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on triangles
17 Jul 08
and refrigerators:
[Robert] Putnam [a Harvard political scientist] likes to imagine that there is a triangle, its points comprising where you sleep, where you work, and where you shop. In a canonical English village, or in a university town, the sides of that triangle are very short: a five-minute walk from one point to the next. In many American cities, you can spend an hour or two travelling each side. “You live in Pasadena, work in North Hollywood, shop in the Valley,” Putnam said. “Where is your community?” The smaller the triangle, the happier the human, as long as there is social interaction to be had. In that kind of life, you have a small refrigerator, because you can get to the store quickly and often. By this logic, the bigger the refrigerator, the lonelier the soul.
There and Back Again: The Soul of the Commuter. Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker.
Posted by pzed on July 17, 2008 at 1.10pm
Categories: none of the above
Comments on "on triangles"
Good quote. Having moved to a very pedestrian-powered and walking-zone neighbourhood from a more spread-out style of living, I think there’s merit to what is being said (though the experience of socialization or “community” that one gets in a high-density urban area vs. small-town is, I’m sure, quite different).
Posted by Em on July 17, 2008 at 2.20pm :: link
