After a weekend trip to Venice I have a profound new respect for a city without the infectious disease called automobiles. Like the rest of us, I have lived in cities overpopulated with cars my entire life. Venice however, doesn’t have a single one. Why, you may ask? The boats of course. While the boats of Venice serve the same purpose as any car, truck, or van, the slow hum or lazy paddle of a Venice watercraft sets the mind at ease. Rarely seen is the loud hustle and bustle that is such commonplace in Rome and cities like it worldwide, and I didn’t miss it a bit. All too often we accept the overwhelming affects of cars in our lives as an acceptable cost for convenience. What I experienced in Venice makes me question that acceptance.
Because the city of Venice doesn’t have the overly convenienced design for auto mobility, the citizens have been forced to rely on alternate methods of transportation. While the boat plays a small part in that solution, pedestrian friendly street design offers a better one. The streets are perfectly suited to leisurely go about one’s business without vying for dominance with cars. That leisure is a rare commodity in today’s world, and whose value is hard to put a price on. Although if there were a price on it, I feel that Venice would lose its illustrious allure, and that luster is what gives Venice its unmatchable uniqueness.
Because the city of Venice doesn’t have the overly convenienced design for auto mobility, the citizens have been forced to rely on alternate methods of transportation. While the boat plays a small part in that solution, pedestrian friendly street design offers a better one. The streets are perfectly suited to leisurely go about one’s business without vying for dominance with cars. That leisure is a rare commodity in today’s world, and whose value is hard to put a price on. Although if there were a price on it, I feel that Venice would lose its illustrious allure, and that luster is what gives Venice its unmatchable uniqueness.
No comments:
Post a Comment