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It’s been decades since I’ve written a Christmas wish list. I reckon my last one was populated by Transformers G.I. Joe action figures and hockey equipment. This year I’ll be more mature and make a few wishes for urbanism.
By urbanism I mean people and their cities or more precisely how the places we build shape us and how we shape them. A garden in our backyard or neighbourhood is a product of our labours and we are a product of it. Physical activity the emotional stimulation of toiling in dirt and creating novel places for wildlife — we shape and are shaped by place.
So with that here are my wishes for urbanism — for people and their cities and cities and their people.
1. Reduce the amount of asphalt and horizontal concrete in cities. Aside from the fact that it makes for a generally ugly environment impermeable surfaces wreak havoc on watershed water quality. Rain water picks up urban pollutants and toxins transporting them into rivers. This damages aquatic habitat and increases water treatment costs. Concrete and asphalt also absorb heat which in turn elevates surrounding air temperatures. This makes for uncomfortable urban environments — for us and for flora and fauna.
2. Reduce the amount of manicured grass sprawling over the places we build. Turf grass is good for playing on for picnics for picking up dog poo off of. If the grass isn’t being used to play on sit on or run dogs on it should be used to reintroduce nature. Turn it into a garden and plant species that provide a greater range of benefit.
3. Tax garbage. Households and businesses should be taxed on the garbage they produce and receive a tax benefit for what they recycle making it a “cost neutral” tax.
4. Tax housing investors. If the owner of the home doesn’t live in the home they should be taxed so that the home provides little financial benefit to the owner. If a city’s housing supply is intended to house people it should; it shouldn’t be a shelter for investors.
5. Have the construction of homes come with warranties that match the materials they are made of. The refrigerator in the kitchen shouldn’t hold a longer warranty than the home it’s in. Homebuilders ought to be held accountable for the products they build as much as a car maker toy maker clothing maker etc. Most of us can’t analyze a home’s building envelop. If it’s poorly built we shouldn’t be held accountable for it. The builder (and/or trades) should be.
6. Allow for more art. More public art more street art more building art more pop-up-wherever art more colour more creative expression manifested on the grey stuff the concrete stuff and over billboards (a nod to artist Banksy and activist Edward Abbey here). Not commissioned per se just artistic expression in general. Bring on the artists; “tagging” is not art.
7. Enable more politically and socially active citizens however that’s constituted. When I was in Cuernavaca Mexico this past spring I came across this unattributed quote and jotted it down. “Democracy seems to have little connection with the electoral process and is rather expressed in initiatives by communities working towards justice by expressing democratic notions in the communities we develop resisting the measures imposed by elected officials we believe do not represent us. Any political regime in the end derives its legitimacy not so much from the way it is constituted (democratically or undemocratically) but from how it functions: the measure in which it can deliver what the people want.”
I’ve tried to keep my wish to literal things although the last one got a bit cerebral. I’m wishing for more visually complex environments; I’m wishing for cities that degrade nature less; I’m wishing for a bit more housing density but not too much (secondary suites and laneway housing not towers); I’m wishing for fewer cars much much fewer cars and all the practices that cater to the car; I’m wishing for more spontaneity — more random acts more street festivals more activities that take back space from poorly prescribed areas (like low density sprawl excessive lawns places for cars…).
Lastly allow us to recognize that we’re malleable as is the city. The things we build and the structures in place that regulate what gets built and what does not are human creations. Sometimes we get stuck thinking that what exists has to exist. Allow us to think sometimes that this is not the case.
Steven Snell is a professional city planner with a master’s in urban planning. His series of columns will focus on spatial justice and the city. The opinions expressed are his own. Follow him on Twitter @stevenpsnell.
