Downtown vs city centre

Downtown is the American word for city center according many dictionaries but in reality the two have quite different meanings. Indeed when talking about downtown Americans refer to an economic, cultural and political center which is different from the European idea of city centre. Which are the main differences?

First of all, the architecture. Traditionally in Europe the city centre is the most old area of the city, where the first settlements were posed. Some cities in Europe had origin in the late Greek period, while in the Mediterranean sea there are cities fating far before. This ensures that while walking in the streets it is possible to read the history of a place, just observing the walls, the pavement and obviously the buildings. Everywhere there is a piece of art or a simple remembering the past. I think that the structure of downtown is quite different for two main reasons. Primarily because the historic monuments tend to be located only in a close area, rather than being spread all over the city. Secondly because, as the urban theorist, David Brooks, explains in Our Sprawling Supersize Utopia (New York Times Magazine) American people tend to be more concentrated on their future rather than on their past. This evidently influences the representation and the importance given to their history.

The second element that shows a great difference between Europe, even if I’m mainly referring to Italy, are the architectural features of the city center and downtown. The fact that the former represents the very, historical hearth of the city, ensures two aspects. First that all the buildings have at maximum 5 floors, as most of them have ancient origins. Second that the all area is completely pedestrian ( sometimes it would be simply impossible to drive along a 1,5 meters wide street). This has fostered the fact that the most important and big enterprises open branches outside the very center, often gathering in economic, semi-peripheral area. Evidently this is in deep contrast with what is my experience in Denver. Downtown is the skyscrapers district, where the cars are allowed to go almost everywhere and where all the economic centers are located.

A final observation could be the fact that downtown are inhabited by a group of citizens that is not so easy to find in the city centre.  The first time I have been in Denver’s downtown I have been shocked by the number of homeless people, living in the streets. Old, young and also families find hospitality in the front of restaurants and banks in the very center of downtown. This is something that as Italian I am not used to. Indeed, given the fact that I think that the percentage of homeless proportioned to the total population is quite minor, most of them do not live n the city centre but in public dorms or at the worst in the periphery. I think that the fact that so many homeless live in downtown could be considered a positive aspect as their presence make evident to all the other citizen the problem of poverty in USA. In Italy we tend to marginalize this group of men and women in the periphery, while having them the main square or in front of the school could help in giving them more voice and importance. The other citizens would, probably, take more care of them if they could see their poor conditions of life each day, winter and summer.

In conclusion, it is possible to say that the different configuration of downtown and city centre reflect a more general diversity I culture, history and self-representation of Americans and Europeans.

DU’s campus

Today I have realized that I have never talked about the place where I spend the most of the time: the campus!! Indeed, this is something that Italians are not used to and I would like to talk a little about it, explaining how is different the university life in the States, or at least in Denver, and in Italy. First of all, as I have said, we do not have any kind of campus in the Italian cities. Most of the time the faculties are spread all over the town, in old edifices appositely  renovated. For the students it means that we have to move all over the city as we change class, often in only 5 minutes. So, it’s normal that everyone has a bike and pedals as a fool to be in time in class. This is why we have the “quarto d’ora  accademico”, i.e. classes begin always 15 minutes late. Unfortunately American do not have this tradition!!!

the university of Denver, instead, has an huge, at least for me, wonderful campus. Indeed, most of the buildings are gathered in an area located south to downtown. The campus is completely pedestrian and is furnished with wonderful, carefully run, flower beds. When the weather is nice it is possible to see how many students and private citizens walk, brown or play in the beds, while in the autumn the fields take amazing colors because of the turning trees.  It must be said that the most happy of all this greenery are the squirrels. Before I came here I had never seen so much squirrels in a city and so I spent the first week taking pictures of them!!

The campus is also reach of monumental building and pieces of arts. The edifices, mainly in Victorian and Edwardian styles, are connected by nice pathways crossing the flower beds.  The most characteristic buildings are the Ritchie Center with its gold-topped tower, and the University Hall. The first one, that is the sport center of the university, is clearly visible from all over the campus as well as from the city. It’s a symbol for the whole community and houses the Williams Carillon, a set of 65 chromatically tuned bronze bells. The University Hall, instead, is the most old building of the campus as it was built in 1890 in a  Romanesque Revival style.

