First impressions count, it’s as true for cities as it is for job interviews.
What do people think when they see your city? Hard perhaps for you to see because you’ve got old eyes. So instead, think of something in your city that’s a little bit new. A building, a bench, a sculpture. You’ve got new eyes for that. Then try to think of where you live with new eyes.
Ah, you respond. If I’ve got old eyes who cares if my downtown is a little bit ugly, my city is 23% asphalt, we’ve not painted in twenty years.
You should care because the future of your community may depend on how good you look today.
Charles Landry (creative cities thinker, author, speaker) says that the global workforce chooses jobs based on the cities where they’d live, not the job they’ll do. So what? So, a larger workforce, larger tax base, more to spend, better infrastructure and facilities, a better quality of life.
So how does a city make a good impression? Same way a person would, with one interesting twist. The street. Landry tells us that basic unit of a city is the street. And streets, back in the old days, weren’t for driving on. They were walking paths, people interacted with one another outside of steel cages. They swore at each other in person.
Streets need to come back into vogue. So does walking, public art, beauty guidelines for builders. Everything must be useful, yes, but beautiful, too.
As Charles Landry asks: what’s the cost of the city NOT making a good first impression.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Great post Danielle, I think you pretty much nailed it. Toronto has a lot of work to do if it wants to make a good impression to the outside world, especially with the TTC.