Comments on: The city isn’t just a business http://walkeastwood.org/is-the-city-a-business-or-is-it-people/ Sustainable living in "The Village Within The City" Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:59:14 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 By: Dan http://walkeastwood.org/is-the-city-a-business-or-is-it-people/comment-page-1/#comment-1113 Dan Sat, 02 Jan 2010 17:41:49 +0000 http://walkeastwood.org/?p=1816#comment-1113 Cities are a collective "business" or organization (insert community or collective of communities here if you wish)...In reality we're all in it together. The success of each small Mom and Pop shop, corporation, non-profit, yearly cultural festival, etc. is just as much in my best interest as it is yours. The failure here is two fold: "Syracuse has been operated as a disconnected series of fiefdoms with one part of the City not caring about the others" and "He (Mr. Kimatian) hasn’t asked us, the people who live here, the people who own this neighborhood..." I'll quote City planning academic Paul Davioff..."there is something very shameful to our society in the necessity to have organized citizen participation" (in the form of public meetings that the majority of us cannot even fit into our schedules) [Davidoff, P. (original 1965) Advocacy and Pluralism in Planning (pp.421-432). In: Legates, R. and Stout, F. (1996) The City Reader. New York: Routledge] City residents like yourself might be involved in actual citizen participation, but for each of you there are thousands sitting back watching TV instead. Politicians like Kimatian can do as they please in a society where this is the norm. Until we all realize we are all "employees" in the collective "business" that cities are, we will continue to FAIL at solving the problems of urban environments. The business of the city is beyond just economic transactions, but also includes social and cultural transactions as well. When the majority of us sit back and allow others to control the transactions of our business, we lose control of the "business". The problem in thinking of the city as a business is the conceptualization of this "business" in similar fashion to the model of corporate organization...in a city, the receptionist is just as important as the president. Cities are a collective “business” or organization (insert community or collective of communities here if you wish)…In reality we’re all in it together. The success of each small Mom and Pop shop, corporation, non-profit, yearly cultural festival, etc. is just as much in my best interest as it is yours. The failure here is two fold: “Syracuse has been operated as a disconnected series of fiefdoms with one part of the City not caring about the others” and “He (Mr. Kimatian) hasn’t asked us, the people who live here, the people who own this neighborhood…”

I’ll quote City planning academic Paul Davioff…”there is something very shameful to our society in the necessity to have organized citizen participation” (in the form of public meetings that the majority of us cannot even fit into our schedules) [Davidoff, P. (original 1965) Advocacy and Pluralism in Planning (pp.421-432). In: Legates, R. and Stout, F. (1996) The City Reader. New York: Routledge]

City residents like yourself might be involved in actual citizen participation, but for each of you there are thousands sitting back watching TV instead. Politicians like Kimatian can do as they please in a society where this is the norm.

Until we all realize we are all “employees” in the collective “business” that cities are, we will continue to FAIL at solving the problems of urban environments. The business of the city is beyond just economic transactions, but also includes social and cultural transactions as well. When the majority of us sit back and allow others to control the transactions of our business, we lose control of the “business”.

The problem in thinking of the city as a business is the conceptualization of this “business” in similar fashion to the model of corporate organization…in a city, the receptionist is just as important as the president.

]]> By: Shane L. http://walkeastwood.org/is-the-city-a-business-or-is-it-people/comment-page-1/#comment-1035 Shane L. Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:01:15 +0000 http://walkeastwood.org/?p=1816#comment-1035 Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Chuck. That was my first reaction to that sign -- How does he figure that's our preference for the building/corner's future? He didn't ask me! I was insulted by the fact that any of these candidates would consider an empty proclamation like this. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Chuck. That was my first reaction to that sign — How does he figure that’s our preference for the building/corner’s future? He didn’t ask me! I was insulted by the fact that any of these candidates would consider an empty proclamation like this.

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