhaps a duplex in its own place surrounded by enough space to accommodate small children at play. I would like to see each residence being capable of solar passive design. I'm not a fan of big windows because glass is good in glasshouses but not houses. Lots of glass interferes with the placement of furniture and our houses tend to be too large for our own good, perhaps because we live more inside than outside and want some privacy within the dwelling. The simple design of buildings in New England looks sensible to me. It's that design that seems to have inspired the town of Seaside in Florida, an expression of New Urbanism. I like the narrow streets, the walkways with shell grit underfoot, the fact that there is little setback of house from access way. But, I would take it one step further and garage the cars communally and walk the last 100 to 150 metres.
Yes, I think Organic and Program are at each end of a continuum. And I'm not at all fond of the idea of being programmed. The idea of free play attracts me. We shouldn't think that stopping play is a necessary part of growing up. I like a bit of informality in my life and the possibility of adventure. There is still a bit of kid there. I suffer from spasmodic dysphonia like Robert Kennedy Jr but have discovered the joy and utility of singing. It's the old story of use it or you lose it. Old blokes don't talk enough.
What's stopping me doing a village on my rural land? The planners. They should confine their attention to towns and let us experiment in the rural areas, or as we say in Australia, in the bush.
Yeah, same here, but I still don't trust drivers with phones especially if they text.
As a driver I try to pay extreme attention to cross walks, turning right, and pedestrians crossing in the middle of the road. I really feel that ALL pedestrian cross walks should have flashing lights that the pedestrians push to activate. As a pedestrian, I know some drivers do not stop, cannot stop because they are yakking on their phones, or doing who knows what, so I am very careful crossing streets, even when I have the walk sign.
There's a new "distracted driving law" in Ohio. I don't know all of the prohibitions, but you cannot hold your cell phone in your hand if your vehicle is moving.I don't know how routinely it is enforced, though. Drivers still speed...
And then you see the little trucks in Europe with equivalent bed space but instead of a battering ram/war ship front area, they have a small cab and proportionate engine.
Thanks for the thoughtful comparison, Blake. Europe has learned to work within their small spaces, but I guess America still likes to embrace our myths of limitless land...even in crowded cities. I love your description of those front "grills" as "battering rams or warships". There is something deeply wrong with everyday cars emulating war machines. How do we individually and then collectively change that mindset?
Joan, thanks for a brilliant post. If we could start again, knowing what we know now, we would plan to have any form of projectile excluded from the immediate vicinity of a residence, including e-scooters and skateboards. If people walked the last 150 meters to their front door it would provide a safe place for children to play and reduce the concern that weighs on mothers and grandmothers. Then, think about having a pre-school and a primary school inside the safe space so created. If the load is heavy, use a wheelbarrow, a light cart, a wheelchair, or a rickshaw and as a last resort allow a powered vehicle to enter. Think about the gain in terms of casual social interaction and the building of communities. To take it a step further allow a range of home occupations. Allow a commercial use below the house and we would approach the convenience that is afforded by a community that is the result of the sort of unplanned, organic, growth that predated the era of heavy-handed town planning. It should not be beyond the wit of man to arrange a retro fit. This would be a sort of gated community with only the autos excluded.
Thank you, Erl. Your points sound like positive and very workable ideas. Are there any communities embracing the "organic " approach as you describe as pilot programs? Or is that idea contradictory?!
Hello Joan, The organic approach went out the window when people decided that town planning was a good idea. I guess there has always been an element of town planning but a century ago it was nowhere as intrusive as it is today. The vehicles needing to get down the streets were smaller, and they travelled at a slower pace. When I visit a rural French, a German or an Italian village I can't help but notice that there will be places where you struggle to get a car through, and two cars require more space than the builders happened to leave. I actually love the organic feel of the villages that were created five hundred years ago when most of us were farmers and pastoralists and people used stone to create the walls of a house. I have fond memories of visiting a village in Bulgaria called Melnik that gave its name to a particular grape vine that I was interested in because I am a grape grower and wine maker. I remember being fascinated by the sight of a shepherd heading for the mountain pastures in the early morning, picking up a few goats here and a few there, from each household as he found his way through the village and up the hill. There were very few, if any cars in the village. Mostly people relied on a bus service that brought people to the town. As you point out, the nature of the projectiles that travel through these places has changed in more recent years with the emphasis on larger and larger, tank like, vehicles. I wondered what the world was coming to when I saw the first Hummer.
The idea of a village without cars is just an idea in the back of my head that I would love to create if I have the chance. I see it as an experiment that is worth doing to observe the ways that people interact when they have to move past each other on a daily basis. I live on a rural property with a few tenants. One of them is a guy who is named by his wife as 'Have a chat Kev.' This guy is a builder of community. He is a carpenter who is never short of work. Like me, he is well past normal retirement age, but can't stop working.
I'm thinking that my village might be made up of two-story houses with a commercial or a meeting place below and a residence above without fences, each building or perhaps a duplex in its own place surrounded by enough space to accommodate small children at play. I would like to see each residence being capable of solar passive design. I'm not a fan of big windows because glass is good in glasshouses but not houses. Lots of glass interferes with the placement of furniture and our houses tend to be too large for our own good, perhaps because we live more inside than outside and want some privacy within the dwelling. The simple design of buildings in New England looks sensible to me. It's that design that seems to have inspired the town of Seaside in Florida, an expression of New Urbanism. I like the narrow streets, the walkways with shell grit underfoot, the fact that there is little setback of house from access way. But, I would take it one step further and garage the cars communally and walk the last 100 to 150 metres.
Yes, I think Organic and Program are at each end of a continuum. And I'm not at all fond of the idea of being programmed. The idea of free play attracts me. We shouldn't think that stopping play is a necessary part of growing up. I like a bit of informality in my life and the possibility of adventure. There is still a bit of kid there. I suffer from spasmodic dysphonia like Robert Kennedy Jr but have discovered the joy and utility of singing. It's the old story of use it or you lose it. Old blokes don't talk enough.
What's stopping me doing a village on my rural land? The planners. They should confine their attention to towns and let us experiment in the rural areas, or as we say in Australia, in the bush.