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cosReading The Rise of the Creative Class crystallized for me the idea, which I already had, that our new age of easy communications actually makes physical, geographic locations more significant, not less. Paul Graham's new essay, Cities and Ambition, presents another view of how cities matter - one that also seems familiar, but that I hadn't thought about in quite that way.
Some cities are centers for particular kinds of activity. Such a city subtly sends you a message related to that activity - by the things you see walking down the street, by the snippets of conversation you overhear, and many other ways. A city's message, he argues, comes from the fact that there is something people in that city tend to consistently view as more important than other things, and this attitude is catching. It's a three-way cycle:
To really know a city's message, Graham says, you probably have to live there for a while. As examples, he gives the paces he has lived, and the messages they send:
He also gives a stab at interpreting the messages of some places he's been to but hasn't lived in, while acknowledging that he's not sure and that a local might interpret it more accurately. For example, he thinks the message Paris was sending him was "do things in style; appreciate art and beauty". And not all cities send a coherent message, because not all cities are focused in that way.
Where do live? What message is your city sending you?
Have you lived somewhere else that sent a clear message? What was it?
Edit: To clarify, in case you don't click through to read Graham's essay, in his formulation a city's message is both the thing it suggest you should aspire to, and the thing that people generally respect and honor most, and think is cool. So the coolest, most honored & respectable thing you can be in Silicon Valley is someone who started a now-influential company; in Boston, it's a smart person who had a great idea or created something new; in New York, it's being rich.
Some cities are centers for particular kinds of activity. Such a city subtly sends you a message related to that activity - by the things you see walking down the street, by the snippets of conversation you overhear, and many other ways. A city's message, he argues, comes from the fact that there is something people in that city tend to consistently view as more important than other things, and this attitude is catching. It's a three-way cycle:
- People move to that city because they value what it values above other things, and because it is a center for that activity
- People in that city value that thing because the city is a center for it, and because a lot of them moved there because it was the thing they already valued more
- It is a center for its activity because it is known for it so people move there to do that thing, and because people living there are encouraged to value that thing, which in turn encourages the activity itself
To really know a city's message, Graham says, you probably have to live there for a while. As examples, he gives the paces he has lived, and the messages they send:
- New York City: You should make more money!
Silicon Valley: Be powerful. And start companies.
Berkeley: Live better. Enjoy life.
Boston, especially Cambridge: You could be smarter. Read more, learn more. Develop ideas.
He also gives a stab at interpreting the messages of some places he's been to but hasn't lived in, while acknowledging that he's not sure and that a local might interpret it more accurately. For example, he thinks the message Paris was sending him was "do things in style; appreciate art and beauty". And not all cities send a coherent message, because not all cities are focused in that way.
Where do live? What message is your city sending you?
Have you lived somewhere else that sent a clear message? What was it?
Edit: To clarify, in case you don't click through to read Graham's essay, in his formulation a city's message is both the thing it suggest you should aspire to, and the thing that people generally respect and honor most, and think is cool. So the coolest, most honored & respectable thing you can be in Silicon Valley is someone who started a now-influential company; in Boston, it's a smart person who had a great idea or created something new; in New York, it's being rich.
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new orleans and los angeles, for instance? i think they are extremely different (and maybe aren't even fair to compare) but i think cities have personalities... and often i think the personality i see is as much a reflection of how i spend my time in it as anything else.
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The message I got in Boston was "You parents should have worked harder so you could have the money and leisure to be educated."
The message I got in New York was "You should be hipper."
The message I got in St Louis was "Drink. Drink a lot. What else is there for the working class to do?"
The message I get from Raleigh is "This is a nice place. Let's pave it."
Seriously, though, I think his picture of cities is a little oversimplified. Large cities have sections that are very different from each other. SoHo in New York is completely different from Wall Street. North and South Chicago are so different the might as well be on the other side of the country from one another. Places pick up vibes from the people who live there, but those places could be a neighborhood, a street, or a lone happy house planted squarely in the middle of suburban hell.
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So far, I've been having trouble decoding SF's message. I think it is somewhere on the play-follow your bliss-create stuff spectrum, but I'm still refining it.
Seattle's message was "Slack off. This is where dreams come to die." Although, having said that, I actually did finish school there, and liked the place a lot. But never felt like dreams could be achieved there.
London's message was "Relax, have another drink. No one really gives a damn."
where i've lived lately
jamaica plain says that green space is good for you, and walk your dog.
allston says that college kids will beat each other up in brighton ave at two am over nothing at all.
brighton says nothing at all, it sits there quietly and collects yuppies in a holding pen before they find something to do with their lives.
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Codswallop?
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i wonder if the bums in central think that central sq says "dance" to them?
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To me, a "message" of "you should be smarter" equates to people living in that city being a bunch of pretentious assholes I would rather not associate with. Same with "start a company."
Then again, Chapel Hill and Carrboro say "we're a bunch of hippies, except for the frat boys."
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I don't know, accusations of pretentiousness are maybe less powerful with the word "codswallop" alongside them, unless you're from a place where everyone says "codswallop". I was sort of testing it out to see how I felt about the thought of everyone saying it.
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if somerville shrieked, "GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!" to everyone, the way it often does to me, i doubt anyone would live here. yet.... hey! people live here!
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Or it says: Want another Kölsch*? What, carnival is over already? No problem, we got something else to celebrate!
* = local beer. not a brand, but a certain kind of beer.
Re: where i've lived lately
I assure you, I've found plenty to do. Then again, we were waiting for something to happen (that has finally happened) so that we could move to someplace more useful to us.
So. Hm.
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A nicer way of saying it is "If you're in my way, you better have enough power to stay in my way, because otherwise you're getting out of my way."
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(Technically I live in Hillsborough, which is nearby for half the price.)
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i'm siding with "lj user="akiko"> above on this, and calling "wankery" on the idea of cities having a universal message.