The actual root of evil
"The freedom to make and remake ourselves and our cities is, I want to argue, one of the most precious yet most neglected of our human rights." -David Harvey
I tend to disagree with Harvey's view that it is a small collective power that has the control over urban change. The ones with the money can't only be to blame for how the urbanization of the city is decided. They make those decisions based on how they can make more money, but where do they get their money from? The people. The every day people who buy their products and services.
In my opinion, it is the individual that drives that capitalists. If the people tend to walk around a certain area, the businesses will follow them, because the people are the source of their profit. If one type of business is successful, someone else will try to get into that market, and vice versa. I saw it first hand in my home town. A large number of people moved to a small town, and many business owners and large corporations started urbanizing this area because the people were there. For example, a large number of restaurants were very profitable and overcrowded. The people wanted more, and wanted more diversity, so more were built. The aspects of the urbanization that were unsuccessful with the people failed, and others flourished. The people indirectly started to shape the town into the city that they wanted it to be, just by their daily actions. It didn't take large civil movements, but an understanding of what they wanted and how to exercise the control that they could. Even though someone else makes the decisions, the individual has the power.
The architect can play a role in this dynamic as well because, with input from the public, they can help further guide the projects toward what the people want, toward what the capitalists want, or what they think the city needs. But we are all free to affect the making of the city, whether we are conscious of it or not.
an active protest against the construction of a natural gas export facility near their home
I tend to disagree with Harvey's view that it is a small collective power that has the control over urban change. The ones with the money can't only be to blame for how the urbanization of the city is decided. They make those decisions based on how they can make more money, but where do they get their money from? The people. The every day people who buy their products and services.
In my opinion, it is the individual that drives that capitalists. If the people tend to walk around a certain area, the businesses will follow them, because the people are the source of their profit. If one type of business is successful, someone else will try to get into that market, and vice versa. I saw it first hand in my home town. A large number of people moved to a small town, and many business owners and large corporations started urbanizing this area because the people were there. For example, a large number of restaurants were very profitable and overcrowded. The people wanted more, and wanted more diversity, so more were built. The aspects of the urbanization that were unsuccessful with the people failed, and others flourished. The people indirectly started to shape the town into the city that they wanted it to be, just by their daily actions. It didn't take large civil movements, but an understanding of what they wanted and how to exercise the control that they could. Even though someone else makes the decisions, the individual has the power.
The architect can play a role in this dynamic as well because, with input from the public, they can help further guide the projects toward what the people want, toward what the capitalists want, or what they think the city needs. But we are all free to affect the making of the city, whether we are conscious of it or not.
an active protest against the construction of a natural gas export facility near their home
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