What Makes a Great City?
Christopher Swope’s interview with Alexander Garvin ponders what makes a great city - rather than just a good one. Garvin concludes that people make a city great; specifically, a public realm makes a city great.
What makes a city great are the great public places. The places that people want to be, the places they go to do those things, the places that they think make it a great place to be.
In his new book, What Makes a Great City, Garvin lays out six criteria for a great public realm:
Accessibility. It must be open to everybody.
Diversity. It must provide something for everybody - every age, every profession, every background.
Longevity. It must continue to attract life - the same visitors, customers, advertisers, etc. (Think Times Square.)
Habitability. It must be a “habitable environment,” that is, it must be a comfortable place. Too much noise or air pollution will not attract people.
Versatility. It must provide a “framework for urbanization.” With changing times, it requires cultural and legal flexibility to allow change - in zoning, streets, etc.
Sustaining a Civil Society. In essence, there needs to be enough room for everyone to enjoy themselves without interfering with one another.
My labels of the six criteria spell out the acronym ADLHAVSaCS. So, good ADLHAVSaCS to you, too.
The interview between Christopher Swope and Alexander Garvin can be found here, on Citiscope.
