Cities Are Good for You-The Genius of the Metropolis
Book Review by Sun and Planets Spirituality AYINRIN
From the Palace Of Kabiesi Ebo Afin! Ebo Afin Kabiesi! His Magnificence Oloja Elejio Oba Olofin Pele Joshua Obasa De Medici Osangangan broad-daylight natural blood line 100% Royalty The God, LLB Hons, BL, Warlord, Bonafide King of Ile Ife kingdom and Bonafide King of Ijero Kingdom, Number 1 Sun worshiper in the Whole World.I'm His Magnificence the Crown.
For Spiritual Consultations, Spiritual divination reading, Guidance and Counseling, spiritual products and spiritual Services, offering of Spiritual Declarations , call or text Palace and Temple Phone and Whatsapp contact: +2348166343145, Phone And WhatsApp Contact : +2347019686274 ,Mail: obanifa87@gmail.com, Facebook page: Sun Spirituality.Website:www.sunspirituality.com.
Our Sun spiritual Temple deliver Spiritual Services to Companies owners, CEOs, Business brands owners, Bankers, Technologists, Monarchs, Military officers, Entrepreneurs, Top Hierarchy State Politicians, and any Public figures across the planet.
Author:His Magnificence the Crown, Kabiesi Ebo Afin! Oloja Elejio Oba Olofin Pele Joshua Obasa De Medici Osangangan Broad daylight.
Leo Hollis is a writer and historian who lives in London and has been a longtime defender of urban life. In this wide-ranging and buoyant work, he charts the advantages of life in the city in the face of "the grumbles of the skeptical and the stuck-in-the-mud naysayers" who continue to condemn it as a drain of our humanity and a source of filth, noise, violence, and pollution.
In his examination of what a city is, Hollis shares his delight in walking the streets of London; compares Barcelona in Spain with Houston, Texas; ponders the first cities; salutes Jane Jacobs and her linking of city and complexity; and challenges us to think about new ways of living together that benefit us all.
In the city, we are free to pursue our own interests and this makes it a very exciting place. But the conflict and competition to get ahead and succeed also makes it a place of incredible inequality where the rich and powerful dominate and run the city from above. While Hollis is saddened by this fact, he still clings to the notion that there is a spirit to cities that can be found in its parks and public places where citizens meet. He agrees with William H. Whyte who says of city dwellers: "What attracts people most is other people. Many urban spaces are being designed as though the opposite were true."
In 2007, 50% of the global population became urban and this number is expected to rise to 70% by 2050. Hollis believes that redefining what community means in these urban centers is more important than ever. The density of city life forces people to adapt their behavior — to be more open to diversity and more civil as they mingle with strangers. Being a good neighbor comes alive in conviviality — "a tradeable commodity that creates a better place around us."
Perhaps the biggest challenge is eradicating urban slums around the world and providing a better life for their residents. Hollis takes a look at efforts being made to help refugees and others who are fleeing from rural areas. He also covers new experiments with smart cities — built according to the new rules of the Information Age. Another challenge facing urban dwellers is lack of parking spaces in cities: urban designers and others are working on reducing automobile traffic and adding parks, sports courts, and gardens. Last but not least, Hollis celebrates the greening of cities.
Cities Are Good for YouThe Genius of the Metropolis
A Book Excerpt on Connections
"The idea of people coming together, sharing the same space and getting on with each other sounds simple but 7,000 years of urban history often disproves this. It was once far easier to know who you were and where you came from; the definition and requirements of citizenship were set out clearly. Yet, as the city grew beyond the boundaries of the first walls, the question of belonging became more problematic. How can you prove you are who you say you are? What are the codes of practice, the behaviour of 'cityness', and how do they evolve? How can you define community when people are on the move so much?
"As the population of the world becomes increasingly urban, redefining community is an ever urgent question. People, families and groups are coming to the city now in greater numbers than ever before; they are arriving at places that are so large and diverse that they cannot simply be defined by one identity. Community may be many things: a shared space, a way of behaving, as well as people; yet the process of belonging is more than anyone of these things alone. It is an ecology that combines place, people and the way they interact.
"But it seems that living together creates serious problems, that jamming so many people into such a tight space makes the city a ticking time bomb ready to explode. Somewhere between the experience of an evening in a Paris salon and the full scale of 9,000 years of urban history the problem of community had become an intractable crisis. How can we challenge this scenario?
"We are hardwired to be together. Despite the fact that we have been told most of our lives that we are all individuals, that survival of the fittest was the only rule of the game, we have been genetically designed to seek each other out and form communities. We are social animals and, as a result, the city is the most natural place for us to be. Our personalities are formed by our relationships with others; our language is shared; it is the connection with others that makes us happy, smarter and more creative. It is only our ability to cooperate that has allowed us to survive thus far. Collaboration is the engine of complexity, connecting us with each other, strengthening the social bonds. As evolutionary biologist Martin Novak writes: 'Cooperation is the master architect of evolution.' ."
Was this article helpful? Connect with me.
Follow the SUN ( AYINRIN) . Follow the light.Be Bless, I am His Magnificence, the Crown, Kabiesi Ebo Afin Oloja Elejio Oba Olofin Pele Joshua Obasa De Medici Osangangan broad daylight, natural blood line 100% Royalty the God,LLB Hons,BL, Warlord, the bonafide King of Ile Ife Kingdom and Bonafide king of Ijero Kingdom, number 1 sun worshiper in the whole world. Follow the SUN AYINRIN, follow the light. Be Bless,I am His Magnificence Royalty!. Follow the Light.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.