Uploaded on 2015-06-10 by Julia_ub

I have picked up cities that I know well as we need to know details when pondering about living somewhere. I could have considered other cities that I have visited as a simple tourist however, I don’t dare to do so because I actually don’t know how real life is in them. 1. Amsterdam 2. Berlin 3. Groningen 4. Barcelona 5. Sevilla *Step 2. Describe five characteristics that make a city liveable.* First of all, please consider that the list I am going to present is completely tailored to myself and under my own requirements. As an extremely lucky citizen of the 1st world, my needs have nothing to do with other people, so don’t feel offended if you consider these needs trivial or superficial. **My primary needs such as food/energy/water supplies and security are completely covered**. **Pollution is neither very intense** in the cities I have lived, that is why I don’t consider it in my list as I’ve never been seriously affected by it. Said that, my list is the following: **1. Walkability and cycling**, connectivity of the city, street (and road) crossings, state of side walks, bike paths. These are the means I always choose when it’s about enjoying the city. I value how easy is arrive from point A to point B on foot or by bike and if that path in enjoyable and relaxed. Out of danger (cars) and with no so many traffic lights that interrup your walk and make your ride longer. I am concerned about this feature in a daily basis. **2. Contact** (or ease to contact) **with nature** / recreational green areas I love running and disconnect time to time from the city. I feel I need access to nature when running long distances for instance, that’s why I also enjoy living in not a huge city where is more difficult to “escape”. **Big parks are also valuable or coast and river margins**. I “make use” of this feature twice or three times a week as I don’t have time every day to do sport or be relaxed with friends. **3. Local food markets availability** I love buying local and seasonal products including smelling and touching them, so no surprise I am really into local street markets. I appreciate a city in which you have several options to make your local groceries. Locations in which they are, open hours and days per week that are open. **4. Liveability** – Under this criteria I’d include: - Animation offer such as **concerts, cultural events**, innovative new proposals for the neighbourhood… - **Open hours and days of supermarkets** and stores or service shops (as hairdressers, dry cleaners…), restaurants! and definetively things that make life more easy. **5. Public transport.** As I have mentioned in criteria 1 I prefer walking or cycling but I highly appreciate when a transport net is well connected and effective. I value waiting times, frequency and punctuality. I also value the ease of switching from one mean of transport to another (bus and train). *Step 3: Describe the status of your own city in terms of the five characteristics that you listed above. Propose how your city should/could be transformed in relation to these characteristics in order to be more sustainable.* Luckily I have been living in many cities troughout my life and currently I am living in **Groningen**. Although I miss my home country time to time (Spain) I am really happy here, discovering a completely different way of life in some aspects. Assesing Groningen following my criteria has given me the next results: **1. Walkability/cycling** Groningen is the most enjoyable city (I’d say in the world) to cycle!!! Completely flat, priority over cars, bike paths every where…90% of crosses with railways and canals are made at same street level thus walkability and cycling are guaranteed! It is a medium size city, the ratio I cover is at most 5-7 km that means 20 min (max) cycle from one extreme to another. Cars are not forbbiden in the city center but a quite complex circulatory system keeps thema way from it. I’d like to share a video with you =) https://vimeo.com/129365703 **2. Access (contact) with nature** As I depicted before, Groningen it is a medium city thus escape from it is quite easy. I love running above the dykes which go out of the city. Countryside is reachable in at max 5 km from the center. It has two huge green parks with lakes, perfect for barbacues and for breathing fresh air. Moreover, there is a massive lake in the south where enjoy sailing! Just love it. ![enter image description here][1] 3. Local food markets availability **There is a local market** with several stalls **twice per week** (Tuesday and Saturday) that gives life to the city, however the opening hours are from 10:00 to 16:00 that makes it unreachable on Tuesdays for people who work like me until 18:00 (standard time). That reduces your chances to only be able to buy in it on Saturdays. If you travel or have other plans in the morning makes impossible to get your food that week. Most of the people living in the surroandings of Groningen are farmers who and harvest their own vegetables. I would explode more this feature as mostly they also have fresh eggs, milk…Most of the times they don’t even know what to do with this food so they end up offering it along some tracks where you can go and pick what you want before it becomes spoiled. **I would propose** to **organize alternative markets** (close to these areas where the farmers live) offering more day options and offering Groningers the chance of getting local/seasonal/fresh food. 4. Liveavility As a medium size city as it is Groningen, cultural events or shopping hours are limited. I don’t think **it is only due its size but also to the average age**. It is completely a **university city**, plenty of students, so despite the musical offer (such as concerts) and other big partys is quite complete I missed the lack of other types of events which are offered in bigger cities such as Amsterdam or Berlin. Opening hours are also quite limited, only until 18:00, again, they are unreachable for working people. However, they decided to open shops as well on Sundays (from 12:00 to 17:00) since last Christmas that extend my options and makes the more alive! Same with **restaurants**…which only offer dinner maximum until 21:00 (that is even an exception!). I think this has more to do with the country itself and its routines or lifestyle, but coming from where I come (Spain) I’d love to have lunch/dinner at more unpredictable times! 5. Public transport I use public trasnport to go to work every day (20 km far) and buses works perfectly. The frequency and punctuality is optimal. There are more problems with trains as an unique line connects the North of The Netherlands with the high populated west and south, so every time there is a problem or a reparation needs to be done (and occur very often!) the service stops. Anyway, the alwasy provide alternative options such as buses that connects with the next big city and then you can easily continue your journey with the train. **Final evaluation:** as any other city in the world Groningen has its strong and weak points, however, following my criteria it is a highly recommended city! Yet eventually I’d love to move to Amsterdam! As I consider it gathers the best points of Groningen with those ones from a bigger city. I.d love going back to Spain some day, but I am afraid that my lifestyle may have changed so much since I left that could be difficult to fit in it again. [1]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14339352442115849.png