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Two
years ago, we took a virtual trip to Venice.
October 7, 2007: Let's Take a Trip to Venice
Amazingly,
this page remains today one of the most popular pages on this whole site.
There's something about Venice -- Europe's largest carfree city -- that
captures the imagination. Since it is such a good example of a carfree
Traditional City, let's take another tour. (I think Venice is 100% carfree,
by the way.)
Most
of the photos today come from carfree.com's Venice page. You can look at many
more Venice photos here:
http://www.carfree.com/ven/index.html
There's
nothing about Venice that couldn't be done today. If you look closely, you'll
see that it is actually quite simple. The architecture is mostly not very
fancy -- just your typical "even a fifth-grader could design one"
box-with-windows. The streets are, of course, Really Narrow. And no cars.
Bingo.
That's
all there is to it.
It
really is that easy.
Also,
these photos don't have too many canal shots. The canals are nice, but not
necessary.
By the
way, Venice has been around for about 1500 years. What does that tell you
about "Sustainability"?
Really Narrow.
Mmmmm .... yeah .....
Note
that everything is paved with stones. This is easy to do when your streets
are Really Narrow. Much
nicer than asphalt.
When
there are no cars, a city becomes a nice place for kids. At least, Mom
doesn't have to chauffer them around all day.
Even
McDonald's takes on an air of respectability in the Traditional City.
Even
though there are lots of people, a city doesn't seem "crowded" once
you get rid of the noisy and stinky machinery.
When
you get rid of the cars, everything becomes a lot more artified. Even the
streetlamps.
You
don't have to build a fifthgrader-box all the time ...
But,
even if you have 95%+ fifthgrader-boxes, the result is pretty good.
I'm
going to have to do a Hot Chicks + Narrow Streets series sometime.
Sweet!
I'm
sure you've noticed that Venice is 100% Place.
October 10,
2009: Place and Non-Place
Another
thing which you probably weren't thinking about is: Venice, like most classic
Italian cities, does not have much greenery.
But,
you weren't missing it, were you? Like I said, a Traditional City doesn't
need greenery. Not
bad if you have some, though.
Most
of the verdure that exists is in the form of interior courtyards, not parks.
The canals also add a naturalistic element.
Really
Narrow Streets! This photo is about 350 meters across. Probably smaller than
your mall parking lot.
This
photo is the same scale, about 350 meters across. It's a parking lot at the
Mall of America, Bloomington, IN
You
think I'm exaggerating, but I'm not.
Woodbury
Commons premium outlet center, Newburgh, New York. This photo is about 600
meters across.
Venice.
This photo is the same scale, about 600 meters across.
Scenes
from Burano, another no-car city near Venice.
Even
though this is only a few miles away, we've picked up a whole new theme here
-- dramatic colors.
Nathan
Lewis
Nathan
Lewis was formerly the chief international economist of a leading economic
forecasting firm. He now works in asset management. Lewis has written for the
Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal Asia, the Japan Times, Pravda, and
other publications. He has appeared on financial television in the United
States, Japan, and the Middle East. About the Book: Gold: The Once and Future
Money (Wiley, 2007, ISBN: 978-0-470-04766-8, $27.95) is available at
bookstores nationwide, from all major online booksellers, and direct from the
publisher at www.wileyfinance.com or 800-225-5945. In Canada, call
800-567-4797.
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