the new urbanism and why i have given up

[anador]

though we may build the new urbanism up, it is impossible to repair the united states. After half a century of this inward minded society breeding under our noses, the destruction of amercian society is all but complete. We are a few enlightened people. Even if the New urbanism becomes another american fad, it will remain a fad, and die off in a couple of years. The cynical, selfish people that we have created will not allow us to rebuild the U.S. correctly. I WILL BUILD MY FUTURE BUT IT CANNOT BE HERE!!!!!
Im seriously considering moving to fiji or siberia so i can build the world that begs to be built, i have given up on the us, though i love it with all my heart, i must leave it to kill itself in it's own selfdestructive synical poison. Goodbye.

[Richard Haut]

I wish that I could disagree with you, and argue against what you say, but it applies equally to Britain - the figures speak for themselves.

In several recent surveys the number of Brits who wish to leave Britain is in the many millions.

Who are these people ? The poor in the rough end of public housing ? Immigrants who have just arrived ?

We all know who they are - they are the middle class. British private debt has just topped one trillion Sterling (that is £ 1,000,000,000,000). PRIVATE debt. The middle class wants out.

I left Britain several years ago and moved to France.

Is it better ? In a recent largescale survey of adolescents by the World Health Organisation, Britain's adolescents were found to be stressed, miserable and hopeless - they are unhealthy and, as was tragically reported in the survey "do not even like each other very much". Didn't they come top in anything ? Yes, drinking. Britain - the survey said - was the equivalent of one of the worst former Communist block countries, and this was a health survey.

How can an architect design for a society like that ? Answer: they can't.

[kasbah]

Equally disturbing are such generalized naive comments / predictions on American Urbanism.
On your way to Fiji or Siberia, grab a copy of OMAs/Stanford Kwinter's MUTATIONS and re-think all problems of Urbanism on a global level. Then you may want to re-phrase your prophecy....

C.S.

New York

[Richard Haut]

errrr ....... "Mutations" is hardly positive about the US urban environment. I admit that I have only read bits of it, but I do not think that whimsy about quaint townhouses really is enough.

one of London's worst estates was a beautiful village-style development. It was a real delight. Unfortunately the alienated and impoverished people moved to the estate turned it into a nightmare. Quaint townhouses - shame that it headed the murder statistics.

a society has to be concerned for its own citizens - or the question becomes whether or not it really is a society.

[JWmHarmon]

One thing that makes the United States such a great country is that its citizens have the right to pack up and live in another city, town, or even in the countryside. They even have the right to move out of the country to some other idealized haven.

You will find plenty of people who will denigrate the United States. You will find plenty of people who will blindly elevate the country to "Promised Land" status.

Somewhere between the two extremes are those people who recognize the good qualities of the country and also acknowledge the not-so-good qualities. You can decide for yourself whether you want to believe either extreme or find some relatively happy median.

Sometimes the choices one must make are a trade off between what one considers to be the ideal and what one considers to be more practical.

If you want to build "what the world needs" as opposed to "what the world will accept," then you will have to convince others to share your vision. You may have to go it alone for a while until others become convinced of your genius. Frank Lloyd Wright was ridiculed for his efforts. FLLW was also persistent in his presentation of an alternate style. He is now widely recognized as an "architectural genius." The same can be said for other well-known architects.

If you want to make the world a better place you can do so in two ways. You can stay and fight the good fight right where you are. You can leave for "greener pastures." The most important thing you can do is to keep a positive attitude and demonstrate an enthusiasm that is contagious to others.

What should the world look like? What is the ideal? How close can we get to that point right where we are? Would it be better for us to pursue different opportunities elswhere? Each of us must decide what is right for us. Do not let others suck you down into the sewer pipe of hopelessness. Sometimes we need to step back and evaluate where we are and what is our situation. Shall we continue to fight in a hopeless cause or shall we choose another battleground? What options do you have?

I see countless opportunities in the United States in spite of the many problems one can focus on if one chooses. I am not yet ready to give up!

What is your vision for the next hundred years? How will you get there? Whom will you get to go along with you on that journey? What will you differently some place else?

[steveA]

I agree with all of what Mr. Harmon says, except I think there are many more ways to make a valueable contribution to Society than just the 2 he cites.
It is true that the majority of Americans do not care about design. On the other hand , many do. The projects that are commissioned by those who do outnumber those commissioned by quality clients in any other country, let alone Fiji or Siberia. Most large corporate or institutional clients have by now figured out that good planning and good tasteful design has real value. So, you can either find a way to involve yourself only with these "enlightened" clients, or you can find small ways to make the mundane, everyday projects just a little bit special, and thereby bring some quality to the physical environs of normal people. You don't even have to tell your client ! So my suggestion is to look harder for architectural opportunities .