I received an email notice for a community mural opening at Centro Hispano in Madison (see below). The invite showed a painter putting the final touches on a beautiful city scene. It showed what planners call a streetscape from perhaps an imaginary Latin American city.
The picture is beautiful in part because of the colors, contrasts and artful depictions of buildings. Beyond those compositional elements, however, the picture is beautiful because of the inviting scene it portrays. It shows a place we would like to be (although I think the scene would be even more inviting with people in the picture).
What makes the scene inviting? First, I think the street framed by beautiful buildings. We can imagine walking along the street feeling attracted to the various sites and storefront windows. Urban designers call it a sense of enclosure. Second, the stairs leading somewhere unknown draw us in. They invite our sense of curiosity and exploration. Good urban and public space design, I think, creates distinct spaces that draw us from one to the other. Third, the colors, flowers and trees make the place lively and alive (again, just need some people).
What really struck me when I saw the picture was the contrast between the scene portrayed and the kind of city scenes that dominate recent growth in U.S. cities. Can you imagine a group of U.S. citizens living abroad creating a shared cultural memory by painting a mural of a commercial strip? The iconic main street scenes that do exist are fading from our physical and shared mental and cultural world. Some are neglected, in disrepair. Others get restored but function as much as museums than as civic and cultural places. And here and there attempts are made to recreate beautiful streetscapes and public places that function in our modern car-oriented world.
the sustainable city 