If Venice Dies

Finished December 12
If Venice Dies by Salvatore Settis. translated by Andre Naffis -Sahely

Settis is an Italian art historian, and this book looks at not only the unique city that Venice is, but also at the nature of cities, their worth, and their future. With the rise of theme attractions based on cities does the original city lose its worth? Does it become an open air museum only populated by tourists who don't immerse themselves in true city life. Do cities like Venice become too expensive for ordinary people to live, priced out by those looking for trendy second home and by hotels. Is the city more than the sum of its parts. Does it have a soul.
Does the growing globalization of the world mean that cities become more and more like each other and lose their unique nature made up of their history, architecture, art, and culture. What are the responsibilities of governments at all levels to keep this from happening.
Settis is passionate about Venice in particular, and about retaining the culture each city has in general. He shows us how Venice has lost its citizens, now having only one resident for every 140 visitors. He talks about the power of money over culture and how and why we need to stand up for what is being lost, not only in Venice, but elsewhere.
An interesting read, sometimes becoming an academic lecture, but full of passion and knowledge.

Happy City

Finished November 1
Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design by Charles Montgomery

I really enjoyed this book. Montgomery is a journalist particularly interested in the urban experience, and that interest definitely drives this book. Montgomery looks at a number of cities that have tackled the issue of livability for their inhabitants to see what the process has been for them, what barriers they faced during implementation, and what the outcomes were.
He discovered that the advent of the automobile changed urban planning significantly, and this change is still the driving force behind much of the planning models used by cities, particularly in North America. Some of the changes he looks at feed into those that decry the "war against cars", but he reminds us that cities should be for the inhabitants first, not one mode of transportation that some of them use. Many cities that underwent significant changes that lessened the importance of the car on planning decisions had initial pushback, from a number of sources: people with cars, people with retail establishments, and industrial organizations. But after implementation, many of these groups agreed that the change was good. Many of the changes to improve the lives of urban dwellers, also had positive environmental impacts, positive impacts on retail areas, and positive impacts on the city's finances.
While many changes had to do with lessening the role of cars on the urban plan, they also included good transit planning, good housing planning, good neighbourhood planning, good greenspace planning, and good networking between stakeholders.
I learned a lot about the trends in urban planning, the ways that cities learn from each other's experiences, and the importance of involvement at all levels from the neighbourhood level to the national level to see a variety of changes take root.
Montgomery has done his research and includes references to it here, so others can study and learn what might apply to their own neighbourhoods, communities, and cities.

Arrival City

Finished November 17
Arrival City: the final migration and our next world by Doug Saunders
Doug Saunders is the European Bureau Chief for the Globe and Mail. He has put together this book to show how the move from rural to urban living is in its last phase. The ways in which we treat those areas, arrival cities, that immigrants first come to greatly affects how the cities themselves prosper. He uses examples from all over the world, primarily Europe, North and South America, China, India, and Bangladesh to show how this phenomenon is common to all cultures. He also uses history to show how this phenomenon is not a new one, but is only in its latest stage. He shows successes and failures and those still undetermined. This book is a call to those in power to recognize this truth and make policies that ensure success.
I found the stories of the individuals very interesting and they brought alive the reality of why these people move, how the process works, and what we can do to make sure it works well.
The failures really show how stereotypes and prejudice can make or break these arrival communities. Urban planners are beginning to learn, but not all of them have yet. This is a book that every mayor of a growing city should read, along with others in all levels of government. To follow the recommendations here will bring us all a better future.