Waterfront Cities of the World
A while back, I used to watch Waterfront Cities of the World each Saturday morning as I relaxed with a coffee after breakfast. I believe this show was originally made by TV5. In French, it is called Ports D’Attache. Each episode showcases a city located near a large body of water, be it sea or ocean. What’s great about this immersive show is that the host, Heidi Hollinger, focuses on the social aspects of the cities and the facets of life as seen by different inhabitants and from different perspectives. The effect is a virtual travel experience.
The best part about this experience is that Heidi looks at daily life more than at tourist traps. Take the last episode I watched, for example. The focus was on Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. I can honestly tell you that I could not say what the tourist destinations are. The only landmark I saw was the opera house. What I can, however, relate to you is quite a bit of information about how the city was planned, how people move around the city, and what kind of life the inhabitants enjoy. I could also tell you that North American cities could learn a thing or two from Northern Europe.
First of all, skyscrapers and giant high-rises are forbidden in the city’s center. There are only three giant buildings. This keeps the density of downtown very low, and automatically decongests morning and afternoon traffic. In addition, the city follows a “finger plan”. Imagine the palm of your hand, with each finger a different urban area extending from the center. Lines connect the extremities to the center, and each “finger” is also connected to the adjacent ones by roads or rail. This is in sharp contrast to the typical city planning around Canada, where downtown is a slew of high-rise office towers and the rest is largely residential. Wouldn’t it be better if the distribution of businesses and residential areas were more balanced? Everyone would have the opportunity to work closer to home, or at least to be spared from spending one hour or more each day stuck in traffic. Less traffic — less stress; less stress — happier people.
This is the whole point: Copenhagen is a city planned for people, not for cars. Many people bike, and the bike lanes are given priority over car lanes because a greater percentage of citizens own bikes than they do cars. Public transit also plays a role, with two cars of each train reserved for bike users. Now, I realize that few people would choose to ride their bikes here in Canada where in most cities winter could easily mean -20 degrees Celsius. Nevertheless, the mentality of putting people before vehicles is very much absent, at least in the cities I have visited or lived in. In Calgary’s downtown core, I have to wait about two minutes at each pedestrian crosswalk because priority is given to cars.
Another point brought up by Heidi was that Denmark always ranks near the top of the list of best places to live. Most residents are happy despite the fact that they are one of the highest taxed people in the world. The high tax allows the state to invest in the welfare of the people, so everyone’s standard of living is pretty good. Nobody is too worried because they know that even if something terrible happened at work, there is a safety net. Without an obsessive worry over the financial aspects of life, people have the time and energy to actually live their lives.
The importance of life and the human element is not only reflected in the city planning, but also in building architecture. Some buildings have self-sufficient features such as rain-water collection. Others have a circular design that brings inhabitants together as a community rather than isolating everyone in boxes. To me, these are all example of respect for the human element, a respect that is lacking in a surprising number of nations, both rich and poor.
Overall, I think many of the cities on Heidi’s show are wonderful and unique, but not all of them have lessons that can be generally applied. Some, like Lisbon, Cape Town and Venice, are too tied to their climate or historical development, and even if one wanted to copy them, it would be impossible. However, after watching the Copenhagen episode of Waterfront Cities of the World, I realize that even a great country like Canada can still learn from other places.
