Large Marbles Fall in Markyate

On a hot summers day, three days ago to be precise, the sky rapidly turned very, very dark. I browsed online to find the forecaster warn of patches of thundery weather. He added: “If you get caught in one, you’ll know about it!” The storm was undoubtedly the most dramatic I have ever witnessed in my life. I know that in other parts of the world, golf-ball sized hail is commonplace, but this is temperate old south-eastern England - certainly known in Chicago for fog.

So, hail, some pieces the size of large marbles, started clattering from the sky, hitting houses and cars, setting off alarms and frightening the life out of animals, not to mention a few unsuspecting humans! The most surprising thing to me was the way in which the hail actually ricochet off walls, roof-tiles and the ground. Even an umbrella of steel wouldn’t stop these tooth shaped particles from striking underside - and that’s the shape they were, the molars of angels. Perhaps it was the way in which clouds had condensed then frozen, or maybe the friction of falling through the atmosphere had shaped them.

The bombardment lasted for around an hour, turning roads into rivers and flooding the centre of Markyate. I went, armed with a carpet cleaner, to hoover off the water from a listed building that had fallen victim to the storm (or blocked drainage).

Well it is considered typically British to talk about the weather, what can I say.

Social and Spatial Inequalities

“Sir you are prohibited from taking photos here” the security guard informed me with a pointed manner seemingly beyond his role as a security guard dealing with a passing ‘innocent’ member of the public. His explanation that “One can’t be too careful these days with the likes of terrorists and criminals about” was insufficient. I could sense myself beginning to react internally.

Maybe the guard would have adequately justified his job to some, maybe he was merely doing his job for the money, and did not agree with his given reasons. I could feel anger welling up inside of me. What right has anyone to tell me, in a plaza - a seemingly public area, that I cannot point the lense of my camera towards their’ over generously proportioned glass windows because of a perceived threat of terrorism. “Have you heard of a long range zoom lense?” or, “why aren’t you putting up blinds? Then you wouldn’t need to stand here day in day out!” were both responses on the tip of my tongue, but as I considered the consequences of speaking my mind, he added that he was quite prepared to “call the police since this is private property if” I didn’t move on.

Apart from the rage, which this incited in me, it was a real embarrassment as I was showing a Nigerian friend who I knew from university around London. All I wanted was a photo of what was reflected by the glass on the front of this building. I did not want to break any laws, annoy any security guards or end up in police custody.

That experience was about two years ago but it still causes me to reflect on my (limited) experiences of spatial and social inequality, the two being inextricably linked. Since I am not used to being a victim of such inequalities, I wonder whether those who are just accept the more subtle inequalities as a fact of everyday life. I am motivated to make sense of such experiences in the larger scheme of things; thus forming the basis for my dissertation research.

Election Night

“But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. We would be making the same mistake that Reverend Wright made in his offending sermons about America - to simplify and stereotype and amplify the negative to the point that it distorts reality.” - Obama

For a country comprised of immigrants, it seems surprising how dominated the political systems have been by white, protestant, european descendants. The election of Obama, to me, speaks of a nation which is accepting who it is, and that is a good thing. I suppose the contrasting views of the spoken majority, and those similar to what was portrayed in the video are also a reflection on the large-scale geography of the nation.

I have many questions…

How can such extremes coexist in a nation so young? How can such extremes still coexist in a world of mass media including the internet? Is freedom of speech for everyone always a good thing? does it do more damage than good sometimes?

I am fighting my own thoughts; in a globalized over-homogenised world,  shouldn’t I be happy to see diverse opinions? Not ones based on such misinformation!… anyway back to the election…

It was not until right at the end of Obama’s speech, having not made the classic American presidential assertion that ‘this is the greatest country in the world’ – as McCain had done in his defeat speech - that I began to believe that this guy really is different from those that have gone before him.

Obama was able to summon the spirit of pride by drawing on the qualities of the nation rather than repeating a statement which sounds… err, well frankly: arrogant. McCain may have been encouraging the American people with such a statement; building on the pride which is instilled at such a young age, he also told 270+ nations that they were not as good as his.

