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Urbanism is Alive

Posted by: Tim Halbur

4 July 2009 - 1:00pm

Steve Mouzon explains how to think about cities and towns as living species, and how that perspective should guide the practice of planners and architects.

"Urbanism is analogous to life in many ways. That is to say, a city is not a living creature, a city is like a living creature in useful ways. Types of settlements are similar to distinct species. A farming hamlet, for example, is far different from a metropolitan borough on many counts. They have far different habitats, food sources, life cycles, metabolic rates, waste materials, and appearances. So if types of settlements are like distinct species, then a particular city, town, village, or hamlet is like a single creature, and individual buildings within the city, town, village, or hamlet is like individual cells within the creature."

Full Story: A Living Urbanism
Source: Living Urbanism, July 2, 2009
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If hundreds of people in your community raised reasonable concerns about a planning program you developed, how would you respond? Perhaps you might call a community meeting, or ask community elected officials to reach out to community leaders.
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