Sidewalks: A Pulse on City Life

 

  Sidewalks are one of the most ordinary elements of urban settings. Despite their commonplaceness, there is such a diversity of life and interactions found within their informal bounds. As others have pointed out in their blogs, the size of the sidewalk, its proximity to vibrant life, and its density of occupation all have a myriad of effects on the experience of walking along it. I grew up in a port city on the Mediterranean where most of life happened on the sidewalks. Tourism, as an industry, flourished quite simply because tourists would pass shops and restaurants on their way to the beach or historical buildings in the Old City. Sidewalks were the center of social life; young and old, family and groups of teenagers all occupied the same spaces on the journey to somewhere. That’s part of what I miss most about living in Turkey; the vibrant sidewalks. Thus, I think considering sidewalks as a crucial part of city development and design is vital to facilitating safety, diversity and quality of life in urban environments. In the same way observing a city’s sidewalks can give a pulse on the “condition” of that city.