4 CITIES ARE THE REALM OF CITIZENS, OR THE AMERICAN CITY IS MADE OF STREETS, PARKING LOTS, RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS, AND PARKS, AND THE CITY IS GREATLY OCCUPIED BY CARS, BUSES, TRUCKS, AND SIGNAGE. How do humans and their pets fit in this environment? Where does the city start and where does it end? City centers traditionally cater to pedestrians, workers and visitors while the periphery is designed for housing, cars, shopping centers, and industry. In past decades investments migrated outward, but more recently they are returning to downtown corridors. Who controls these patterns and who stands to benefit most? Democratic processes and economic patterns are giving elements of answers, but these are often reactive and predicated on immediate needs and speculative schemes. We all use and experience urban life in different ways and on different rhythms. To start with, we cannot dissociate our physical
ARE THEY? activities from our relationship with urban commodities like cars and all goods found in local stores. More importantly, we also often live in very vibrant social media communities. Living in urban centers demands adaptive skills. Since the formation of the first known city in 6,500 BCE, the city has remained full of demands, expectations, and emotive tensions. Citizens know how to adapt, but what do they dream about? What do they really need, not just today, but over the course of their lives? Cities have proven to be more ecologically and economically sustainable than most other human environments, but that has happened at a human cost that cannot be sustained.
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