What are your perceptions or opinions on the city in which you live? Could it be better maintained and presented, does it feel inviting and look interesting?
I had an appointment with a client in the city recently and while the appointment itself went well I left the city feeling quite underwhelmed and disappointed with how shabby and unkempt it seemed when compared to how it used to be. This is not the norm for my city where a pleasing mix of old buildings and new, gardens and fountains, open spaces, statues and monuments and a generally nice feel used to make it feel inviting, welcoming and comfortable - a nice place to be. That's how it used to be, the other day it felt tired and worn out, unloved and uncared for and the people in it seemingly apathetic to its plight.
Progress...this is not.
The image shows a small part of the city that I photographed a little while ago and it looks pretty good and it felt nice too - but in daylight it's a different story.
It seems that cost cutting measures the local council have made are costing the city its heart and soul, ruining its appeal, as little by little it declines and degrades and all the while people simply accept the changes, ignore them or just don't care. They step over rubbish and the homeless laying in the street, the smells barely illicit a wrinkled nose, and uneven pavement claims women's heels like trophies and yet humanity gets on with life, with its spiral downwards and deludes itself that society is progressing while infrastructure crumbles.
I understand times are difficult economically and everyone from the average person to organisations, corporations and governments are looking for ways to reduce cost - if they are not things will drop off a cliff at some stage...but that doesn't mean I have to like it or that the decline in services and standards is acceptable...in this "progressive society." They hold back where they should be spending then spend in areas that are questionable like changing street names to erase the country's colonial foundations.
I'll admit that I don't have the answers however I see a lot of financial waste from governments to corporations and all the way down to the every day person like you and I...it's waste that could be minimised which uses funds that could be diverted to more suitable initiatives. But nope, political agendas win out.
Where I live is a generally comfortable and attractive place, all of Australia is, and on the surface that's what people usually see, but beneath the surface, if one is to look closely, there's a different reality and I think the same could be said for most places.
I wonder what your city is like and what your thoughts are on its presentation, suitability for the population that lives there, maintenance, how it's moving forward (or backwards) and generally how you feel the livability of the city is. Feel free to comment and if you have any particular areas you feel could use some help, more attention and funding or any ways in which you feel things could be improved then comment that too.
Design and create your ideal life, tomorrow isn't promised - galenkp
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Image(s) in this post are my own
Hi Galen, My city, Madrid, is very different from the one I knew as a child. The cinemas in the city center, which on weekends used to become a swarm of families looking for their first-run movie, are now gone. They have been replaced by Zara, Pull&Bear, or stores like that. The bookstores have also disappeared, I miss the second hand bookstores and antiquarian bookstores. Anyway, there is El Retiro and El Museo del Prado... two places I still enjoy as when I was a child. This is my city...
Things chang, I get it, but that change isn't always for the better...sometimes it's just about money.
Good morning Galen, have a great Friday (almost weekend).
Yeah, I need the weekend for sure, been a tough week. I'm just finishing off my breakfast at the hotel and I'll be off to work...then a flight home and the weekend!
I hope you have a good end to the week also.
Thank you, I start the day right now
I've actually been spending a bit of time in the big city lately and it really has me appreciating the smaller town that I live in along with the small cities that surround it. I definitely don't fit in the rat race of a larger city and while they are fun to visit, they quickly lose their appeal after more than a couple of days! I am pretty lucky to live in an area of Midwest America that is quite livable with a low cost of living. The towns aren't perfect, but they have a lot of benefits over other areas.
That's a fair statement and goes for here too. I couldn't live in the big cities if the Eastern Seaboard (Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane) and even my own is becoming far too busy. I prefer the country and small towns, and I'll get back to one eventually.
They really are the best.
Dublin was never the most beautiful of cities, but when I was a child we still had a few attractive Art Deco buildings and terraces of elegant Georgian-style houses. In what seems like a campaign of deliberate uglification, successive city councils have replaced these with unsightly glass and metal facades. Beauty inspires and ugliness demoralises and as if reflecting their surroundings, people appear down at heel. Suits have been exchanged for tracksuits, and shoes for trainers.
A couple of examples of the city council's improvements
This
to this
And this
to this
Oh yeah, you say it well and allude to a few other things that have given way to...to...something not as good. Remember manners and courtesy? They're largely gone too.
Where I am in small, tourist town Canada, it is a mix really.
Being a tourist destination, there is a big priority put on cosmetic and aesthetic appearance so visitors enjoy and want to come back. When I moved here, I was shocked to find my house valued at half of the big city cost twice as much in taxes! A bit of a rude awakening but it is what it is.
On the other side of things, housing prices have tripled since then which is good for me having gotten in before the bull. The downside is that there is no end in sight for my kids getting out on their own as rent is insane while purchase prices are prohibitive.
Having been many places around the world (not Oz yet but I will!) I know we have it damn good compared to many other places. People and politics get more annoying the more of each there are and I try to ignore them as much as possible. Nice flowers in the downtown core when i visit though!
You're right, Canada and Authave it pretty good and to be honest, my city is one of the better ones you'll find. I guess I remember how it was though, different and better, less busy and dirty the increased population didn't help) and so it feels like a different place.
Small towns are where it's at, I was raised in one, another reason I don't like cities that much, and I will go back to one eventually.
You mention house prices, I also got my houses prior to the price increases, years ago actually, and that's a good thing from a money perspective but the problem here, as there, is home affordability and that many will never own their own. Loads of problems really. They're tightening up on landlord legislation, leaning things towards the tenant unfairly in my opinion, and that'll mean some drop their investments off...but whose buying? Not those in the lower income brackets that's for sure. It helps remove the middle class and move towards a two tier society.
The truth is that the city where I live is very different from when I arrived 6 years ago. Many things have contributed to that difference. And there are also differences between the centre and the outlying districts. For example, there is a neighbourhood in the north where the gypsies live and at night it is dangerous, unkempt and dirty.
To say what are the causes: certain policies have allowed the entry of illegal immigrants, this has generated many consequences such as dirt, insecurity, although it is seen in certain sectors and cultural clashes make women feel insecure, they are attacked, robbed and so on.
At night it is not the same as during the day, that's how it is.
Illegal immigrants...yep, an issue many places face. I wonder why governments allow it to happen. Oh yeah, because people vote idiots like Joe Biden I to power.
They say it's for cultural diversity, but many of the cultures in Africa are warriors and attack... the woman white ones in danger... have you seen what's happening in France? Well now in Madrid and Barcelona they are dangerous.
Exactly, they vote for idiots!
Yep, I know what you're saying.
I think most, if not all, cities could be handled better; I know mine is. Apart from the corruption and mismanagement of taxes, the people themselves don't really take care of their own cities. Heck, some people even don't clean their houses as much. We do have private subdivisions, and the places where the rich live are mostly well maintained. It would be nice if the city leaders can do it for the whole city though.
I'm probably being a little harsh on my city, maybe because I set high standards for myself and that ends up rippling outwards; also I remember how it used to be so notice the cha ge as I've said in another comment here.
Having said that, I agree with what you've said and it applies across the world I guess. Corruption...the few taking from the many. Sad really, but it's human nature for some to want to do it and I think as the financial situation tightens more will.
It's unfortunate that cities in the African settings where I belong doesn't look so inviting. In fact, we many unkempt sites and damaged infrastructures littering the cities. This is predominantly due to poor maintenance culture and political corruption.
But I admire a lot the picture of the city in your cover
I thought as much; I guess the misappropriation of funds into politician's pockets will never work out well for infrastructure.
I’ve never been to Australia but what you describe fits many places I know well here in the UK. We’ve a major problem here with many once pleasant towns turning into places that are described by many, “Good restaurants and shops are ok, what’s left of them but I wouldn’t want to spend too much time there now. Don’t go at night, watch your pockets.”
I look back at my childhood and remember the shops I used to think were “boring, can we go home now” kind of places to sorely missing them as I walk past their graves, which is what I call the boarded up shells they’ve left behind. Once buzzed with activity, now serve as umbrellas from the weather for homeless people.
Every action has its consequences from government level right down to every one of us. In the way we accept change as being gospel and don’t fight it or argue with it. The trouble is when we do have the opportunity to speak out, that in itself is a box ticking exercise. Have we asked the public for their opinion? It wasn’t popular but we shall do it anyway.
Sorry this is turning into a post!!!!
We’ve a huge problem as a society and the arguments that people generally have on social media are about non issues rather than this.
You say it all pretty well and clearly we agree. I know ther s far worse off places than my own city, or any city in Australia for that matter, but it's difficult to wrap my head around the decline I see (in many aspects of society) and it's always so prevalent when I'm out and about. It sucks really, the world I knew is changing and not for the better, as you allude to.
It's all rather sad and depressing I suppose, but I try to look for the highlights, they're there still, just less if them and farther between.
Thanks for your comment.
I live not far from second largest city in Lithuania. This is nice because it means that I am not too far from civilization but at the same time not too many people are here. I like it here. But more outgoing person could find it boring because I don't think that here are any night clubs or places like that. But for me it is perfect because I have no desire to go clubbing/ drinking. I believe that night is for sleeping and books, tv, computer can be just as( if not more) entertaining as spending night in the city.
Clubbing. Yeah, I went to one of those clubs when I was about seventeen or so. Hated it so much I never went back.
I also went only one time. It was too crowded and music was too loud...I didn't drink anything and soon went home. But walking around city at night was an interesting experience.
Yeah, about the same for me...nothing at all worth staying for.
This is just like the current situation in Africa especially here in Lagos. Lagos is one of the biggest cities in Africa and a city is supposed be livable but no
The city is so messed up and even smelly. Would you believe that some rural areas are far better than urban? Yeah, the rural areas may lack a few things but they live well
Yeah, I heard a lot about Nigeria and none of what I've heard makes me want to go there.