Cities 07

Every day I make a short trek to a corner near my house and wait around for a bus that will bring me, with one transfer, to a very close proximity of my classes or work. What better a place to observe the “urban personality”(Wirth) than on a bus? What’s more urban than Mass Transit? With the theory of “urban personality” being caused by close, yet superficial interactions, Wirth’s description of the city as a “mosaic” with “abrupt” differentiations between "social worlds" and Jacob’s idea that visibility is a key tool in crime prevention in mind I got on the bus, notebook in tow.
I ended up focusing much more on Jacobs than I originally intended, as I thought more about the role of bus drivers and how similar they are to the shopkeepers in Jacob's writings, and how they help to facilitate a sense of community on the bus and keep their eyes on the aisles (and the road) and the bus stops.
The busses that I normally take include the 2, 4 and 16. I only took the 4 while taking notes, but some of my data is drawn from memory of past excursions.
Anyone who’s been on the 16 during rush hour knows that yes indeed, density does create “face to face”(Wirth,99) interactions that are “impersonal, superficial, transitory and segmental.”(Wirth ,99) However, the common phrases that pass among bus riders, like "Excuse me," "Thank you," "How are you today?"or "Have a nice day," are used by a variety of riders with distinct and more importantly, different personality types. I don't get the impression that people change their personalities to fit in on the bus, or that they must have several different other ways of interacting with people. Most of the people I encounter on the bus come off as genuine and diverse. There are certainly conventional norms and bus etiquette, as there is etiquette in any area where pepole co-exist but, the conformity to the protocol does not create a new conformed personality. Not everyone conforms, and those who do, express the etiquette in different ways. For instance, when I ride the 4 on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, the bus driver is very friendly. She has a few regular customers(including myself) who she greets knowingly and who greet her back. One woman sits down and talks to her for the duration of her bus ride, about everything from the weather to the back surgery she needs to get. There are a few other regular riders who greet the driver in a friendly manner, but some who see her every morning and just sort of pass by or ignore her. Some people say things like "May I sit here?" or "Can you move your stuff?", while others simply start heading to plant their butts as you scramble to save your groceries. Even the intonation in someone's voice when they say something like "Excuse me" can add variety to their meaning and the expressions of bus etiquette. Perhaps the socio-economic status of bus riders pays a part in their diversity and variety of personalities but, even that doesn't seem as though it would hold true. People ride the bus for many different reasons. They do it mostly to get around within the city. So if there was such a thing as an "urban personality," I would think it would be displayed on the bus. However, I didn't see it. If I were doing a real study, for the city of Minneapolis I would have to take a few different busses and the lightrail as well.
Wirth's point about the city being a mosaic with abrupt lines seems a bit more plausible to me, after riding the bus. I really observed the layout as I returned from the printmaking studio Saturday evening. There's a very abrupt line between the Downtown Zone (helped out by the Mighty Misssippi) and the commercial area on the NE side of the Hennepin Ave bridge. Going farther North, the amount of trees and type of buildings is a sure indicator that the turn from East Hennepin onto 8th street brings you into a residential zone. However, the "abruptness" is much more marked in closer proximity to the city. I suspect that in the city zoning is a bigger deal. Maybe that's why the further out you go, towards the suburbs the less abrupt and more marbled the mosaic becomes. For example, Johnson street, NE is peppered with businesses among residences.
While I was riding, I also thought about Jacobs. I first considered why the bus has its inside lights on at night. In any other vehicle such a move is illegal, I think because it distracts the driver. Sure, it helps me read, but what if the bus' inside lights only turned on at stops like in a car, when people get on or off. Wouldn't that work? Or would it make it less safe because the passengers would be less visible, to the driver, the outside world and each other? What about lights in bus shelters? Is it the same concept? I think it is. I also believe that's why bus shelters are made of plexi glass and usually aren't enclosed. The few shelters I've been in that are enclosed always smell like urine. Not that public urination is a major crime, but I think the theory is that where there's minor crime, there's potential for major crime. I also see fewer of the busses that have ads over their windows at night. I wonder if that is intentional or if I just don't ride at night enough or on the right route. I think that Jacobs would argue that it's safer for everyone when everyone can see what's going on.
I've seen many times examples of the shared interest that people have when they get on a bus. They all want to get where they're going on time. I've seen people come together and start talking who were previously unengaged when a bicyclist or car gets in the way of the bus and slows them down. Some people make comments and empathize with the busdriver. On a slightly different note, I was on the bus going home a few weeks ago when we had a driver who had obvioulsy just started and I overheard about five people get spontaneously upset, saying "Oh, come on," etc... and they had a sense of agreement with each other. I've also seen people either help the bus driver kick some one off, or help the person pay their fare, out of empathy, or to keep things moving. In a way, that is unique to the bus atmosphere. When I rode on Saturday, I heard a few people empathize with the driver about his struggles through the fresh slushy muck.
Like my Tuesday and Thursday morning driver, a lot of the drivers have regulars and a routine of interaction. They are the trusted sources of knowledge for new riders and the protectors of the passengers .Of course if something too out of hand happens they call the police, like the shop keepers in Jacobs, but they're the first line of defense. Some of the best drivers know all of the bus intersections along their routes and will honk at other drivers if a passenger needs to transfer. Conversation with the drivers spark conversations among riders. The questions for drivers about routes and such come from people at the stops as well as on the bus and the drivers pay attention to that. I've even heard bus drivers reprimand people for smoking at bus stops or littering. Certainly, they are "public characters' as are some of the regular bus riders. I think that Jacobs' theories about the sidewalk can carry over in many ways onto the bus. The bus is a great place to examine aspects of urban life.