How can we protect cities from sameness? How can we retain the identity of different cities?

Question

This question was asked at the Dropping Knowledge event on 9th
September by Sara Baig, 27, Karachi, Pakistan.

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Answer 1

I feel sad that my city (Austin) is chipping away at the culture that this town has always been known for, and it is becoming as big and dangerous and generic as every other city on earth.
In order to preserve a city's individuality and integrity, they need to
1)NOT sell out to big companies from out-of-state.
2)PRESERVE the old downtown buildings instead of knocking them down in order to fit in another Wal-Mart or condos.
3)Make use of the local resources. For instance Austin calls itself "The Live Music Capital of the WORLD" yet, they're doing all they can to kill the club scene and treat the musicians very badly.
Local landmarks are rapidly disappearing in Austin. I'm sure the same thing is happening to all our cities.

Answer 2

One of the barriers (I'll address that first) is that sometimes the citizens of a smaller town believe that having big named chain stores, a bland downtown, etc. are just what they need to modernize their towns. That is what happened in my home town a few years after I left: I still remember my mother excitedly telling me, "We're going to get a [insert big name chain store here]!" Homogeneity seems to be the new "modern". So that is one barrier as is the economic payoff for the city: when people visit, many will choose to buy from a business they recognize rather than taking a chance with an establishment they have not seen before.

So, I think that a shift in values has to occur: valuing the traditions and culture that were the foundations of the city previously. There is a reticence to do that because of the desire to be modern; however, if the citizens (including the elected officials) are offered the chance to value tradition while modernizing (mixed-use communities, e.g.), I think that most would go for it. How does a change in values take place? One small community at a time, and it must be demonstrated that heterogeneity is profitable :-)

Answer 3

One of the reasons that cities become much like each other is because of the homogenization of the population. In the city in which I live, we had, when I was young, two major populations; Canadian French and Irish. These cultures were very evident in the city. In the past thirty years these groups have become almost totally enculturated and my city is much like any other. French church services have disappeared and only the building remains, no longer referred to in the French.
Just to the south though, is another city; a port city that has change much in the past 350 years. Though it has changed, it has a distinct personality, catering to the arts and buisness with personality. What is the difference?
The town to the south, Portsmouth NH, while in Northern New England retains a European feel. The city planners wish to keep a city center that is pedestrian-friendly. They invite the arts. They didn't widen the city streets and remove sidewalks and gathering places.
To combat sameness, cities need to have a clear vision and that vision has to be maintained. Planning simply for efficiency and moving automobiles through the city results in a drive-by neighborhood. Parking, streets, and sidewalks need to be designed to entice people to spend time in the city. The city needs to be inviting to the sort of businesses and people it wishes to entice.
To be fair, the city I live in is getting better but they still make mistakes. An example is a problem we had with some fountains. One of these is an old wattering trough that was in the center of town 100 years ago. It was converted into a fountain some years back, and it became a prank to pour laundry detergent in the fountain. The soap bubbles would pour down the street. It really caused little or no harm but the city decided that to prevent it, the fountains would be filled with soil and used as planters.
That is an example of how a city takes a step toward plain-ness. Something that made the city distinct, a landmark, is diminished.
Cities need to hold on to what makes them unique, hold on to their heritage, have a viable and persistent plan; invite and support the peoples, industries and ammenities they desire; and recognize that the fruit of their labor may not materialize immediately. Giving up and giving in rather than holding on to a viable plan will certainly lead to sameness.

Answer 4

My town does a few things that are unique:

We have a corporartion dedicated to making our town better and more connected

We do things mostly including art, that everyone can get involved in that decorate our town and give people reasons to connect with society. These usually include all ages, so even elementary school children learn about our town and give them pride in it, and they get involved at an earlier age and stay involoved.

We have competitions with other towns such as a pumpkin carving contest

We have a holiday that is unique to just our town

We also have local horror stories that we pass on all the time

We have running jokes everyone knows about, about our state and town


If there is a certain standard for protecting cities from sameness, then they will all become alike anyways! I think a town need to know what it is unique for, and magnify that. Such as Salem Mass., famous for witch trials that has a Halloween Parade. If they took something unique to that area and could get everyone involved, the town would be unique.

Answer 5

To keep from sameness: keeping out big boxes - those stores/businesses you see springing up like weeds all across the country: Toy "r" Us, Burger King, Wal-Mart, Starbucks - just to name a few. Business in town should be created, owned and operated locally. Put an end to chain stores/businesses.

To retain local identity: not allowing architecture from distant areas influence local construction designs. Not allowing importation of materials for building or landscaping. Also by competeing designs against other cities for city, street, building etcetera.

Answer 6

By preserving old buildings and other items, like parks and statuary, that were created before everything was mass-produced. What's so great in Philadelphia? Independence Hall (hundreds of years old), the Franklin Institute (at least 100), etc. What's so great about San Francisco? Cable cars, the museum of art, etc. All the good old stuff. There are new buildings that are interesting and creative, but they are rare compared to the endless high-rise sameness of steel and glass.

Answer 7

Well I'm not sure what you mean about "SAMENESS", but we can do this by maintain our unique culture that each city has. We cant protect them because people are always changing and so dose the city. Keeping tradition is the best way to retain identity. Also we should ask how so complain to yahoo about you always getting the featured list, but that's another question. In any case it is up to the people who live in the cities to maintain its "sameness"

Answer 8

corporate identity demands sameness -- all mcdonalds must look the same no matter where. this has extended to virtually all aspects of everything. the new world trade center looks like the old one because the psycho wants to maximize office space and build another big box. even if you want a trendy art museum you need gehry to design it. only when the majority of the public realizes the benifits of idenity will it change. until then your walmart will have a mcdonalds in front of it and your neighborhood will have a mirror in every town in the country.

Answer 9

This is not a very important question, why do you want to differ from sameness. If sameness is not going to happen it won't happen and vice versa. This shouldn't be worried about because there are many more important things to be thought of. How about thinking of ways to improve anything? Only those that feel they are a being made into a barcode have to worry about it.

Answer 10

Hope this isn't too pessimistic but . . . the cities with the redundant monoliths already exist and it will be centuries before they are replaced. The Los Angeles's of the world are there and it will be a long time until the bell is 'unrung'
Best to not build anymore where you really don't want them.