The Beauty of European City Life

The streets of Europe are unlike any other streets in the world.

No matter which country you find yourself in — from Italy to Denmark, Spain, France, Germany, or the Czech Republic — the language, food, and customs might be different, but the vibe is the same.  You don’t get this feeling anywhere else but in the streets of Europe.

Starting in the aftermath of WWII, we in the US spent trillions of dollars building roads, manufacturing automobiles, and constructing cookie cutter subdivisions across the country.  Thus began our obsession with suburban sprawl.

Flash-forward 65 years…  Americans continue to move out of cities at alarming rates, while governments and developers spend billions trying to lure them back in.  The sales pitch:  Abandon the strip malls and live a walkable, community-driven life.

Sound familiar?  Europeans had this lifestyle figured out a long time ago when they designed their urban cores.

We as Americans got lost in our own materialism but are slowly coming around to the essence of what makes life in European streets so beautiful.

The Physical

1) Collisions — Go to any major American university, startup accelerator, or co-working space, and they’ll advertise something along the lines of “we facilitate serendipitous collisions among innovative people.”  This is a great concept, and I’ve witnessed the power of spontaneous relationships firsthand.

It’s just ironic that we need to manufacture something that happened organically in cities for hundreds of years.  If we spent more time moving around streets, cafés, etc. (instead of being locked in air-conditioned boxes and cars), these relationships would happen more naturally.

2) Shop Local — I received four emails last week that had something to do with “shop local.”  Again, wonderful concept, and I whole-heartedly support it.  It’s just interesting that for years the design of our US cities, coupled with mentality and government policies, drove local vendors to the point of extinction.

In Spain, you walk down the street to buy bread from the baker.  Need a notebook?  There’s a stationary store that would make a Portland hipster’s mustache twitch in delight.  Shopping local is just what you do.  There’s not enough space in urban cores for a Walmart Supercenter even if you wanted one.

The Intangible

1) Romance — I can’t imagine there’s a better place to fall in love than the streets of Europe.  The winding cobblestone pathways, sound of music in the evenings, fresh gelato…  It’s as if the streets were designed for the sole purpose of meandering around with your significant other.  Don’t believe me?  Watch a recent Woody Allen movie and tell me I’m lying to you.

2) Family & Friends — From sunup until sundown, the streets of Europe are bustling, especially at the outdoor cafes.  One coffee or one glass of wine can last hours.  Want to know why?  It’s all about the experience and the people, not the act of doing.

Yes, this sense of enjoyment has a lot to do with culture.  But it is also largely driven by the design of the cities themselves.  Parks are positioned for families to spend time together after school and church.  Apartments are tiny and expensive, so friends are forced to pass most of their waking hours in the streets.

I’m not saying Europe hasn’t also seen it’s fair share of sprawl.  Paris, London, and Barcelona have all experienced population decline with more and more people moving to the suburbs.  My point in writing this article is not to analyze demographic and economic data but rather to open your eyes.

Sometimes the old way of thinking is in fact the best for society.  Sometimes the thirst for material possessions like white picket fences and cars actually makes life more inconvenient.

It’s funny how things have a way of coming full circle.  In the meantime, I’ve got my zip off pants tucked away for the day they come roaring back into style with a vengeance.

See you next Sunday at 8:30pm.  🙂

For more information, please read:

• http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/architecture/2005/11/suburban_despair.html
  
• https://www.brookings.edu/articles/are-europes-cities-better/
  
• https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/04/why-is-everyone-leaving-the-city/521844/