Let’s Take a Traditional City Break

Let’s Take a Traditional City Break
February 6, 2011

While I’ve been writing all this material on gold standard systems, my Traditional City photo folder has been filling up. Let’s see what’s in there.

These are all examples of walking cities, some ancient, some merely old, some quite contemporary. Before cars, everybody walked. Maybe that was a good thing? Add some electric trains, and you’re pretty much done. I don’t think the Traditional City/trains combo can be improved upon. No proposal I’ve seen is even remotely as good. No existing example comes close. The Traditional City doesn’t have any inherent problems that we need to fix. It is pretty much perfect just as it is. Impossible you say? Do I really mean “perfect”? OK, give it a try. Try to come up with something better. Try to name a problem that needs to be fixed. I bet you can’t. I think there is potentially a place for high-rise buildings, but incorporated into the Traditional City rather more expertly than is now common. I wouldn’t necessarily call this an improvement, and it is certainly not necessary, but it could be done.

It’s so obvious. Just build it. What more needs to be said? You gonna spent your time grumbling and griping, making up stupid exuses for a couple more generations, or are you just going to build it? You’re going to have to build it anyway. You aren’t going to solve your problems any other way. The only real question is whether it takes two years or ten years or a thousand years.

March 14, 2010: The Traditional City: Bringing It All Together

December 19, 2010: Life Without Cars: 2010 Edition

As for how to build it–it’s really simple:

1) Really Narrow Streets. These are pedestrian streets, typically 8-20 feet wide from building to building. This is going to be the exact point of failure for those who think they are building Traditional Cities, but are not. They will make the streets sixty or eighty feet wide, and thus end up with a 19th Century Hypertrophic City instead of a Traditional City. Instant failure.

February 21, 2010: Toledo, Spain or Toledo, Ohio?

2) Buildings side by side. There can be courtyards, gardens, parks and so forth, but you don’t have the ring-of-grass-all-around, or for that matter a barren plaza. You have to abandon the freestanding-farmhouse-in-the-middle-of-the-field ideal, and also its high-rise equivalent, the Pyramid-of-Giza-in-the-middle-of-the-desert. The buildings are typically about 3-5 stories high, although I think you can add some taller buildings if you are careful about it.
3) No cars. I suppose this is obvious, but you have to repeat it. You have to design it so it is just right without cars. After you do that, you can add a few cars for deliveries, taxis and so forth. Actually, if you design it right so that you don’t need a car, then the cars just sort of disappear. Nobody needs them.

Lotsa Tokyo pics. The sign says: “No Cars!”

Let's Take a Traditional City Break

Do you see what I mean when I say that bikes are a nuisance in a proper pedestrian city? The fewer bikes the better.

August 1, 2010: The Problem With Bicycles

Let's Take a Traditional City Break

Not too many cars here.

Let's Take a Traditional City Break

No cars here either.

Let's Take a Traditional City Break

Life’s better without cars.

Let's Take a Traditional City Break

Hamburg, Germany.

Let's Take a Traditional City Break

Granada, Spain.

Let's Take a Traditional City Break

Genoa, Italy.

Let's Take a Traditional City Break

Rural France, 1960s.

Let's Take a Traditional City Break

I actually saved this for some sequel to my The Future Stinks item, but I think I’ll just throw it in here.

November 8, 2009: The Future Stinks

Let's Take a Traditional City Break

Ancient street in Egypt. Hey, it was Really Narrow there too!

Let's Take a Traditional City Break

Hamburg, Germany. Gorgeous.

Let's Take a Traditional City Break

Ancient, pre-Columbian Inca street in Cuzco, the capitol of the Incas. These guys had never met a European, but they made their cities the same way. Why is that?

It’s the same reason they made their pants legs about 32″ long. Because it’s the right size, dummy.

Let's Take a Traditional City Break

More Cuzco, Peru.

Let's Take a Traditional City Break

A typical European central plaza, without cars of course.

Let's Take a Traditional City Break

Any hot chicks in gorgeous clothes standing in the middle of the street in your shitty suburb? You gotta get rid of the cars if you want that.

Let's Take a Traditional City Break

Italy.

Let's Take a Traditional City Break

Mmmmm, hot chicks and Really Narrow Streets. You don’t know what you’re missing …

Yes, the Traditional City is even good for your health and appearance! That’s because it’s the way humans are supposed to live.
Are you ready to get up off your motorized wheelchairrs?

Let's Take a Traditional City Break

Agua Caliente, Peru.

Let's Take a Traditional City Break

Some Tokyo pics.

Let's Take a Traditional City Break

Hey, there are 32 million people in this city! In a country with nine internationally-competitive automobile manufacturers! Where are the CARS?

Cars are for … Americans, ha ha ha.

(See what I mean about hot chicks and Really Narrow Streets? I’m not making this up you know. It’s not something that you only see in magazines.)

Let's Take a Traditional City Break

Look how the street is paved. With beautiful flagstones. You can’t do this when the street is sixty feet wide.

Let's Take a Traditional City Break

Tokyo, over the top as usual. Not really so genteel, but tons of FUN.

Let's Take a Traditional City Break

France, I think. Much more genteel. Not quite so much fun. But still pretty fun.

Let's Take a Traditional City Break

Asian street market. Tons of fun.

Let's Take a Traditional City Break

This is a pretty wide street but … where are the cars???

Let's Take a Traditional City Break

A building interior. The Traditional City inspires the most amazing architecture.

Let's Take a Traditional City Break

CADIZ OLD TOWN IN THE RAIN

No cars here either.

Let's Take a Traditional City Break

Some traditional Japanese cities, with old-fashioned architecture. Tokyo is a wonderful city, but the old architecture is much better. Unfortunately, it is mostly wood, and Japanese people are a little tired of having their cities burn down and topple in earthquakes. Now they build out of steel framed, steel-reinforced concrete. But can’t you build out of concrete and still make a lovely building? Nobody has to actually see the concrete, you know. Of course you can, but you have to imagine it first.

Let's Take a Traditional City Break

Wow wow wow …

Let's Take a Traditional City Break

Central square in Arles, in southern France. Apparently this town has been around for about 2300 years. Where are the cars????

Think about that. 2300 years. How’s that for “sustainability”?

April 19, 2009: Let’s Kick Around the “Sustainability” Types

Let's Take a Traditional City Break

Another example of my principle that cities (villages) and farms should not be combined into some mixed-up goo. The city is a city, without fields and useless “green space.” The farm is a farm without buildings (except for farm buildings). Two separate and distinct patterns that complement one another. The tiniest villages and the biggest metropolises have the same pattern. Really Narrow Streets, buildings side-by-side, no cars. Add some trains and you are DONE.

“Captain, the reason this civilization failed seems quite obvious to me.”

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