What do we mean by a town? or a village? or even a city? The meaning of these urban structures has changed and is changing. Where in the past these words may have meant the centre of a rural catchment, a market place, a centre of regional trade, the modern settlements do not necessarily carry the same meaning. Many town centres for instance are no longer the centre of the communities that surround them. In our modern, digital, mobile world, there are a range of highly complex relationships that conect people to people and people to place. It is as easy to connect across the globe as it is to connect to a local area. In some cases, the global connection is easier.
If the relationships that connect people and places are changing, how do we re-imagine urban places. They still have meaning because they still exist. The challenge is to excite and reclaim these places as places for people.
Herbert Giradet summarises the challenge in his seminal book 'Cities, People, Planet'; How do we create [urban places] of physical beauty and social and cultural diversity that are also environmentally and economicaly sustainable? How can we restore the pulsing heart of conviviality to our [urban places]?
Conviviality is central. We need places to be, to enjoy. It is the essence of being human.
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