06/03/2024
Take away the town square, take away the walkable schools, take away the shops on Main Street, pull the houses farther apart and force people into cars to move between the functions of their life. Take all of this away and what SHOULD we expect? We have overhauled our cities in a manner that ensures people no longer interact with one another. We have spent billions removing the sense of community from our communities, and yet we are surprised when people are no longer civil. A huge portion of Americans only ever interact with other people in their car, or online- both places where the rules of civility get tossed out the window.
We don’t behave the same way when we interact with someone in person. When we talk to someone, face to face, we try and find common ground, there is a certain pressure, an underlying sense of decency and humanity to try and be kind…and interesting, and inquisitive, and to make the person you are talking with- feel good. Decency, kindness and civility are functions of personal interaction. Removing the places where people experience personal interaction from our communities, has cost us dearly.
Not having places in your town where people can convene, is doing considerable damage to the underlying fabric that holds communities together. Taking away these places meant for people, and pushing those people online or into their cars for more and more of their lives is changing all of us- for the worse.
People need people, we require interaction with other humans. It is seared into our DNA. Cities have always been designed in a way that fosters people convening, because city leaders and city builders understood this. No city could be a success if it didn’t accommodate for this factor. The people that built originally built our cities knew that a town square was important. They knew it would be the focal point of their community and a gathering place. Imagine you built a house, but only included bedrooms and opted for no living room or kitchen. This would be a stupid way to build, because you would no longer have any place to hang out with your family. It’s the exact same with a city. Our behavior is changing as we no longer have the places we need to be together with one another
