tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2277746591174465580.post1644544824425088087..comments2023-06-26T15:29:14.498+01:00Comments on Liberator’s blog: How William Morris poisoned BritainGareth Eppshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18198368251505541728noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2277746591174465580.post-58226866415590998582013-04-12T07:53:30.868+01:002013-04-12T07:53:30.868+01:00You are only telling half the story. In Britain, ...You are only telling half the story. In Britain, despite our love of suburbia, there has also been consciousness of the need to avoid urban sprawl and preserve our countryside which has found effective expression in the planning laws and the CPRE.<br /><br />Compare, for example, population density figures for London, L.A., NY, and Paris: http://www.demographia.com/db-lonlanypar.htm. While London has significantly less dense population than Paris, it is still denser than NY, but nobody thinks of New Yorkers as suburbanites, and I don't think you can blame the Arts and Crafts Movement for US urban sprawl.<br /><br />The current planning reforms threaten to exacerbate urban sprawl in the UK, and William Morris is definitely innocent this time round!<br /><br />Jane LeaperJanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11717309322729778838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2277746591174465580.post-77080567609266488612013-04-12T01:29:41.196+01:002013-04-12T01:29:41.196+01:00I didn't say that you were arguing that weathe...I didn't say that you were arguing that weather is the only reason. I said that the weather does not explain the difference.<br /><br />I agree that public space is a problem. We do parks well in Britain but not squares. Naming them a 'plaza' makes them only more dismal and windswept. There seems to be an unfailing ability in Britain to make things tawdry (compare, for example, a British 'food court' with an American one), but I can't figure out why this is.<br /><br />The comedian Frankie Boyle once remarked how the smoking ban had encouraged pubs in Glasgow to provide pavement seating: "It looks like Paris after a nuclear holocaust".Simon Titleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04121239127665359267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2277746591174465580.post-89665145757427763792013-04-12T00:49:17.481+01:002013-04-12T00:49:17.481+01:00Of course, Simon, our weather is not the only reas...Of course, Simon, our weather is not the only reason. I did say that public space is dismal. Why is public space so wretched? We could blame it on public finance or we could curse public uninterest, or more likely it is a combination of factors that we have not discussed.<br /><br />But if we want citizens to live in smaller spaces, we have to deliver a better public space first.Phil Beesleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18442987962398498812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2277746591174465580.post-12484457623812552572013-04-12T00:27:59.929+01:002013-04-12T00:27:59.929+01:00Climate does not explain the difference between Br...Climate does not explain the difference between Britain and the continent. Belgium, the Netherlands and northern France share a similar climate to England's, yet have a markedly continental urban culture.Simon Titleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04121239127665359267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2277746591174465580.post-24173277094767435722013-04-11T21:08:51.138+01:002013-04-11T21:08:51.138+01:00If we look at European urban areas, public space i...If we look at European urban areas, public space is more interesting than in the UK. The hours kept by coffee houses and shops are different. Park and recreation space is often better maintained and less vandalised (the relationship there may be more complex than first appears).<br /><br />And we live on a bunch of wet, windy islands where natural inclination is to stay indoors a lot of the time. When we do feel suited to spend the evening outdoors, we seek our own garden rather than a public park or town streets, because public space is so dismal.<br /><br />Regarding travel distance to work, this is also a consequence of job specialisation, for the middle classes at least. <br /><br />Phil Beesleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18442987962398498812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2277746591174465580.post-6650920916994542732013-04-11T15:40:44.757+01:002013-04-11T15:40:44.757+01:00Fair point, Dan. And there's another similarit...Fair point, Dan. And there's another similarity between Scottish and continental cities. Whereas in England, the sink estates are in the inner cities, in Glasgow and Edinburgh they are on the periphery, like in French cities.Simon Titleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04121239127665359267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2277746591174465580.post-50758358263642102292013-04-11T13:11:29.946+01:002013-04-11T13:11:29.946+01:00While agreeing wholeheartedly with your view of Mo...While agreeing wholeheartedly with your view of Morris's anti urbanism you should be a bit more careful about the use of the word British.<br /><br />In Scotland's cities well over half (74% in Glasgow and 67% in Edinburgh) the population live in flats - just like continental Europe.Dan Falchikovhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10202541499332901648noreply@blogger.com