Independently from the architecture and planning of the campus, which includes also a little lake and a church, I want to make a final note about the sense of community. Indeed, what I have most appreciated of the campus life in these four months, is the strong sense of community perceivable in the dorms.  This is my first time in this kind of housing, as in Italy they are not very common, and I have to say that I have really loved this experience. I find it’s amazing how the life in the university can be different and more  involving living in a dorm rather than in a private house. So, I think that it would be a great idea to build more campuses also in Italy.

The only negative aspect is the high rate of criminality also in the campus, but the university has adopted different devices to ensure an higher control (such as cameras and a free shuttle for students walking in the night).

In the attached pictures you can see some happy moments I spent in the campus, with Giulia, my roommate.

Cherry Creek North- Belmar: 1-0.

(cherrycreeknorth.com)

Recently I have discovered Cherry Creek North that has nothing to do with Cherry Creek Mall. Indeed, even if they are very close ( about 500 meters) they have completely different features. One, the mall, is an huge shopping center, so typical in the USA and so uncomfortable for the Europeans. The other, Cherry Creek North (CCN) is a nice, human size designed and mixed in use district.

Until the end of the XIX century this area constituted an independent little city and still today it is a small city center for its neighborhoods. Indeed, the district, recently renewed, hosts many different kind of stores, services and amenities (including dental and health care centers). The area is mainly pedestrian but many parking lots are available in the proximities. The district is also well furnished for the bike users: racks, bike lanes, a free covered parking and a program of bike sharing. Many stores guarantee a free wireless access. The streets are full of public benches, artistic elements and greenery, such as trees and flowers. The neighborhood is enriched by numerous exposition rooms and by a community theater. Even if the main plaza, Filmore Plaza, is still under renovation, the works in the rest of the district have been concluded.

The works have had as aims both to make the district more walkable and more environmental friendly. With reference to the first aspect, it must be said, in addition to what has already be explained, that CCN is easily reachable by the city center and by other districts (such as the University’s campus) both by car and by public transportation. In particular the district is serviced by seven busses and the trip takes about 20 minutes from downtown and 15 from the University. With regard to the other aspect, the community has worked a lot in reducing the consumption of both water (thanks for example, to an innovative irrigation system) and energy (using for example LED lightening). The district is also committed to recycle everything possible and to promote this virtuous behavior recycling containers are spread all over the area.  Also during the renewal works the planners have tried to reutilize all the possible materials.

Interestingly, CCN is directed by a private community authority, called BID (Business Improvement District) that has made possible to finance the millionaire works without using public money. Indeed they have relied on CCN’s bonds, that Standard and Poor’s has classified as A+.

Certainly the people who live in Denver and know at least a little of urban studies will surely compare CCN with Belmar (Lakewood). Interestingly, indeed, Belmar is usually considered the best result of the New Urbanism movement in Denver but in my opinion CCN is far more successful. Indeed, even if Belmar presents more innovative energy saving devices, Cherry Creek has an incredibly important characteristic for a district: it is live. One of the worst aspects of Belmar is the fact that it seems an hunted-city even in the weekends, while it should attract all the inhabitants of the neighborhoods. CCN, conversely, is always full of people, consumers and inhabitants, that decide to spend their free time in its cafes or shopping in its stores. A last note: as CCT’s web sites published few month ago a popular café has moved from Lakewood, where it has been opening for 9 years, to Cherry Creek. A great humiliation for Belmar.

The last consideration would like to consider the population living in CCN, but no data could be found about. It would be interesting understand which social, ethnic groups live there; if there are more women or men, more young or old people. Unfortunately for the moment I cannot provide any information.

South Pearl Street – Denver

The farmers' market in South Pearl Street (www.denverlofthomes.com)

Pearl street is one of the most nice places I visited in the last three months. Probably, it’s the first case in Denver of the retrofitting suburbia process, i.e. the designing of mixed-use, green districts. Its history begins in 1900 when the Denver Tramway company extended its trolley lines from Alameda to Jewell Avenues along South Pearl Street (this is why it can still be reached by light rail). Since then this area has become a vital economic center and many multi-use buildings have been built.

Nowadays it is both one of the most appreciated, historical commercial area as well as a vital nightclubs area. indeed, even if a lot of time’s passed Pearl street continues to maintain its original features. The little, human-sized blocks have not been substituted by huge malls, while local entrepreneurs have not been swept away from leading national companies. An observer will not find Starbucks, Walgreen or Wal-Mart but a nice cafeteria as Stella’s, an incredible music shop as Von’s Violin and an high style, but really cheap, cloths reseller as Common Threads (they restyle old clothes). My favorite shop is certainly Stella’s. This is a wonderful cafeteria (even if the coffee is not so good) and the people really appreciate this place. Most of the clients, for example, spend also one of more hours in the cafeteria just talking with friends (as we do in Italy) or even studying, writing and reading. Indeed, Stella’s has different rooms and people can choose whether they prefer to sit in the most quiet part or in the one dedicated to chats. The cafeteria is also full of books, that the clients can freely read, as well as pictures and paintings. It also hosts quite often local expositions and music bands.

