Toledo, Spain or Toledo, Ohio?
Actually, the European model tends to be a bit ... stony. I would like to see more things at street level to interact with. Mostly shops and so forth. Maybe a little greenery in residential areas -- window boxes or potted plants, or little pocket parks. A few more balconies, with French doors and so forth. (NO Green Space!)
Not too many cars here either. They just sort of disappear when you make the streets narrow enough.
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Spain or Ohio?
These are actually the nicer shots of downtown.
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You know I like this sort of thing.
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See what I mean about that hugemungous street in the middle? All the time.
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Toledo is a very old city, and Spain hasn't been wealthy for about four hundred years. Still, this stuff looks good don't you think?
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To be fair, some of Toledo, Ohio's downtown areas are reasonably passable. Like I said, 19th Century Hypertrophism is oddly best at its most hypertrophic. Manhattan style. Skyscrapers!
However, even at its best, the 19th Century Hypertrophic City tends to be rather cold and unforgiving. People are little specks in stone canyons, huddled between five lanes of roaring traffic and the blank stone facade of a megabuilding. It's no place for kids or old people, and most women don't like it either. Pretty soon they start to dream about their cozy little home in the suburbs. Things that are soft, gentle, inviting. Human-friendly.
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I like this photo. Happy people. Also, unlike some of those streets which tend to be a bit featureless, we have lots of shops and signs here, and a bit more interesting architecture In general, I like the Asian format better, where there is over-the-top shops and signs everywhere. It looks like a bit of a mess in a photo, but it is tons of fun.
See what I mean? Chinatown, Yokohama
Sangenjaya, Tokyo.
But, back to Toledo.
A quiet street like this is nice when you want to get away from the hugger-mugger of the commercial areas. Good residential street.
Seems kinda boring compared to Sangenjaya though, doesn't it?
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The downtown skyscraper areas, which are the most attractive bits of the 19th Century Hypertrophic City, tend to be only a small part (under 10%) of the city as a whole. Most of the typical 19th Century Hypertrophic City tends to look like ths.
That megaroadway is a lot less appealing without megabuildings. Certainly no place to walk.
Monolithic.
This is actually a nice building, looking rather forlorn as it faces the usual mega-roadway.
The 19th Century Hypertrophic City doesn't age well. Outside of the downtown commercial areas, where there's enough money to keep things in shape, it tends to become rather decrepit. Remember, this is the wealthiest country on earth. Those old European cities last for hundreds of years, and still look good.
As per the Heroic Materialist aesthetic, many buildings were made as cheaply as possible. In those days, that meant blank brick boxes.
I'll leave you with a few more shots of Toleo, Spain to raise your spirits a bit.
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When streets are pedestrian-sized, they can be paved nicely.