Obama will be received better all over the world, not only because of this, but because of the iconic statement his victory makes about the internal tolerance of Americans for people of other races. Not only did Obama call upon the spirit of pride from the American audience, he actually, and far more importantly gave substance to that American pride.

It is easy to get swept up in the atmosphere of Chicago, Obama’s home city and, last tuesday, the centre of the entire world. I am also aware of the celebrity status which both Obama and McCain have enjoyed in the run up to this election. This makes me slightly skeptical of all of the hype, but Obamas assertion that he has “…never been so naïve as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single candidacy - particularly a candidacy as imperfect as [his] own” reassures me.

This is a man who seems in touch with the nation and in touch with the world.

The USA might be changing, fast.

Facespace: Information overload: No time for it!

‘Social networking’ sites Facebook, Myspace, Beebo and the like have always been predestined and unsurprising conclusions of a global internet. Putting people in touch has a positive moral undertone which draws the masses in. Although the significance of social networking is somewhat immeasurable, you only have to walk down a street or go to a party to be likely to overhear a conversation revolving around one of these media.

For some people, these social networking sites are merely tools which are regarded in a positive light, being reliable and functionally serving their purposes. For others, the usage of such sites is regarded as a right. When I used facebook, I noticed the huge and almost unanimously negative reaction to the layout being altered. People commented on those changes as you might complain to your mobile telephone provider (to whom you are the customer) upon experiencing problems.

I am slightly embarrassed to admit that I would have probably spent on average an hour on Facebook every day - but not that embarrassed; I think that when many social networkers add up the time spent per day, including the quick glance during coffee break or the before bed check up - both which turn into 15 minutes of discovery, I might be a normal example.

So 1 hour a day is 14 hours in two weeks. If time spent sleeping and eating is taken into account, I can think of social networking in terms of loosing an entire day every fortnight, or, a year out of every 14 years.

There are reasons why social networking sites are valued despite the points I have made; some people highly value the convenient way in which contacts are networked for us and for people who have traveled a lot or know a lot of people all over the world. Social networking can offer huge benefits, I must admit, but I would only recommend this form of interaction to those with better self control than me.

The questions which I asked myself just before destroying my account were:

What do I want to know? What do I need to know? What do I find out anyway? Do I have time to sort all of this information out?

The answer for me: the things which really matter, a family crises or a friend in trouble, do not get posted online anyway.

I recommend this article by Tom Hodgkinson of The Guardian that goes into a lot more detail about Facebook in particular.

Chicagoland and Planning for the Future

Chicagoland and Planning for the Future

The way in which I have experienced Chicago since arriving here has been completely different to any other city, town or village I have ever been to within Europe. The spatial layout of the city is arranged with a strict grid system that, whilst flawlessly functional for private modes of travel, has had a profoundly confusing impact on me, the person walking the streets, trying to understand it. I am not sure how to respond to this. The layout of the city seems to be a symbol of something far greater.

In any city there are too many factors at work to simplify, understand and be able to explain how things have turned out the way they have, so I need to rely on a study of subjective sources to establish the general consensus towards the spatial form of Chicago and how it is experienced. This approach, which deals with human beings on a human scale, is necessary for other applications; imagine creating a restaurant menu purely through the use of scientific research that establishes recommended daily allowances of each food group; ignoring customer preferences.

I am not dismissing any form of scientific approach to the study of the built environment, but my impression of the planning systems at work in the Chicago metropolitan area is that they have been a little lacking in the experiential aspects of planning which I value so highly. I have to acknowledge that it is perhaps the perspective from which I have been studying the built environment that exaggerates differences with the UK planning system. Also, I am only half a semester into my studies here so these thoughts might change as time passes.

This video is from ‘Chicago Go To 2040’, an organisation seeking to promote collaborative planning within the Chicagoland area. The involvement of children and young people from local schools is one example of the many sources of consultation which a planning body can use. The initiative seems comparable in its’ intentions and purpose to the regional tier of the UK planning system; however there is one hugely significant difference: Unlike the UK regional tier of planning, the Chicago Go To 2040 plan is merely an advisory body; something which I strongly hope will change.

