how do you go about taking the pulse of a city?

Question

not literally, but figuratively: what do you look for to see if a city is happy, healthy, ALIVE?

Answer 1

The "pulse of a city" is a pretty subjective term and can be read differently by different people. (Don't be disappointed yet! I am coming to the point....!) However, those who live, commute and socialize in a city over a substantial period of time form common opinions about its citizens, its literature, its civic amenities, its crime rate, local politics etc etc.

These opinions, when discussed over a cup of coffee in the city's busiest restaurant are overheard and ruminated over by the relatively unexperienced denizens of the city.

Face-to-face discussions (if you call sitting in front of an old guy and listening to all that he has to say- "discussion") with retired professors, teachers, writers, journalists and others whose jobs involved an awareness of "what's going on these days" can also fill you up with a sense of the current pulse of the city and can also lend you with the ability to detect the fluctuations in the pulse in future.

To detect whether a city is alive and happy is easy. I would call it looking around instead of feeling the pulse. The pulse is something else (at least to me).

If people help you out, shopkeepers smile and say thank you, neighbours treat you as family (Yes, that still happens; here in small-town India)... the city would be considered happy and alive.

Every city has its own pace. Metros like New Delhi or Mumbai are busy fast-paced cities. Smaller cities like Agra, Gwalior, Jhansi have more time on their hands. You'd see tastefully decorated drawing rooms in Delhi and think professional home decorators but, in Gwalior, you'd expect that the housewife of the home, or the elder child has crafted those woodworks, decoratively knit fabrics and paintings etc.

These differences in decor give you a sense of the pulse and pace of the city. I believe that the (model) drawing rooms, if closely examined, can serve as great indicators of the pulse of the society. (Do not base your judgement on one or two examples though).

The percentage of youth in malls, cafes, restaurants, parks etc. can also help. The more the young faces, faster is the city!

It is easy to form opinions about the city on the basis of its overall look. What is tricky is to "know" what the crowd thinks. It is just too many opinions, too many voices.

If there is an urgency in your endeavour to detect the pulse, you can go out on one Sunday afternoon and observe faces. If you mingle well enough, you'll return with the threads of city's pulsating linen stuck in your nails and between your teeth (figurative... :)).

Answer 2

What a dream city....
But in the fact, City always consider as pollution, criminal, and not green peace again.