Cities The Way They Ought To Be: New York City

New York City: what a place! There isn't a soul on this continent, probably the whole world that does not know of the legend of this city. Fortunate for me, my 4th Year field trip (a mandatory part of my program) took me to New York City! Yes, for a mere $650 CDN, I got to stay in a reasonable midtown Manhattan hotel within walking distance of pretty much all of Manhattan (at least for me), and transportation there. Unfortunately, that was a 12-hour bus ride each way, but hey, it's New York City, so it was worth it.

I have several impressions of New York, many of which are casual, and not necessarily fully formed theories. Here's what I noticed:

• New York City has is a very unique city to experience, on a day-to-day basis. Most people of my generation would not recognize it immediately as such, but it still seems to largely function on the traditional neighbourhood model as experienced by most pre-war North American cities. That is to say, main streets still play a significant role in neighbourhoods, not just as places to go to boutiques (there are neighbourhoods like this) but also as a place to take care of daily shopping needs and services. While property values are astronomical in New York City, it doesn't appear that it has necessarily translated into a frivolous form of gentrification, where boutiques and restaurants become the raison d'etre of a neighbourhood. One can still find butcher shops, delis, grocery stores and other such services in plentiful numbers.
• Where the heck are the malls? I truly enjoyed being able to go to a city and not see a single mall. Brilliant!
• Manhattan is not for the weak of heart. While it's not a stampede, it is very much a city on the go, and you can get swept up in that pace quite easily. However, there are obvious escapes from this, such as Central Park.
• Although there are some monstrously tall towers and glaring urban design errors that have been made over the years, New York City is a living testament to the fact that if you have a population committed to urbanism, these things matter little, whereas if your population does not care for urbanism, the best laid plans are for naught.

Manhattan, as seen from Williamsburg, Brooklyn.