Your cities are ugly

24 08 11 - 20:43

In a misguided attempt at forced social engineering, traditional architectural and urban pattern languages were abandoned in the early twentieth century. This act was entirely deliberate, and represented ideas for a new type of city. Le Corbusier formulated his urban proposals into the Athens Charter of 1933, which was subsequently used as a blueprint for post-war urban development. There is no doubt that this reversal of traditional city structure, coupled with the elimination of connective boundaries and interfaces, was based on two false premises: (a) It is desirable to concentrate functions into giant packages; (b) The geometry within each package is homogeneous. Nevertheless, a city contains so many complex human functions that it is impossible to isolate them, let alone concentrate them, so that imposing a simplistic geometry on urban form inhibits the human activities that generate living cities.

One approach to combating the increasing congestion of nineteenth-century cities was to just streamline the geometry. That solution, which helps only in the free flow of vehicular traffic, has generated a stylistic rule responsible for disconnecting urban elements. The visual concept of "streamlining" has been adopted as a universal architectural principle, beyond its narrow application to the expressway. As a consequence, a drastic reduction in the number of different urban interfaces, which ought to exist on many different scales, has made it impossible to generate a coherent urban system. Furthermore, rejecting traditional urban patterns means that people no longer connect to buildings and cities, because human behavioral patterns cannot be contained by architectural anti-patterns (Salingaros, 2000). - Urban Coherence

28 comments

Anything with aesthetic merit is oppressive. Dave - 25-08-’11 08:26

So Steve Jobs quit and Apple is ready for its descent. Are you happy asshole? ARE YOU HAPPY?!!!! sick of white people - 25-08-’11 08:33

traditional cities were built to facilitate a common purpose. consequently whoever shared in that common goal felt gelled into that city and also found it aesthetically pleasing. when we took it apart and spaced out the components of our cities, individuals lost that sense of connectedness to the whole and the cities became aesthetically repugnant. also, living and working in such cities drills into our minds a feeling that our life and what we do has nothing to do with the lives of others. maybe that's why city folk feel lonely. the loss and curse of reverence (Email ) - 25-08-’11 09:12

You're face is ugly! Dave - 25-08-’11 11:28

YEAH YO FACE SO UGLY YOU MOMMA THOUGHT U WAS A SHIT AN FLUSHED UDOWN DA TOILET WHEN YOU WAS BORNNNNH AHAHAHAHA NIAGAA sick of white people - 25-08-’11 11:39

Sorry to inform you but everything you say is wrong. We are all geniuses, from the stupidest to the smartest, and your discriminatory suggestions will fail in the face of world peace: http://news.discovery.com/human/are-we-all-geniuses-110825.html David vs Goliath - 25-08-’11 11:55

David your article doesn't even make a point. TD - 25-08-’11 14:56

The solution here would be population reduction. Modern cities are massive and the grid is the best option at this scale. By "traditional city structure" I'm assuming that the article is talking about an "organic" urban plan, which is really no plan at all, it's anyone builds wherever and however they want. This may work for really small towns but when you get to a population that cities have today its utter chaos, just look at any large African city with a traditional, organic layout. I'm sure there people feel connected to the whole, as the people built it themselves, but the whole itself sucks. - 25-08-’11 15:04

"We are all geniuses, from the stupidest to the smartest"...uuuhhhhh, yeah. That's the reason the world is like it is. Thanks, ASSHOLES! Fuck the world, I will deny you - 25-08-’11 15:31

"Anything with aesthetic merit is oppressive."

I have to say, this is one of "Dave"'s best moments. I lold for real. The Real Dave's #1 Fan - 25-08-’11 16:22

"You know, to adapt to our environment like any other creature. With grace."

Your whole premis is smashed by the fact that we ARE adapting. Like any living organism, we change for the better. If we were not, then society would have crumbled. You are paranoid and ignorant; we are accomplishing so much. Dave - 27-08-’11 16:32

"I have to say, this is one of “Dave”‘s best moments. I lold for real."

