In the reading, Walking in the City, the study of spatial appropriations and signifying practices define places within the structuring of an urban city. It is explained that ordinary people who occupy a city are zombie-like "walkers" who follow the subtext that structure the functionality of the city and the familiarity of its inhabitants. A city is defined not simply by its production, but also the connectivity to other cities and the likenesses people attach to them, creating a universal understanding and relation to one another. Because cities are ever changing via development, socioeconomic situations, and time, no one definition can rationally administer a truth through its fluidity. This fluidity is based upon everyday life within a city. A belief is that cities are deteriorating because the spatial practices, which they were built upon, have failed them.
majestic for men. uptown, chicago. © bridgid o'connell
People move through any given city making paths that create both physical and mental maps guiding ones daily actions. Walking creates a universal language, which makes connection possible between two very different locations. Actualization of the commonality is expressed through street signs, pathways, directions, creating an informative communication. Walking is an art form that creates a symbolic style of understanding different places. Walking manipulates space creating a spatial practice that symbolizes the connectivity of different people. Therefore, neighborhoods are created, transforming scenes and visualizing fleeting gestures made concrete through images.
graffiti. minneapolis, minnesota. © bridgid o'connell
Moving through a city and living in a defined experience of a space makes the city itself a subject, which negates an actual place. That absence is what propels the relationship between a person creating connectivity to a city and the space itself. This connectivity is easily navigated through street names and landmarks that create a city form and defines its image. The familiarity of these things creates a common sense of peace and order but also strips the city of individuality and closes the space, leaving no room for exploration. An accepted framework is created by a constructed order making stories. The deterioration of cities creates memories of specific places, which in turn define those particular spaces. These associations are considered spatial practices, which attach fragmented memories to a particular place.
barber and beauty shop. pilsen, chicago. © bridgid o'connell
According to the article, "The memorable is that which can be dreamed about a place." To fully live in a space is to repeat the actions that make one happy. A city can never be complete. It is a fluid mass under constant change through the various and massive walking paths of human beings.
In the reading, The Image of the City, it is explained that the city is a space under constant construction. This construction is created through experience, exploration, and history. The city is constantly moving and changing and within this, it inhabitants create mental images which define and identify its space. Living within the city, a legible pattern is created through structure and organization. People who occupy an urban city create a support system using patterns creating an organized and secure environment. Therefore, the space becomes familiar, distinct and emotionally legible. The landscape of the city is ever changing through the flow of people creating new stories and memories. Although parts of the environment of a city may remain stagnant, images may vary from person to person, creating individual environmental images that are as fluid as the city itself. From these images, familiarities are created and visualization occurs. According to the reading, public images are "common agreements among members of the same group." These commonalities create systems that help organize a city using focal points and connecting places via identity.
Every environment possesses identifiable images that give meaning to the space. The physical environment creates an image ability. When faced with a specific space, one is able to create a mental image that defines the space itself. What defines a space is the association between the environment and the symbols that identify it. A person interprets a scene and creates an image, which symbolically communicates a perception of the space.
There are social definitions that create public images of a city. Paths are created when a person moves through the city engaging in the environment around it. An edge is a boundary such as a water shore or a railroad. Edges reinforce the identity of a city and set boundaries to a district. Districts are sections of a city defined through structured neighborhoods, which create communities. Nodes are crossing paths or street corners. Nodes may be large squares or transportation junctions. Landmarks are important objects that trigger familiarity. They are strong structures recognizable by their physical structure, history, spatial prominence, and symbolic importance. All of these attributes compile aspects of a city creating a familiarity and relationship of a person to the city. These places become identifiable and create mental associations and visual clarity. Without these associations, a person can form a sense of detachment to the city and blur perceptual connectivity. These connections form visual relationships that map ones path through the city. The images of a city vary from day to day and the observer must be flexible to interpretation growth, change, and time.
Cities are fluid structures that possess vivid images that transcend through time.
warehouse district. minneapolis, minnesota. © bridgid o'connell
