Urbanism

I recently read an article on demographic inversion and it reminded me of Who's Your City by Richard Florida. In Trading Places, Alan Ehrenhalt made an observation during visits to Chicago. In the distant past, the elite and rich lived in the center of the city and the poor and uneducated were forced out to the outskirts of the city. After industrialization and expansion, the creation of suburbs became popular and the demographics were reversed. Suddenly everyone wanted to live in the suburbs and downtowns were filled with the less fortunate.

After several decades of this trend, it's starting to reverse itself again. The young and wealthy are starting to move back into the city and the suburbs are becoming less and less desirable to live in. In Who's Your City, Richard Florida points out how the world gravitates towards massive metropolis cities that specialize. For example, New York is becoming a center for economics and for companies that deal with world economy face difficulties if they don't reside in New York. In turn, if someone wants a career in the industry they will find more and better opportunities in New York. The same can be observed for Silicon Valley and the IT industry.

These observances of re-urbanization reminds me of a dream I have for myself. Like all of my day dreams, this one begins with a six pack of hard abs but that's hardly relevant. I get dressed in jeans, a tee and a leather jacket. I look in the mirror (I'm also much taller in my day dreams), content with my appearance I leave my condo, lock it up and traverse down two or three flights of stairs and exit the building onto a quiet street. I'll be standing next to a brick wall since I live in a industrial building reformed for residential living. I'll take a look down the street in both directions trying to decide where to go. I can't decide and just go in whatever direction the wind is blowing. After a short walk, with a cool chill at my back, I arrive at a pub. I go inside order a drink, turn around and find a bunch of my friends. After a couple drinks and a little flirting with a cute girl, I return home to kill some time by reading, watching TV or playing some games. It doesn't last long and I retire to bed for work the next day.

That's how I wish my life was like but unfortunately that's not the way it is, nor is it the way it's heading. Florida states that there are impediments to moving. Things like friends and family hold people back. I can certainly relate. I don't feel as if I can move away from my family even though it could only take some weight off my shoulders if I do. I can't bear to leave friends behind but if I move within the city, that's not a problem. But my main problem is status quo bias. I'm comfortable where I am and the deviation from that is scary. I like to think I'm forward thinking, especially when it comes to technology, but maybe deep down I'm really old fashioned. The question now becomes, how do I change that?