A Solitary Walk Through an Empty Park
Today, I took a walk through Grant Park. The last time I was here, there were thousands of people present for Lollapalooza. Today, there were around 20.
- In “The Solitary Stroller and the City,” Solnit writes, “Cities are forever spawning lists” (p. 202). Why do walking, lists, and cities seem to go together?
When walking through a city, many different thoughts come to mind. It is a pass time where observations cause analysis which then require thought. Since thoughts are not automatically structured into sentences and paragraphs, it is far more beneficial to write down these thoughts in the form of a list. A walking journal or even notes on an iPhone are fantastic ways of capturing walking thoughts in the moment. Raw, descriptive feelings are key to write down because this way, when looking back at the list on a future date, it becomes quite easy to imagine one’s self back in that moment. Since cities are always changing, the same thoughts or ideas do not always come to mind again when walking in the same spot. However, because of this there are always new observations to make, which allows for new items to add to a new list. Solitary walking through cities is the best way to spark and collect thoughts, and a list is the best way to preserve them all.
