Love (NY?)
The cool thing about strolling about civilized cities is that one never ceases to stumble upon interesting objets d’art. Recently, somewhere in the Upper West, I caught this sculpture on a corner.
It is neither beautiful nor technically complex, yet it delivers. I doubt that anyone, upon seeing the sculpture for the first time, was not hit by the warm-and-fuzzies. The artist clearly achieved what (IMHO) he had in mind when he conceptualized the piece.
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Urman Spaces
Certain cities, regardless of how caotic they may be, have spaces within their dishevelment to afford their humans an escape to tranquility. Often, these spaces are to be found in between buildings, or in spaces “donated” by a development to the public good. Most civilized indeed.
In larger cities these spaces become a necessity. London has its hundreds of parks and squares. NYC does too, in its fantastic Central Park and its several mini-plazas all over town (especially in Midtown, where the developments, generally more modern than elsewhere in the city, have provided such spaces). There is one public space that is unique in that it has an original segment (of some 5m/16ft in length) of the Berlin Wall, complete with original graffiti, which at the very least represents a conversation piece for its visitors.
Most of Latin America is notoriously lacking in these spaces. Inorganic and disorganized growth of the vast majority of its cities have not allowed their appearance. Those that have appeared under the auspices of local governments have become emporia for informal ambulatory commerce, displays neo-folklore performance, petty crime and other undesirables.
Where they can be found, they are few and far between, and underutilized by a population that does not fully understand them, and does not feel at ease in them. With a few notable exceptions (Buenos Aires comes to mind), the lack of culture and/or civility converts them in places that are, at best, unattractive for spending a lazy afternoon.
Just a matter of time, one would hope.
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Growing cities: Shanghai (上海)
Part 1
Shanghai is one of those cities that leaves you breathless. It is not an easy one to define.
Modern? Yes.
Decadent? Uh-huh.
Occidental? Yup.
Typically chinese? Indeed.
The vibe that one feels on the streets is much more intense than that of other mega-cities like New York or London, which have had decades (if not centuries) to “settle down” and have acquired a defined style. Shanghai, on the other hand, is adolescent.
Walking the streets (particularly Nanjing Road from the Bund -on the shores of the Huangpu- inwards) one perceives, among the most impressively modern highrises, glimpses of traditional China (transport tricycles, street vendors, the occasional beggar -although there’s fewer every year) living right alongside modern China. The West and the Orient most perfectly and harmoniously intertwined.
Pudong Airport is among the most moder I’ve visited. One gets to it from the city in a magnetically-levitated train (meaning, no wheels!) that travels at 431 km/h (270 mph). Not far from it, though, there’s a bird and flower market that sells live crickets as pets.
The cacophony of modernity and tradition finds a likeable balance in Shanghai. It is never so modern to become overly trendy, nor so traditional to be boring. The brew of people from all walks of life (arabs, chinese, euros, japanese, americans) adds to the experience. The vibe is intense even during the daytime hours.
At night, the city shows yet another face. The Pudong skyline, without pretending to be the (clearly superior) one in Hong Kong, lights up impressively. No fewer than two buildings have “big screens” built into their structures that span their whole height (and we’re talking fifty stories and up here). TV-boats on the Huangpu show high-resolution advertisements for the city to see.
The buildings from the city’s colonial era, on one side of the river light up, contrasting, or better yet, complementing the futurism of the opposing bank.
Restaurants, bars, discotheques all over, a good number of these quite good. There’s hangouts for expats (to be expected as they abound), locals, etc., but in general everyone is welcome everywhere.
—More coming in Part 2 (soon)
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