tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974528.post4006010273546392968..comments2023-06-20T11:16:33.611-04:00Comments on on the temple doorstep: nowhereabuianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14177125847519190290noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974528.post-24927578512525965762007-04-23T10:37:00.000-04:002007-04-23T10:37:00.000-04:00While I guess I could claim omniscience in this ar...While I guess I could claim omniscience in this area, it's really just the usual happenstance of Web surfing. In the chapter of the book where he talks about what New Urbanism consists of, he identifies an organization that laid down most of the guidelines. I went looking for their Web site, and thought maybe I could identify some places nearby where this stuff is being implemented. I saw they had an awards section, which looked promising. As I was scanning through the list, I saw the one about Columbia, which included a link to the site for the project.<BR/><BR/>Incidentally, there was an older award given to the State of MD for its regional plan, which tries to curb sprawl by setting standards that run along the lines of New Urbanism. It's by no means fool-proof, but it probably helps provide some incentive for communities to head in that direction.<BR/><BR/>I read the first book over the weekend, and I guess for anyone who wants to economize on time, I'd recommend reading them in reverse order. By the time you get through the second book, you can breeze through the first one pretty quickly. Now I can get back to Orthodox reading :-)abuianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14177125847519190290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974528.post-75088101274438070402007-04-23T10:04:00.000-04:002007-04-23T10:04:00.000-04:00It's amazing that you know that about Colunbia. No...It's amazing that you know that about Colunbia. Not only do I not know anything about the long term plans of our area, but I wouldn't even know where to look for them!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04299783667022439556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974528.post-58128026423615395812007-04-20T08:33:00.000-04:002007-04-20T08:33:00.000-04:00But of course, you need that burger because the co...But of course, you need that burger because the commercial on TV told you; you need that iPod because of the chip Apple has planted in your brain that makes you buy only their products. (Oh, wait--the technology is already structured to force you into that anyway; no further manipulation required :-) As individuals without any traditional grounding, we so easily accept the lies of marketing, which wants to define us so that we are most commercially useful.<BR/><BR/>Incidentally, I noticed that Columbia may actually be turning a corner. Last year, they received a New Urbanist award for their revised <A HREF="http://www.co.ho.md.us/DPZ/Community/ColumbiaMasterPlanCharrette.htm" REL="nofollow">master plan</A>. It's supposed to convert the current town center dramatically. The mall would be replaced by multi-use neighborhoods, public transit would be improved, etc. I suspect a lot of the impetus comes simply from the desire to continue growth in the area, and New Urbanism is picking up enough steam that it looks like a viable alternative. In any case, it sounds to me like a positive direction, assuming it doesn't get ripped to shreds on its way to implementation.abuianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14177125847519190290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974528.post-8951302636051384422007-04-20T08:12:00.000-04:002007-04-20T08:12:00.000-04:00Your last comment was intriguing because I stands ...Your last comment was intriguing because I stands so staunchly in the face of what we *think* individualism does. We think "my iPod", "my burger, my way", etc. all empower us, when really it's quite the opposite. When a person is has only himself as a reference point, he is the most poor and weak of any creature anywhere.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04299783667022439556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974528.post-67154511235478796362007-04-20T05:44:00.000-04:002007-04-20T05:44:00.000-04:00Well, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one making ...Well, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one making these connections :-) Jim, I assume by "hometown," you mean where I live right now. I've been thinking about this quite a bit. Columbia, MD, is, if anything, the antithesis of what this book is advocating. Yes, it has tried to structure itself so that homes are clustered within walking distance of stores and restaurants (village centers), but it hides them in hard-to-find plazas. It does spare you the unsightly parking lot by the road, but the effect of it all is to create the illusion of one, vast suburb, with no messy businesses. Yes, it's nice to have a grocery store and a few restaurants in close proximity, but from what I can tell, most people still drive most of the time. In fact, I see very few people who appear to be walking back from any kind of shopping. The walking paths encourage walking for leisure or exercise, but that's about it. And forget about working near home--Columbia is clearly a joint suburb of Baltimore and Washington. There are a few office buildings at the town center, and I suppose those fortunate enough to work there could take the bus if they wanted to, but most of us drive long distances to jobs elsewhere, aside from the handful who take commuter buses.<BR/><BR/>They do the same thing with churches that they do with stores--hide them away, enforce bland design, try to pretend they don't exist. I've heard from multiple sources that they don't allow crosses on the outside of church buildings, and the external design of the newly built St. Matthew's Orthodox Church is quite neutral by Orthodox standards. They've had to construct a false dome inside, I'm guessing because it was the most they were allowed to do.<BR/><BR/>Roland, I didn't go all the way to making your points explicitly, but they were definitely what I was thinking about and most of the reason that I thought it was worth writing here about this book. Your last sentence reminds me of the argument that I've seen (I can't remember now exactly where) about tradition. Now that we've been "freed" from the traditional constraints of monarchy, family, and organized religion, we can exist as individuals. We're "free" to be economic units--consumers and workers at the disposal of a commercial system. These traditional entities that used to form a protective, defining wall around us have been stripped away, and as individuals we're much easier to manipulate. Mostly, we just let these things happen. But when the system gets too oppressive, what do we do? We try to re-capture collective identity through political parties, labor unions, consumer groups, etc. They never quite seem to do the trick, but when push comes to shove, we all recognize how powerless individualism makes us.abuianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14177125847519190290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974528.post-69551490027388489142007-04-20T01:21:00.000-04:002007-04-20T01:21:00.000-04:00This environment we abhor did not arise by acciden...This environment we abhor did not arise by accident - it is actually the ideal of modernism! It flows logically from a fundamentalist commitment to individual freedom.<BR/><BR/><I>Unnatural</I> is good because it helps to free us from the demands, both physical and spiritual, of our human nature. <I>Antisocial</I> is good because it helps to free us from the demands of family, neighbor, and community. We are then free for the life of meaningless self-indulgence promised to us by Madison Avenue.Arimatheanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06783088995172601340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974528.post-91585583052166287062007-04-19T16:01:00.000-04:002007-04-19T16:01:00.000-04:00"The gist of his argument is that suburbia is an u..."The gist of his argument is that suburbia is an unnatural and antisocial environment, ultimately unsustainable and unfit for human existence. It was made possible by our obsession with cars, and it will inevitably die out as fuel is used up. "<BR/><BR/>Wow... I really agree with him. Your hometown is the perfect example of said 'unnatural and antisocial' environment.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04299783667022439556noreply@blogger.com