The next time you are caught in a typical Bangkok traffic jam, you may wish to think of the title of a new acquisition by the Thammasat University Libraries: Cities Are Good for You.
Written by the British urban historian Leo Hollis, Cities Are Good for You: The Genius of The Metropolis argues that urban areas are essentially made up of people rather than buildings. In 2007 for the first time, 50 per cent of the world’s population inhabited cities, and this percentage is on the rise. People often think of cities in terms of danger, air pollution, and other problems. As Hollis writes, the city “has long been considered the destroyer of men and, worse, their souls.” Even so, each day 180,000 people move to a city somewhere. By 2050, it is estimated that 75 per cent of the world’s population will live in cities. Poor people move to cities in the hopes of earning a living. Rich people want to live in them in order to enjoy spending their money on luxurious products available in urban locations. Hollis compares cities to the natural world in their complexity: “The city is not a rational, ordered place but a complex space that has more in common with natural organisms such as beehives or ant colonies.”
Bangkok among other cities.
Although many areas of Bangkok are lacking in greenery and walking areas for pedestrians, if you travel far enough, you can find some. Suan Rot Fai, northeast of Chatuchak Park, is a pleasant place to breathe, as are Lumpini Park, Ko Kret Island, and Bang Krachao with its Sri Nakhon Kuenkhan Park. Despite the obvious difficulties of getting through Bangkok traffic, some people choose to enjoy cycling tours led by such companies as Grasshopper Adventures and Amazing Bangkok Cyclist. One of Hollis’s main points is that since a city consists of its people, it is essential to take part in activities where you can enjoy seeing a wide range of different folks. Some urban dwellers allow themselves to be isolated in their apartments, but with a little energy and imagination, a city life can be socially rewarding.
Cities where people can walk.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is aware of the problem, and this month announced plans to paint more white zigzag lines on city streets 15 metres from zebra crossings to warn drivers to slow down. This can reduce pedestrian deaths and injuries from traffic. Likewise, this month the BMA announced it would extend a walking street project to five other areas after one in the Silom area proved successful.
The new locations for pedestrian streets will be Chaeng Wattana Road, Yaowarat Road, Soi Ramkhamhaeng 24, Bang Khun Non Road, and the road under the Rama IX Bridge. Following in this approach, a Facebook page, My Dear Footpath, invites people to post photos of areas in Bangkok where it is difficult or impossible to walk because cars, motorcycles, and other vehicles take up all the room. This echoes the pages in Cities Are Good for You which pay tribute to Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) the American-Canadian specialist in urban studies whose landmark book The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961) suggested that smaller scale streets where people walk bring a human scale to urban environments, while the noise and suffocating pollution from car traffic take away most of the joy of city living. City planners who just make room for more and more cars instead of finding a way for people to walk through neighborhoods are inhuman and short-sighted, Jacobs and Hollis agree. In a 1958 article, “Downtown Is for People,” Jacobs observed:
“The street works harder than any other part of downtown. It is the nervous system; it communicates the flavor, the feel, the sights. It is the major point of transaction and communication. Designing a dream city is easy; rebuilding a living one takes imagination.”
Cities Are Good for You also claims that some urban areas can be too clean and controlled, for instance Singapore, which Hollis calls “one of the cleanest, safest, richest and dullest cities in the world.” Bangkok may never be mistaken for one of the cleanest or safest cities, but at least it is not also one of the dullest. Hollis points to the paradox that cities can make people nervous because they are crowded together, yet many people choose to live in cities precisely because that is where great numbers of people are found. He cites studies that claim that city dwellers have a 20% higher chance of becoming anxious, and 40% higher chance of experiencing depression or some other emotional problem. Yet other scientists suggest that people are so worried about the loneliness of rural life that they prefer to be in the city, even with all its anxieties. Cities are both stressful and alluring, Hollis concludes, underlining the importance of green spaces: “Daily contact with nature is essential for a healthy city. A child that does not have a regular encounter with green spaces can develop stress disorders. In addition, the less green an environment the higher the rate of violence and assault. Therefore the preservation of parks, avenues and the effects of communal garden gardening projects show that a real relationship with green spaces even in the heart of the city has a powerful impact on mental health. We can already see the influence of these idea on urban planning with development of pocket parks, and projects such as walkable neighborhoods. Creating places that you might want to walk through rather than sit in a traffic jam on the school run has an powerful cluster of results. A child that bikes or walks to school has improved concentration levels all the way to lunch. Leaving the car at homes means that there is improved air quality, less congestion on the road has a social impact on the street … A walkable neighborhood encourages fitness and better health, (it also can raise house prices).”
(all images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons).