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| Tolerant, generous – and a little bit lawless. Why I love living in cities | Tolerant, generous – and a little bit lawless. Why I love living in cities |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Obviously it’s not a competition, but cities are winning. Every year, more people move to cities and they generate more of the world’s prosperity. And as a result, they’ve become wildly unpopular in some quarters. | Obviously it’s not a competition, but cities are winning. Every year, more people move to cities and they generate more of the world’s prosperity. And as a result, they’ve become wildly unpopular in some quarters. |
| Conservative politicians in the US jeer at “New York values”, while the “metropolitan elite” are now held responsible for all of Britain’s failings. A bogus moral superiority, fixation with cultural authenticity and a stifling national identity have become the abiding principles for all those who look on at the world’s economic and creative powerhouses with resentment and baffled fury. | Conservative politicians in the US jeer at “New York values”, while the “metropolitan elite” are now held responsible for all of Britain’s failings. A bogus moral superiority, fixation with cultural authenticity and a stifling national identity have become the abiding principles for all those who look on at the world’s economic and creative powerhouses with resentment and baffled fury. |
| But this is nonsense. New York values, just like those of other world cities, are the values of optimism, diversity and tenacity we should all aspire to, and cities at their best are an expression of humans at their best. Here are just 10 of the many reasons why … | But this is nonsense. New York values, just like those of other world cities, are the values of optimism, diversity and tenacity we should all aspire to, and cities at their best are an expression of humans at their best. Here are just 10 of the many reasons why … |
| 1 For their tolerance. A source of enduring comfort about humans is that the more often different peoples and cultures bump up against one another, the more they end up liking one another. In the year of Brexit and Trump, we should remind ourselves that the racism and bigotry that infects so much of national politics largely melts away at the city level. Cities have prospered because in them people get on together and overcome their hang-ups about ethnicity, faith, gender and sexuality. Of course, cities have social problems, income inequality and cultural fault lines, but whatever the outcome of the presidential election, America’s metropolitan areas will firmly reject Trump, just as the UK’s large cities rejected Brexit. | 1 For their tolerance. A source of enduring comfort about humans is that the more often different peoples and cultures bump up against one another, the more they end up liking one another. In the year of Brexit and Trump, we should remind ourselves that the racism and bigotry that infects so much of national politics largely melts away at the city level. Cities have prospered because in them people get on together and overcome their hang-ups about ethnicity, faith, gender and sexuality. Of course, cities have social problems, income inequality and cultural fault lines, but whatever the outcome of the presidential election, America’s metropolitan areas will firmly reject Trump, just as the UK’s large cities rejected Brexit. |
| 2 Because they are well regulated … Cities pioneered planning and the social and economic rules of conduct that make civilisation possible. Ever since the first great cities of antiquity, urban administrators have had to devise policies for them to function, and these have expanded as cities have grown in size and complexity. As a consequence, cities today are managed through a web of regulations, restrictions, prohibitions and directives. Largely impenetrable and often infuriating, it is these rules that allow millions of us to live together in such harmony. | 2 Because they are well regulated … Cities pioneered planning and the social and economic rules of conduct that make civilisation possible. Ever since the first great cities of antiquity, urban administrators have had to devise policies for them to function, and these have expanded as cities have grown in size and complexity. As a consequence, cities today are managed through a web of regulations, restrictions, prohibitions and directives. Largely impenetrable and often infuriating, it is these rules that allow millions of us to live together in such harmony. |
| 3 … although also a little bit lawless. The Dark Web might now be a thing, but city centres are still the place to go for recreational drugs, sexual misadventures, open-all-hours drinking dens, street food which doesn’t conform to health standards, and nightclubs which breach acceptable noise guidelines. | 3 … although also a little bit lawless. The Dark Web might now be a thing, but city centres are still the place to go for recreational drugs, sexual misadventures, open-all-hours drinking dens, street food which doesn’t conform to health standards, and nightclubs which breach acceptable noise guidelines. |
| 4 Because you get to interact with nature. Barely anyone who lives in the countryside ever actually experiences the countryside. Industrial agriculture means that fields are now fenced off, drenched in pesticide and viewed as a blur from the motorway. In cities, however, people flock to public parks and nature reserves, visit botanical gardens, swim in ponds and take riverside walks, or simply buy fresh produce from farmers’ markets. Not many cities can match Vienna, which has a whopping 120 square metres of green space per resident, but even in New York there are 5 million trees. | 4 Because you get to interact with nature. Barely anyone who lives in the countryside ever actually experiences the countryside. Industrial agriculture means that fields are now fenced off, drenched in pesticide and viewed as a blur from the motorway. In cities, however, people flock to public parks and nature reserves, visit botanical gardens, swim in ponds and take riverside walks, or simply buy fresh produce from farmers’ markets. Not many cities can match Vienna, which has a whopping 120 square metres of green space per resident, but even in New York there are 5 million trees. |
| 5 Because immigrants live in them. Cities have always attracted the planet’s brightest and best, in other words: immigrants. Despite the endless studies showing this; despite all of America’s 2016 Nobel Prize winners (with the honourable exception of Bob Dylan) being immigrants, national politicians have become increasingly hysterical on the issue. But the world’s leading cities are going the other way. The British government wishes to audit foreign workers, but London is openly welcoming them; Donald Trump wants to build a wall across the Mexican border, but just two hours away in Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, the son of a Mexican immigrant, recently completed two terms as its mayor. | 5 Because immigrants live in them. Cities have always attracted the planet’s brightest and best, in other words: immigrants. Despite the endless studies showing this; despite all of America’s 2016 Nobel Prize winners (with the honourable exception of Bob Dylan) being immigrants, national politicians have become increasingly hysterical on the issue. But the world’s leading cities are going the other way. The British government wishes to audit foreign workers, but London is openly welcoming them; Donald Trump wants to build a wall across the Mexican border, but just two hours away in Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, the son of a Mexican immigrant, recently completed two terms as its mayor. |
