Xinchen Du
6/7/2015
Short research paper
Observations from readings
There are a number of different observations contained in the readings that is very interesting. In the book A Pattern Language, Christopher Alexander introduces some ways to make our walking paths more efficient and enjoyable. In The Experience of Place, Tony Hiss argues that the more developing city we have the worse environment we get and the less healthy we become. Jane Jacobs indicates in her book The Death and Life of Great American Cities that privacy is considered as a indispensable treasure for a city and how people try to keep their privacy.
Christopher Alexander, in his book A Pattern Language, proposes that comfortable and efficient walking paths depend on how you choose a goal (or goals) as your destination. He writes that “the layout of paths will seem right and comfortable only when it is compatible with the process of walking. And the process of walking is far more subtle than one might imagine”. He lists several ways of planning your walking path. The first way is finding the furthest point as your destination. Your walk will become a “diagonal” path by always looking at that point and avoiding other places in the process. If you don’t want to keep changing direction, you reset a better destination. The other way is to find several points within your walk and “set up contemporary destinations”. After getting to one goal, you can change to another goal. This way you won’t feel tired because you will be satisfied by finishing your goals one by one. In my personal experience, I actually have used these ways of getting somewhere. For instance, when I was skiing, I was always looking for a place that was still and apparent as my target. Then, I kept looking at it while I was skiing from the top. This way my path was stable and easy. Another example of my experience is that when I am going to school, there are some spots that help me notice where am I and how long I need to walk, such as the bookstore at one third of the way, the first big crossroads, and the last street where I already can see my school. Thus, these places are my contemporary destinations of my way getting to school.
In The Experience of Place, Tony Hiss states that People’s health become worse in the new cities than in villages. Being in sealed building contains a big problem of air quality. Because the building is sealed, the air we breath in is from the cooling tower drift. “The water droplets from cooling tower are so micro that can be absorbed unnoticed deep into our lungs. Because of the HVAS system, heat is vented through the cooling tower and combined with the water that contains bacteria”. Moreover, other buildings might share the same cooling tower and air will be affected as well. Therefore, it is better to breath outside fresh air than indoor air. Hiss writes in the article, “Most sealed buildings are in a sick condition at least part of time. All this information is changing professional attitudes toward the value of the sealed modern tower. According to a paper that was read at the Third International Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate, in Stockholm in 1986, these buildings may have to be regarded as “a failure””. The construction of modern cities has many shortcomings besides its benefits. For instance, the movie, Urbanised, we saw during class shows us the modern city in Beijing. However, the sky is covered with haze and no longer blue. The interviewee tells us the environment was much clearer and beautiful when there weren’t so many constructions and pollution. People always forget what is the most important thing and satisfy their needs. Thus, in order to protect our environment, people in Copenhagen are encouraged to ride bikes as much as they can to reduce the pollution.
The article, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, written by Jane Jacobs claims a interesting point of the importance of privacy in city and how people try to make it better. Jacobs says that in a small place, people often don’t have much privacy because people always gathering together and don’t have enough personal space. Thus, in a big city, privacy becomes a treasure to people. In the article, Jacobs states that “privacy is precious in cities. In small settlements everyone knows your affairs. In the city everyone does not—only those you choose to tell will know much about you. This is one of the attributes of cities that is precious to most city people”. Nowadays, the density of new buildings becomes bigger and bigger. We don’t really have enough personal spaces besides the apartments we live. Every place is sort of public. If you live in the country side where has plenty space, you might be able to find a area that can be your private place. Otherwise, it is not going to happen inside the downtown. Thus, urbanisation is very important. For instance, in the movie, Urbanised, it mentions one of the classical models of urban structure which is concentric zone model. From the inside to the outside of the circle, there are central business district, zone of transition, zone of independent worker’s homes, zone of better residences, and commuters’ zone. The richer people choose to live not too close to the central business district because the closer to the central the less privacy and more polluted environment we have. This actually explains a way of dealing with the problem of privacy.
In those books, A Pattern Language, The Experience of Place, and The Death and Life of Great American Cities, there are many things and points that widen my perspective and are really meaningful. First, Christopher Alexander shares his experiences of how to make our walking paths more effective.Then, Tony Hiss points out that the developing city has many short comes for our lives. Last but not least, Jane Jacobs emphasises that one of the most indispensable things for a city is privacy.
End note
Christopher, Alexander, Sara Ishikawa, and Murray Silverstein. A pattern language: towns, buildings, construction. Oxford University Press, 1977.
Hiss, Tony. The Experience of Place: A New Way of Looking at and Dealing With our Radically Changing Cities and Count ryside. Vintage, 2010.
Jane, Jacobs, The death and life of great American cities. Vintage, 1961.
Urbanized. Plexifilm :, 2011. Film.
Bibliography
Christopher, Alexander, Sara Ishikawa, and Murray Silverstein. A pattern language: towns, buildings, construction. Oxford University Press, 1977.
Hiss, Tony. The Experience of Place: A New Way of Looking at and Dealing With our Radically Changing Cities and Count ryside. Vintage, 2010.
Jane, Jacobs, The death and life of great American cities. Vintage, 1961.
Urbanized. Plexifilm :, 2011. Film.
