These Boots Are Made for Walking

This is another post transfer from an old blog that I used to have. It's about walking and the structure of cities in America v. England. It's essentially a brief discussion of the formation of cities, public and urban space, and how you can "read" the landscape to see what the space is primarily used for and how it was influenced by particular things, such as cars.

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     If you've ever lived or spent any significant amount of time in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I'm sure you'd agree that, in order to really go anywhere there, you need a car. The city itself is far too spaced out and the types of areas (i.e. Residential, Business, Retail, etc.) don't always overlap, making it difficult to even consider walking to the store to pick up some milk. And, even if you did choose to find alternative transportation, such as public bus or biking, the use of it is not always reliable.

     There is a reason for this.

     A class that I took a while back, City in America, focused on this reason and really looked into how the development and growth of cities in America really influenced how people interacted, and vice versa. For example, after the Revolutionary War and during the time of Jacksonian democracy, the layout of cities and spaces changed. They became more egalitarian. Government buildings now began being built with more grandeur (as a statement to the permanence of America) and with more equalized spaces. In the blueprints of these buildings, the rooms were numbered rather than labeled, to suggest that these spaces were interchangeable and (although it implied that man was interchangeable as well), it meant that no man was better than the other in terms of space and work. This is even evident in the trains of America, an industry that took off around 1850. If you've ever seen the Harry Potter films (or, more recently, the new Sherlock Holmes film), you'd know that the older trains of England were composed of different cars with separate rooms. There is even a first class for more wealthy patrons. However, trains in the U.S., if you've ever ridden one, do not have these separate cars, and are instead intermixed and open, suggesting that no person was better or worse than the other, they were equal and not based on an aristocracy. I could go on and on about this, but I digress.

     Anyway, the basic purpose of this class was to study how cities were formed and what spaces imply of an area. Since the 1920s and boom of the automobile industry (largely thanks to Henry Ford and his Mobile T), all of America has been formed and ruled by cars; spaces are rarely built with people in mind, but instead built with the car in mind. This is especially true in Albuquerque, which, while it was once more community-centered, has transformed into a sprawling city with a suburbs to decentralize people and communities.

     As I stated before, it is impossible to get anywhere in Albuquerque without a car. If you look at any modern house, the main feature of it is not the front porch or window, but a giant, slack-jawed garage. Instead of having buildings built to look pretty and appealing to the eye (to attract the casual strollers), they are surrounded by a sea of black asphalt and shiny beetle-backed cars.

     Yet, as some may have noticed, Central (around Nob Hill) is not like this. You can see shop windows and crazy displays and the sidewalks are perfect to just stroll on and look at all there is to see.

     Being in Leeds is like being on Central all the time (minus the prostitutes and bums, of course). Everyone walks here; gas is expensive and, as explained in my previous blog, the roads aren't exactly suited for large amounts of traffic (keep in mind that Leeds is about the size of Albuquerque). The bus transportation is great, but that's if you have to go far (like me, when I have to go from my flat to campus, a distance which is approximately five miles). Other than that, people walk.

     Because of this, you can imagine how the place looks. This might be partially because of the development of the city before the time of cars (as in, the  buildings were built before the roads, and so there was not as much space to leave for car-friendly areas), but, either way, people here are suited to this lifestyle.

     And, in short, I love it. I can walk to the City Centre in around fifteen minutes and do my shopping as I go. The streets are fairly well populated and lit (though not to the point of being crowded), so there's no real danger of the city (minus, perhaps, pickpockets). Houses here do not have garages, but lush hedges and beautiful doors with archways, providing a picturesque welcome. Car Parks do exist, but they don't blot out the shops or consume much needed space with their presence.

     Just by looking at the structure of the city (i.e., small lanes for cars, shop windows, large sidewalks), you can tell that it was built for walking, and not driving. Of course, shop windows are a bit different than in the U.S. just in that they are not as flashy (I've only seen one neon light since I arrived), but more quaint and open for business. Of course, some stores are more hidden and harder to find, but that's the fun of walking.

     I've been to the City Centre several times since I got here two weeks ago. I have discovered a very posh building called the Corn Exchange, which contains equally posh and refined shops, a flea market-esq shopping area where they sell fresh produce and goods at stands, as well as numerous other goods for a fairly cheap price, a shopping area devoted entirely to video games, and a strip of shops along several roads where only pedestrians can go.

     I could go on and on about the city and the buildings I have seen. First and foremost, it must be said that this place is a college town. Two universities, Leeds Metropolitan and Leeds Uni (my school), reside in the city, and there are several Unis that are close by. If you don't believe me, look at the buildings. There are (at least) two bars on every street corner (there are two bars also in my Student Union Building... and three nightclubs). There are also several nightclubs that dot all around the area one of which is actually an ancient refurbished cathedral that is now a club called Halo (not entirely happy about this one,but there it is, for you). Shops, in general, dot all over the main roads, as well as cheap supermarkets. While here, I've seen around five different costume stores, which cater to all of the college kids who do the Otley Run (it's a pub thing where you dress up in costumes and walk along this long strip of bars on Otley road and, well, drink). If that doesn't prove that this is a college town, I don't know what would.

Cheers,

Gianna

P.S.: I think I should make a quick disclaimer that I've never actually been on the Otley run. I have seen several people in Halloween costumes, though, ranging from Ghosts to Super Mario and beyond.