It's Christmas
Day and it seems that we two are the only ones left in City Heights. The block is
deserted - as are the blocks in the adjoining streets. City-centre living
around here is a relatively new phenomenon and most residents are transient -
either foreign academics or young, single people. My theory is that they have
all gone "home". My other theory is that it won't always be this way.
Our situation
highlights the question of what to make of Christmastime if you are not amenable
to the ‘traditional’ forms of celebration. Purists bemoan the fact that it has
become too secular, too commercialised and excessive in its manifestations but the
fact of its continuing popularity, even in our increasingly diverse society, is
testament to its multi-faceted appeal. Christmas is becoming more inclusive. Prior
to extensive post-war immigration, non-Christians in Britain might have felt
inclined to keep a low profile on the grounds that it had nothing to do with
them. But the loosening of religion's monopoly on the event has enabled the
pagan aspects to flourish and for it to become more of a general holiday in
celebration of mid-winter and the roll-over to the new year. Some, at least, of
the festive activities can be enjoyed by those of any faith or none at all.
This is
clearly reflected in the variety of greeting-card designs, which can be found
to suit every sensibility: nativity scenes for the traditionally religious;
Santa on a sleigh for those who prefer gifts and jolliness; snowy winter scenes
for those whose focus is on the seasonal aesthetic; or non-specific, stylish
graphics for those who do not acknowledge any of this stuff. Of course, any
greeting card is welcome in one's letterbox, no matter what the style, but there
is a type that will soon become quaintly, impossibly outdated: that most
traditional of English scenes, the picture of a secluded, snow-covered country
cottage with Santa, reindeer and sleigh perched magically on the roof. The
carbon footprint of such a rural idyll is too heavy for it to be sustainable.
Most of the
world's population now lives in cities and the trend is for that to increase. In
less developed economies, moving to a city is the only hope that billions of
people have of escaping rural poverty - cities are places where they can find
opportunities for employment. In developed countries such as the U.K. the
problem is not so acute, although it does exist. The case for city living here
is predicated more on the efficient use of resources such as land, less
reliance on carbon-producing cars and the fact that successful cities are crucial to the economic well-being of the whole
population.
In order to
be successful they need copious, affordable housing, efficient services and
infrastructure, plentiful, diverse employment opportunities and pleasant,
walkable streets by which to get to work. Examples include Vancouver and
Singapore, neither of which has been hampered by historical precedent. In the
'old world' New York and London are economically successful but have continuing
struggles with housing supply, the maintenance of old infrastructure and the
balancing of historical conservation with new development.
There are
many cities in decline because the industries they were built upon became
extinct. The key to their rejuvenation is new industries - not the big
factories of yesteryear, but a multiplicity of enterprises fostered by the
energy of a thriving population. And how do we get a thriving population?
Provide plentiful housing and a high-quality education system within a relatively
small geographic area, light the touch-paper, stand back and watch it take off.
Next
Christmas send me not your images of logs burning ineffectually in the hearths
of draughty old houses. A high-rise condo topped with tinsel will do it for me.
