“All constructed places and spaces exist for the use, pleasure, convenience and support of human activities,” or so says Associate Professor in the Art Education Department, Paul Langdon, at Concordia University in his essay Sensing the City. However, look left, look right, and all I see are dingy, dicey architectural decisions, risky roadways, and uninhabitable suits. I wonder sometimes if the planners of these living spaces were/are even vaguely aware of the purposes of their designs — to encourage human endeavours in the environments that they’ve made, to promote well-being and to contribute to the factors of safety, security and prosperity. I’ve lived in so many apartments in this city below ground, wondering, why even build a human home below street level when it has the potential to cause so much emotional misery or c02 poisoning? And what’s the point of these miniature abodes without the decency of balconies? And we as citizens have responsibilities to make the most of our spaces too — who are all these people driving large SUVs through the tiny urban streets of Vancouver?
It’s not all doom and gloom — there are some pretty excellent constructed locations around town, like the beach — which is man-made.
An ever-changing, unresolved space, open to so many potentials, used by many, public property, and home port of my sailboat.
As for suburban spaces, that’s a whole other story. James Howard Kunstler, author, blogger, speaker extraordinaire sums it up nicely, and it’s worth the watch. One of my favourite TED Talks that describes perfectly the state of most localities in North America:
james_howard_kunstler_dissects_suburbia.html
My favourite, less mentioned form of constructed spaces are those of the transient realm. What of the short-term properties, the nomadic recreational vehicles, the portable camps and the wandering water-craft? There’s nothing like the sound of rain on your tent’s canvas, knowing that when you stuff those temporary walls away into the stuff bag, you’ll leave nothing behind but maybe the imprint of the spot where you slept, and the holes in the dirt where you drove in the pegs. The makeshift, non-permanent places are my favourite.