Stella’s is only an example for all the other particular shops of the area. Since the 70s Pearl street has become an artistic point, as many artists and, later, collectors moved there after an economic crisis that lowered the renting prices of the district (this is why still today people can find amazing expositions). Moreover, it has become famous also for the successful local initiatives: the local farmers market, the Arts walks days and the Winterfest are only some of them. I can say that spending some hours there I have perceived how the inhabitants of this district see themselves as a community. The initiatives I have mentioned are only some of the activities the community promotes but they show how there their social links are stronger than in other areas of Denver.

This district presents some of the characteristics of other retrofit areas in Denver, Belmar for example, but it seems to be much warmer and more natural. Indeed, while walking in Belmar we perceive that it has been designed and strategically planned in order to promote a certain kind of behaviors, while in Pearl street what we feel is a general sense of harmony and originality. As me others see the difference and the fact that Pearl street is an always crowded area while Belmar seems an hunted district testifies it.

I hope to have aroused the interest of you and that you will check if what I have said is the truth.

How we shape cities, shapes us.

The most interesting thing I’ve learned during these 3 weeks of lessons is that there is a bilateral relationship between a community and its city. Even if it’s almost evident that we shape our urban environment accordingly to our values, history and self-representation, it’s far from be obvious that the architecture and the cities can modify our behaviors and so, by time, our believings.

The most sharp example are the 204 Bridges  in New York City , due to Mr. R. Moses. These bridges have been planned with the intent to prevent buses from passing under them. According to same scholars,Moses, one of the most important men in NYC in the XX century, famously considered a racist,probably decided to design this bridge to keep the black minority, which commonly used buses to move, within their neighborhoods, to segregate them.
One other  example of an architect consciousness of  how city can shape people’s attitudes is G. E. Haussmann, the man who made of Paris a landmark in XIX century Europe. He tried to solve one of the main worries of Napoleon III: a new rebel movement as the one which occurred in 1848. Haussmann’s project tried to make, on one hand, impossible to create the adequate conditions for barricades, so hard to overcome by the soldiers,  on the other, he promoted Napoleon III cult in the city, designing spectacular monument dedicated to him, as a way to legitimate his regime. Indeed, he was well consciuos of the effect of the built environment on human beings.

These two are only two cases of archisemiotics, i.e. the power of the achitecture to influence men and women thanks to latent meanings. I would like to understand  if also Denver presents archisemiotic features and how, eventually, these could affect the citizens. For the moment I could not find anything, but probably it’s just because I am not part of a minority group. Indeed, characteristic of archisemiotics is that it much more evident to those groups that are its proposed addressed. Hardly a rich, educated man would have noticed the impossibility of te busses to use Moses’ bridge, while for the black minority it was too much evident.

Invisible Cities- A discovery blog

“Cities, like dreams, are made of desires and fears, even if the thread of their discourse is secret, their rules are absurd, their perspectives deceitful, and everything conceals something else”.

“You take delight not in a city’s seven or seventy wonders, but in the answer it gives to a question of yours”.

Italo Calvino
English translation: William Weaver (1974)

Italo Calvino (http://myprettynv.com)

“Le città invisibili” ofthe Italian writer Italo Calvino is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read; since it has been published scholars have given hundreds of different readings but only few of  them have really reached its complexity. The same title it’s a rebus: why cities are invisible? The famous scholar M. Belpoliti suggests that cities are invisible as humans’ eyes can’t reach them: cities can only be read, not seen, because their description can’t be completely spotted. Cities are fragments that we can’t see as a whole.

I’ll not try to describe this opera as it would be both impossible and useless but I suggest everybody interested in meta-literature and in cities’ shaping to read it.. You can start your reading from the following links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invisible_Cities

http://www.des.emory.edu/mfp/calvino/callast.html

Otherwise, If you have read Le città invisibili you can easily understand why I have chosen this title for a bolg on the human environment. As Marco Polo I’m a traveler of the world outside  and inside me. As Kublai Khan I’m on the road to discover new languages and a new world.