Cities 07

I love Wheelers concept and ideas of "sustainable development". When I compare his vision to Frank Lloyd Wright and LeCorbusier's ideas on city planning, I much prefer Wheeler. One of the main problems I felt, with LeCorbusier and Wright's planning as that it left out the poor, and the urban. In the end their plans excluded some group of people. However, Wheeler specifically talks about including everyone into the future city planning. His sixth point, titled "A healthy social ecology", he mentioned issues taht plauge urban areas like homelessness and racism. To that he says, "Promoting a healthy and sustainable social ecology means looking for every opportunity to enhance human community, opportunity, and empowerment" (pg493). This is such a huge point to me because even when you physically change a city, everything else like deeply rooted social problems and discrimination wil not automatically follow. People are not easy to re-shape onece the mold is set.
Again comparing the three city planners, the one thing they all have in common is that they all agree that cities must have less congestion. Wheeler is calling for a reduction in auto use, and increasing use for pedestrian by focusing city planning around walking and biking. Jane Jacobs would love this idea. In fact, he mentions her in this reading as a advocate of urban sustainablity. LeCorbusier also sees traffic as a problem, and wants to "de-congest" cities. However, he focused on fixing personal auto use, instead of eliminating it. Wright also was looking to fix or adjust personal auto traffic. I think its a little strange that they dont really talk about mass transit. At least I think they didnt mention it, but then again perhaps LeCorbusier and Wright did that to have their plans be more attractive to the general, car owning poplulation. It seems they try to make their plans sound easy. Wheeler admits his plan for a sustainable city is going to be a long, taxing task. Americans are very attached to their automobiles, so for Wheeler to admit and show how his city planning may be a personally difficult adjustment is brave because it may seem unattractive to so many. And his project is one that needs great cooperation from the general population, not just local goverment and such.
One last comparision is between Wright and Wheeler. For me, reading Wright's "Broadacre City" sounds as if he wants every one to live in a pod and live in isolated areas. On the other hand Wheeler specifically says that it would be unrealistic for us to create walls and try to be sustainable all on our own completly separate from the rest of the world. Now I realize Wright was not thinking in such extreme terms, but Wheeler still has a point. Isolation and separation may not be reasonable and the best way to live. Self reliance only goes so far, especially in todays very specialized modern society. I dont see how we can have self reliance in a group or area today unless people are assigned to a neighborhood based on their profession. Making sure there is a butcher, baker, and candlestickmaker, in every area or town is un realistic.