I’m all for having a vision to provide a shared goal but I do think that visionary is often confused with big or dramatic change (like rebuilding an area or closing roads). I think small scale developments can be life-changing but they’re not as exciting because there’s a lack of visible output. For example, local decision-making about neighbourhoods is a slog and largely invisible work but could be very empowering, or insulating homes and retrofitting them for carbon neutrality is, again, a complex, massive but tedious task that would make a difference to people’s lives and climate change. Mildly boring visions are what’s needed!
Agreed. There was a lot of questions from the audience at the hustings about the state of tenements and the need for eco retrofitting, but I am not sure if anyone had a sense of the scale of the changes.
Grand visions look nice on paper, but personally I love cities that have grown up in an
higgledy-piggledy way and the excitement of walking a city not knowing what is around the corner as you shift between architectural styles. Particularly love places that have kept parts of their medieval footprint and have grown organically!
Thanks Neil. I totally agree, give me higgledy-piggledy any day.
One weird crossover is the Renaissance Star Forts. I've never been, but they seem to be planned and dense at the same time: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmanova
I’m all for having a vision to provide a shared goal but I do think that visionary is often confused with big or dramatic change (like rebuilding an area or closing roads). I think small scale developments can be life-changing but they’re not as exciting because there’s a lack of visible output. For example, local decision-making about neighbourhoods is a slog and largely invisible work but could be very empowering, or insulating homes and retrofitting them for carbon neutrality is, again, a complex, massive but tedious task that would make a difference to people’s lives and climate change. Mildly boring visions are what’s needed!
Agreed. There was a lot of questions from the audience at the hustings about the state of tenements and the need for eco retrofitting, but I am not sure if anyone had a sense of the scale of the changes.
Really enjoyed reading this …. Glasgow is a fantastic city …. motorway free would be wonderful.
Nice piece Neil!
Grand visions look nice on paper, but personally I love cities that have grown up in an
higgledy-piggledy way and the excitement of walking a city not knowing what is around the corner as you shift between architectural styles. Particularly love places that have kept parts of their medieval footprint and have grown organically!
Thanks Neil. I totally agree, give me higgledy-piggledy any day.
One weird crossover is the Renaissance Star Forts. I've never been, but they seem to be planned and dense at the same time: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmanova
Extraordinary design, a kind of orderly version of Berwick upon Tweeds ramparts. I’m sure you would get lost in all those labyrinthine circles