City Expectations and Appearances

Today I want to talk a bit about how a city shows you the expectations you should have about what existing in that city will be like.In other words, how do I see the built environment setting up expectations about what the city is like--plus a bit about the way the people are or aren't interacting on the street. I'm going to walk through three city examples, and then say a little about how I see them coming together more generally.1. Davenport and DistanceLet's start right in the Quad Cities with Davenport. The big impression that I think Davenport gives you is one of distance: there's a lot of space between buildings, except in the very center of downtown; the roads are wide (see above); there are lots of open spaces near them that aren't filled with sidewalks or buildings at all. Sometimes this is great: Vanderveer is a lovely park right in the midst of the city, and we have a lot of parkland in general. That's a positive kind of space and distance: space intentionally dedicated to…