Uploaded on 2016-02-28 by KristiyanPeev

However that does not mean there are no unifying features for cities or that one city can't learn from another. Indeed as Daniel J Monti notes 'what happens in one city is relevant to what happens in other cities, and what makes any city worth fighting for is precisely what makes them livable for who happens to be there' (Monti 2012:xv 3). For the most important criteria are Education, Environment, Culture, Housing, Transportation Aberystwyth is generally a very livable town ( (add economy for Detroit and Culture for New Orleans) Firstly what I love about Aberystwyth is its sense of community. It has managed the transition throughout the decades by preserving some aspects of its rural past such as sharing, mutual support and localism During the recent years of natural disasters the town has frequently pulled together in self-help groups of volunteers along with the municipal and government authorities in order to assist the affected for example. One example is the 2014 storms (pictures below 1 and 2). It and the region around it also has a vibrant third sector (voluntary organisations, social enterprises etc... ) .This includes many conservation groups, protecting and preserving the green spaces around and within the town as well people helping the elderly, organizing community events, taking care of public infrastructure, community gardens etc... Part of it is due to austerity in the neo-liberal age, but it still shows that people can have a vibrant community living on its wits. There are many local and independent businesses and the town has grocery stores supplying local foods has a great farmers market in the Best in UK (2014), greasy spoons, independent coffee shops and creative micro businesses. In terms of built environment the town is generally happy with its Victorian/Edwardian architecture and house terraces. Many new buildings have been built to fit this style, but there has been a spate of not very considerate speculative property development. Housing prices are low for the UK but still unsustainably high, due to growing inequality in the country and town in particular. Furthermore, this is also partly because of the fact of non-compliance with the Welsh Governments guidelins by many town-planners who issued 12% of all new developments for unsustainable practices. I would try to incentivise more fair and social housing initiatives, ideally mixed use ones. Also with the help of the community I would like to utilise previously unused spaces, to provide for undeserved parts of the community, such as children and social housing residents. As George Monbiot notes 'children are being airbrushed from our towns and cities. No wonder they stay inside'http://www.monbiot.com/2015/01/06/the-child-inside/ . There now many single use green spaces (e.g for flood protection) which can be converted into mixed use ones providing recreation and play spaces. There also many back alleys which remain under utilised and not great to look at (picture 10). Other temperate cities have managed to convert backlanes into vibrant community spaces, they could be commercial, recreational a mix, gardens etc... I believe this would be a great exercise in placemaking (http://www.sustainablecitiescollective.com/city-life/165271/reimagined-laneway) livable and offering to a vote whether to support multinational businesses as has happend tax cuts subsidies up until now (often unaccountable) or more local economic initiatives. It has a robust public transport system and very affordable taxis, however more needs to be done in terms of ensuring walk-ability and access for bicycles. The Welsh government scheme 'Bicycle to work' needs to be taken up by more employers as well as more lanes built in town and the neighboring areas ( e.g Bow Street and Penryncoch ) providing employment and residence, pavements need to be renovated and expanded, traffic in many school routes needs to be slowed down. In conclusion, I would like to institute a more participatory system of governance in Aberystwyth, an urban commons Culturally speaking Aberystwyth is very rich for such a small town (population of 30,000). it has the greatest amount of books per head of the country. This is due to the fact that the National Library of Wales is there, however there are also independent book shops and second hand book shops that are richer than many in the big cities in the UK. It is partly for historical reasons as Jonathan Rose notes 'the libraries of Welsh miners were one of the greatest networks of cultural institutions anywhere in the world ( Rose 237: 2010). Indeed it was them along with their wives and other working people (maids, fisher folk etc...) who through their hard earned savings established the University of Aberystwyth, the first Welsh University. There is also the art centre, which is a great cultural hub which has 16 art start ups along with it. Famous artists and performers also visit the art centre. There are many festivals near the town, one of the most famous is Fire in the Mountain, a counter-cultural arts and crafts and music festival. All in all I would like to include more participatory place making process with the community. This would help avoid problems such as the recent rejection of a wind mill farm due to the fact the local people were not included in the consulation process. Also it could be used to make imaginative fun and inviting public spaces. Finally I would like to stimulate the social economy of the place and start a modest community wealth building ( the practice of instituting the community and not foot-loose big businisses as community developers )fund . I would like to move to New Orleans (culture, housing, climate, economy- in the sense of how innovative is in many aspects, education) or Detroit (housing, economy- lots of interesting bottom up social economy initiative, culture and infrastructure. Finally Lewis Mumford notes 'As a matter of fact, it is our utopias that make the world tolerable to us: the cities and mansions that people dream of are those in which they finally live.' enter image description here Cambrian News People Power Storms 2014 ibid Ceredigion Museum a thorough and approachable collection place to study the local history Public Playground next to the Old College Campus of the University Great Public Square New Development Housing Ibid ibid One of the many back lanes Bibliography: 1.http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/25/10-things-a-perfect-city-needs 2.http://www.citylab.com/politics/2013/11/livability-trap/7642/ 3.Monti, D (2012) Preface in Community Livability by Fritz Wagner and Roger Caves 4. The Social Economy in Wales )http://www.wcva.org.uk/media/1867045/wcva_social_enterprise_report_2.pdf 5. Monbiot, G (2015) 'The Child inside' http://www.monbiot.com/2015/01/06/the-child-inside/ 6. Rose, J (2010) 'The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes' Yale. London ![People Power Winter Storm 2014][1] ![People Power Storm 2014 picture Cambrian News][2] ![Ceredigion Museum][3] ![Council playground near Castle Ruins][4] ![One of the beautiful town squares][5] ![New Development][6] ![New Development][7] ![Slow Children Playing][8] ![One of the numerous back alleys with great potential][9] [1]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14566862304230107.jpg [2]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/1456686262336879.jpg [3]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14566864073067731.jpg [4]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14566864614158592.jpg [5]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14566865296994756.jpg [6]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14566865918850732.jpg [7]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14566866231468632.jpg [8]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14566866648333738.jpg [9]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14566867288166609.jpg