For the sake of our cities

When I studied for my transportation engineering degree, we had a course called Transportation Planning. Besides lots of mathematical formulas, our professor also lectured us on the evolution of American cities. Not born and raised in the states witnessing how cities changed over time with centers withered out and population shifted to suburbs, I learned in the class the concept of “edge cities”.

Aside from large urban centers such as New York, Boston, Chicago etc, lots of American cities don’t really have a downtown anymore. People’s lives center around their vehicles and in turn center around the transportation infrastructure designed and built for their vehicles.

These transportation infrastructures serve efficiency and speed, instead of convenience of life and the independence of vehicle ownership. Literally, cities are destroyed by losing their host status of activities and multi-faceted lifestyle to a series of synthetic providers stitched together via vehicle connections.

But we do all realize we love cities. Each year, the most desired travel destinations are those most populous cities in the world. It is the symbolic buildings, never the same people watching, unique cultural experience, shopping, … Even if you say, “I don’t shop much when I travel,” you still do! Can you imagine what New York City would look like minus the thousands of shops where at least you window shop? Local retailers, especially small businesses, are backbone of cities and they beautify, invigorate cities. Part of my city obsession is to pick a direction on Google map and walk through every corner of it while documenting the interesting shops I could discover.

However I also worry. I worry that one day the faster and more efficient online shopping designed for addictiveness will not only get bigger but also drive more small local retailers out of business, just like decades ago how the big highways moved away city dwellers and emptied out the once vibrant old downtowns.

When shopping can be done so easily online, we most times hardly even think about making a trip for it. That is where it starts. In our busy lives, we are prioritizing more things ahead of visiting stores. Until one day, we may realize not only we have lost those stores but also many valuable things attached to them.

So once a while, visit your favorite shop and buy something from a person behind the counter, for the sake of our cities.