Public Transport: Chicago vs Bristol

Public Transport: Chicago vs Bristol

Having lived in Bristol for the past two years, I had wisened myself to the appauling bus network. There are a handful of companies with completely detatched timetabling and ticketing systems. You can expect to pay somewhere in the region of £3.50 for a return ticket to the city centre, which you must use again with that same bus company. I have been caught out by this and ended up having to pay around £7.00 for a visit to Bristol city centre!

Chicago however contains a cheap, reliable and convenient system: the CTA, which stands for Chicago Transit Authority. This consists of ‘The El’, the city’s nickname for the elevated train system (this also includes a couple of underground routes) and the fully integrated bus system. As a student, I was issued with a pass at a discounted rate which allows me to travel without paying any extra charge. The pass is worth $45 for each semester and works on all trains and buses within Chicagoland.

We can make excuses in the UK for why our public transport is not so good; there have been years of underinvestment and our towns and cities have so much history that it is difficult to plough new transport infrastructure into them, but something as simple as organising a comprehensive and reasonably priced city wide ticketing system surely should not be beyond the ability of those bus companies, who are currently ripping off the unlucky few rather than providing a decent service for the masses.

Chicago

Chicago

Tomorrow, I will have been in Chicago, Illinois for a whole week and what a week it has been. Having never been to the USA before, the enormity of spending an entire academic year here is just beginning to be realised. Many people have been asking me “what do you think of Chicago?” and I find this question almost impossible to answer. There is no ‘in a nutshell’ response - so much is different, including the culture, language and the spatial layout of places that a simple comparison beyond the obvious is probably too complex to verbalise adequately. I hope that as my time here unfolds, I will be able to explore all of the aspects that make this city bustle.

Vélib - Freedom Bikes

Vélib - Freedom Bikes

Upon arrival in Paris, I was instantly aware of ‘Vélib’ stations dotted all over the city; places where you are able to hire a bicycle in order to navigate your way through the metropolis. Paris has a comprehensive network of cycle paths running alongside but separated from the main vehicular traffic flow; the only problem is that often pedestrians seem unaware that they are straying into a cycle lane. I saw a couple of near misses but no actual collisions.

The technology which the Vélib system uses allows cyclists to pay to use a bicycle (at something resembling a pay and display machine) . This releases the bicycle from the recharging stand points.

Vélib’s website has information regarding hire. When you hire a bicycle, as is stated online: ‘…the first 30 minutes of every journey are always free of charge.’ a cost of €1 applies for the next half hour, then €2 for the third half hour and €4 for each subsequent half hour. The website also states that you can hire a bicycle with a day, week or year subscription. The bicycles are well maintained and can be returned to any of the hire stations. For further information, go to Vélib’s website at: http://www.en.velib.paris.fr/ Bon effort Paris!

Succinctly put…

Eindhoven - Paris en vélo! - Day 6

Eindhoven - Paris en vélo! - Day 6

Today we arrived in Paris at Charles de Gaulle airport after completing the final stretch the journey - well, my journey that is! The roads surrounding the airport are really not designed for cyclists, however the experience which I had gained in the last week helped to steady my nerves as we navigated through the industrial outskirts of the airport. Mark, Taco and I opted to catch a train to Gare du Nord to avoid the Parisian traffic which, as you can imagine of any capital city, is somewhat hectic. I find it a bit disconcerting that vehicles can turn and go through a pedestrian crossing when there is a green man; even though they must stop if pedestrians are crossing, I was caught unaware a couple of times and thought I may have accidentally crossed when I shouldn’t have. There are a couple of things in particular that interest me about Paris as a town planning student; firstly the cycle lanes which have been successfully incorporated into the streetscape and secondly, the bike hire system; allowing citizens to use a bike cheaply and return it to one of several parking points scattered across the city.