Writing / Tamer Tageldin
The recipe begins with giving people a reason to take the next few steps.
The recipe begins with giving people a reason to take the next few steps.
Keep frontages small and entrances frequent. Let cafés, shops, workplaces and homes share a neighbourhood. Bring activity close to the street, where a doorway, a menu or a glimpse inside can catch someone’s attention.
Allow buildings to differ in height, material and expression. Make walking comfortable, with shade, accessible surfaces and places to pause. Leave room for businesses and buildings to change over time.
A grid can hold all of this. Strict separation of uses makes the mixture harder to achieve.
The difficult ingredient is patience. We can plan the streets, plots and permissions. The layers arrive through occupation, adaptation and everyday decisions.
we can create the conditions for this richness. Then give people room to contribute.
