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Being An Urban Geek
- 1. Being an Urban Geek when a nerdom becomes a lifestyle
- 2. Let me start by saying I didn’t grow up an Urban Geek. I grew up here and here This was where I spent my childhood
- 3. I’d been to 43 of the 50 states by the time I graduated high school. Went to NYC but was only really impressed by
- 4. How is it then that I went from a suburban upbringing touring national parks in a VW camper to giving a talk on being an Urban Geek? This is a very good question
- 5. Before I answer that… I want you to think about how B I G the United States is – land area – this is a massive country. More than 3.5 million square miles, making it the 3rd largest country in the world after Russia and Canada and just bit bigger than China. Population wise: China 1,349,585,838 USA 316,668,567 Land area is a critical part of the US culture.
- 6. Back to how I became an Urban Geek I left the US after high school spending time in Then I lived in
- 7. Berlin taught me transit Paris taught me walkability Philadelphia taught me diversity Washington DC taught me equity
- 8. Cities are about efficiency workforce near their jobs and their customers During the Industrial Age they were often too dirty to be desirable Contemporary urban industry is cleaner – yes there still is industry (manufacturing) in cities Cities are now focused on liveability
- 9. Someone who… - finds beauty in the density of human creation - loves the life that cities provides (efficient & diverse) - passionate about making their city (or cities in general) a better place What is an Urban Geek?
- 10. You may be wondering what exactly does that mean? “beauty in the density of human creation?!?!?” human kind has created lots of things, can density be beautiful?
- 11. Beauty
- 12. Elegance
- 13. 13
- 15. Global Future 19802025 United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division: World Urbanization Prospects, the 2011 Revision. New York 2012
- 17. We have to catch-up with our city-center to city-center trains
- 18. Why urbanism matters? • Buildings and personal vehicles account for majority of greenhouse gases • Shared walls reduce overall heating and cooling costs for building • More bikers, walkers, and mass transit riders means less car traffic • Reduced road traffic decreases wear and stress and increases productivity • http://scorecard.inrix.com/scorecard/uscorridors.asp • Studies suggest that the exposure of diverse population that urban dwellers experience makes them more tolerant of others • In 50 years the US population may increase by 100-150 million • Global population may reach 10 Billion by 2100
- 19. If you find yourself thinking about • your tendencies to walk around your city looking up • the simple pleasure of people watching in a neighborhood park • the work/reading you get done on the subway/bus • relish the thought of not worrying about parking • giving up a gym membership because your walking and bike riding keeps you fit • the ease of grabbing a meal with a friend after work across town • not having to designate a driver for a celebratory night out • …
- 20. …you are well on your way to becoming an Urban Geek. Thank you!
Editor's Notes
- “nerdom” being the area of expertise that you enjoy, and it’s a lifestyle because its best to live what you love
- Grew up in quintessential suburbia first west coast then east.
- In all of the travels around the country in the Vanagan we did make it into an occasional city including NYC, but I wasn’t impressed by urban life at the time
- I want to emphasize that the US is a rather unique country and culture – much of which may be attributable to our expansiveness, especially relative to the population.
- I got out of the US and saw successful vibrant cities with cultures that encouraged them, then with new eyes came to US cities.
- I loved what I learned from these cities – you may learn equity best from the presence of inequity
- What it comes down to is I loved their efficiency, and the potential that is now possible with the evolution of our economy
- So the urban geek is someone who loves the efficiency and finds beauty in the density of human creation and activating the potential of cities
- As an urban geek I may have a different idea of what is beautiful, elegant and fun – so I will show you some examples.
- Beauty is underground spaces active with movement. City parks buzzing with masses of people. The ruins that have become art space, and the carved out oasis in their piece of the density.
- Elegance in the movement of people through, across, and under the city. The imagination possible by such spaces, and the key to a city that a transit pass becomes.
- Art from and of the layering of materials and uses – and novel definitions of what is a medium and how integrated art can be with the daily existance
- Planning meetings, Ed Bacon (Kevin’s dad, but the man responsible for much of the Philadelphia we know today). Looking up and marveling at what we can build and the very existence of Urban Geek Drinks (I know of in Philly and Chicago)
- Its not just me and a few folks I run with – this is the future of the planet
- The word ‘megalopolis’ is beautiful and this is what they will look like in the USA – but this population growth will happen, what we need to think about is connecting these megalopoli
- Which is where HSR comes in – its about going from the heart of a city to the heart of another. Our massive country looking like a subway map for city is a good thing and we can’t stay be the rest of the world on HSR – we will make the change – its just a matter of the folks currently digging their heels being out numbered by reality.
- This is why it matters – because its about efficiency and sustainability and that even non-city dwellers like city dwellers because the more folks on trains, buses, bikes and the like – the fewer in cars.
- My hope is that you may realize you are excited by some of this, or you agree completely, or that you are thinking some of these things sound really nice…
- In which case I hope you and everyone you know will proudly proclaim “I am an urban geek!”