| 6 Because all the artists live there. In Plato’s ideal city, there would be no artists or poets. Happily, every single city since then, with the possible exception of John Calvin’s Geneva, has ignored this advice. From the impressionists in 1870s Paris to the abstract expressionists of 1950s New York and Young British Artists of 1990s London, it is cities where all the great art scenes have flourished. And where there are art scenes, there is also innovation, new ideas, a successful night time economy and a glimpse of the future. To live in a city of artists is to live in the world’s cockpit. | 6 Because all the artists live there. In Plato’s ideal city, there would be no artists or poets. Happily, every single city since then, with the possible exception of John Calvin’s Geneva, has ignored this advice. From the impressionists in 1870s Paris to the abstract expressionists of 1950s New York and Young British Artists of 1990s London, it is cities where all the great art scenes have flourished. And where there are art scenes, there is also innovation, new ideas, a successful night time economy and a glimpse of the future. To live in a city of artists is to live in the world’s cockpit. |
| 7 Because cities make you healthier. No one should ignore issues of air quality and inequality, but the fact remains that people in cities live healthier lives. They often walk and cycle to work, get out more and have lower levels of obesity than those in the countryside. In many parts of the world, they also have access to good hospitals and the very best (usually immigrant) health care professionals. All of this means that life expectancy in cities is higher than rural areas – and the latest research from the US suggests that the gap is widening. | 7 Because cities make you healthier. No one should ignore issues of air quality and inequality, but the fact remains that people in cities live healthier lives. They often walk and cycle to work, get out more and have lower levels of obesity than those in the countryside. In many parts of the world, they also have access to good hospitals and the very best (usually immigrant) health care professionals. All of this means that life expectancy in cities is higher than rural areas – and the latest research from the US suggests that the gap is widening. |
| 8 Because cities forge great institutions. National governments struggle to create them, while commercial interests often destroy them. But it is cities that actually make the institutions that form the bedrock of our heritage, culture and public life. The world’s great museums, universities, galleries and libraries are not just found in cities – they were founded by them. Through citizens subscriptions, local philanthropy and municipal foresight, the treasures of the world are collected, studied, conserved and made available for everyone to enjoy. | 8 Because cities forge great institutions. National governments struggle to create them, while commercial interests often destroy them. But it is cities that actually make the institutions that form the bedrock of our heritage, culture and public life. The world’s great museums, universities, galleries and libraries are not just found in cities – they were founded by them. Through citizens subscriptions, local philanthropy and municipal foresight, the treasures of the world are collected, studied, conserved and made available for everyone to enjoy. |
| 9 Because of their strong communities. Cities are often associated with anonymity but they are better characterised by their strong sense of community. It is in cities – particularly European ones with narrow roads, public spaces, local schools and high-density housing – that people come together. By contrast, the modern countryside can be deeply isolating; a place where people drive their children to school, shop in retail parks and spend their evenings watching satellite television. If the world really is undergoing an epidemic of loneliness, then the cure will be found in cities. | 9 Because of their strong communities. Cities are often associated with anonymity but they are better characterised by their strong sense of community. It is in cities – particularly European ones with narrow roads, public spaces, local schools and high-density housing – that people come together. By contrast, the modern countryside can be deeply isolating; a place where people drive their children to school, shop in retail parks and spend their evenings watching satellite television. If the world really is undergoing an epidemic of loneliness, then the cure will be found in cities. |
| 10 For their generosity. Across the world, people who live in cities give huge amounts of money to people who don’t. In the UK, London makes up 14% of the national population and almost 30% of its tax base, with Londoners thought to be making a net contribution to the Treasury of approximately £2,000 a year. What’s amazing about this is that the response of rural populations is to heap scorn on metropolitan liberals, inflict reactionary governments on them, and vote to destroy their economic wellbeing. And yet, cities still continue to subsidise farms, finance national infrastructure and pay for public services. If cities are judged not just for what they do for their citizens but what they do for everybody, then surely it is all of us who should love them. | 10 For their generosity. Across the world, people who live in cities give huge amounts of money to people who don’t. In the UK, London makes up 14% of the national population and almost 30% of its tax base, with Londoners thought to be making a net contribution to the Treasury of approximately £2,000 a year. What’s amazing about this is that the response of rural populations is to heap scorn on metropolitan liberals, inflict reactionary governments on them, and vote to destroy their economic wellbeing. And yet, cities still continue to subsidise farms, finance national infrastructure and pay for public services. If cities are judged not just for what they do for their citizens but what they do for everybody, then surely it is all of us who should love them. |
| Tom Campbell is the author of The Planner, published by Bloomsbury Circus. To order this novel for £10.39 (RRP £12.99) go to bookshop.theguardian.com | Tom Campbell is the author of The Planner, published by Bloomsbury Circus. To order this novel for £10.39 (RRP £12.99) go to bookshop.theguardian.com |
| Follow Guardian Cities on Twitter and Facebook and join the discussion | Follow Guardian Cities on Twitter and Facebook and join the discussion |
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