[Zygomaticus]

Aren't 21 and 22 social gathering points?

It looks like one of my lego towns...

[Intrepid Homoludens]

American planners were ultimately morons (of varied degrees). One of their main problems was that they failed to really study the layouts of old European cities which, because there were no modern modes of transport (i.e. trains and cars), were shaped by the necessity of foot traffic. Current town news and gossip were spread in person, especially at the communal well, hence a physical central space for socializing. The local pubs and coffeehouses were within walking distance, more spaces for meetings. The town square facilitated major town events (fairs, circuses, holy celebrations), and the town market furthered socializing in person.

Suburban planners in America ignored this and focused their attention on vehicular accessibility, perhaps assuming that socialization and a sense of community could be made more convenient by driving to each other. What happened was the opposite: the feeling of isolation was severely increased as the fundamental design of the suburb turned people away from each other in search of their own little private spaces. There had been some attempts at improvement and re-establishing some sense of community in the past two decades, with new developments concentrating on a section of the 'towns' and turning them into 'old fashioned' small town spaces with a Starbuck's and other retail chains (not mom-n-pop stores, unfortunately) surrounding small parks, some with fountains, statues or belvederes. But the effect is laughably ironic - you still have to drive to them.

[Kingzjester]

Originally Posted by Intrepid Homoludens

I can stay a bit longer at a friend's place knowing that the bus never stops running; I can walk everywhere without feeling chained to a car. I was born in, grew up in, and lived of the city.

Originally Posted by Trep a little later

...and it's more than obvious the whole thing is designed for cars, not humans. Just like so much of the U.S.

Man, I lived in a capital of culture, politics, life, universe before I moved to a DC suburb... but that was ok because there was a really good public transport network... Galveston is also cityesque although it is wee, but San Antonio is so car-centric it really pisses me off - all the more since I don't like to depend on other people driving me around.

Oh and Wajush, that was cool...

I used to do cartoons for the community paper of one such neo-archaic community, there was one in Gaithersburg, MD. It really looked like a cool place, though somewhat strained. Most people who lived there, worked in DC.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Originally Posted by Kode

Aren't 21 and 22 social gathering points?

No, those are dog parks. See? Along with cars, animals are also placed above humans. Rover's damn toilet is far bigger than ours.