Place and Non-Place

But the emergent, informal, human-made lines are organized not only by efficiency but by desire. The human individual is also making a path through life, through interiors and exteriors, a life that cannot be measured in abstract bureaucratic terms.

Victor Gruen’s The Heart of Our Cities

As a third cardinal feature, place-based changes must be sustainable, without the need for constant and conscious maintenance of positive behavior or the perpetual persuasion of individuals to be safe and healthy. Employee exercise programs, for example, require employees that are committed to volunteering and maintaining their involvement in the p

This promise that there is a “hometown” for every kind of person suggests a very intimate kind of power. Zukin again: Our tastes as consumers—tastes for lattes and organic food, as well as for green spaces, boutiques, and farmers’ markets—now define the city, as they also define us. These tastes are reflected in the media’s language and images, fro