That was an imposter. However, your posts are obviously without merit. You have yet to contribute to philosophical discussion. Dave - 27-08-’11 16:33

And someone who does not contribute to philosophical discussion is your equal and has the right to drown out intelligent discourse, right? hi - 28-08-’11 16:17

'Like any living organism, we change for the better.' Bullshit, Dave. Looks like you don't even understand natural selection; we are constrained by our evolutionary past, and if those traits are ill-suited to our present environment, then we will perish. Even relatively brief developments in the grand sweep of evolutionary history take thousands of years to fully play themselves out. It's possible that we could go extinct in the next few centuries due to overpopulation, soil erosion, habitat destruction, and many of the other penalties incurred upon us by our vastly inefficient, bloated and wasteful civilization. Fucking moron.... - 29-08-’11 05:44

Don't forget stupidity as being a factor in our possible downfall...right Dave? Dave nemesis - 30-08-’11 23:54

I appreciate how you express your many points and share in your views. Thank you.
Nike Air Jordan CMFT Max 12 Leather Shoes http://www.2013retrojordans9.com/nike-air-jordan-cmft-max-12-leather-shoes-1021-1 Nike Air Jordan CMFT Max 12 Leather Shoes (URL) - 20-01-’13 13:50

Hey dude. what kind of wordpress theme are you using? i want it to use on my blog too .
Prada Wallets http://www.authenticpradahandbags2013.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=7 Prada Wallets (URL) - 20-01-’13 13:50

��Taint��t worthwhile to wear a day all out before it comes.�� by Sarah Orne Jewett.
Prada Clutches http://www.authenticpradahandbags2013.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=6 Prada Clutches (URL) - 20-01-’13 13:50

As a Newbie, I am always searching online for articles that can aid me. Thank you
nike 2013 air max sale http://www.outletnike2013airmax.com/ nike 2013 air max sale (URL) - 20-01-’13 13:50

You have some really good articles and I think I would be a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off, I��d really like to write some material for your blog in exchange for a link back to mine. Please shoot me an e-mail if interested. Thank you!
Prada Satchels http://www.authenticpradahandbags2013.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=3 Prada Satchels (URL) - 20-01-’13 13:51

Adding this to twitter great info.
Nike Air Jordan Alpha Trunner Shoes http://www.2013retrojordans9.com/nike-air-jordan-alpha-trunner-shoes-1020-1 Nike Air Jordan Alpha Trunner Shoes (URL) - 20-01-’13 13:51

This web site is really a walk-through for all of the info you wanted about this and didn��t know who to ask.
air jordan 2013 sale http://www.outletairjordan2013.com/ air jordan 2013 sale (URL) - 20-01-’13 13:51

Hello I like your blog. Do you need to visitor publish on my very own at some point?
Prada Totes http://www.authenticpradahandbags2013.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2 Prada Totes (URL) - 20-01-’13 13:51

Every word in this piece of work is very clear and your passion for this topic shines. Please continue your work in this area and I hope to see more from you in the future.
Nike air max classics http://www.nikeairmaxclassicsshoes.com/ Nike air max classics (URL) - 20-01-’13 13:52

Glimpse here, and you��ll definitely discover it.
Prada Cross Body http://www.authenticpradahandbags2013.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=5 Prada Cross Body (URL) - 20-01-’13 13:52

Sweet blog! I found it while browsing on Yahoo News. Do you have any tips on how to get listed in Yahoo News? I��ve been trying for a while but I never seem to get there! Thank you
prada handbags 2013 http://www.authenticpradahandbags2013.com prada handbags 2013 (URL) - 20-01-’13 13:52

This is one awesome blog.Really thank you! Great.
Nike Air Jordan 2011 A FLIGHT Baskteball Shoes http://www.2013retrojordans9.com/nike-air-jordan-2011-a-flight-baskteball-shoes-1009-1 Nike Air Jordan 2011 A FLIGHT Baskteball Shoes (URL) - 20-01-’13 13:52

Thank you incredibly substantially for your exciting text.
Prada Hobos http://www.authenticpradahandbags2013.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=4 Prada Hobos (URL) - 20-01-’13 13:53