You've got me reading Sitte. So many of his arguments remind me of Jane Jacobs and Jeff Speck -- and even James C. Scott in his Seeing Like a State. I have the sense that his views on irregularities and what makes pleasing public spaces were ahead of his time, but I don't know enough to say so.
Beyond his arguments, Sitte's description of and commentary on specific spaces makes for great reading. I have had my composition students read and write ekphrases, and Sitte would provide great "mentor text" were I to do it again. Some of these passages remind me a bit of the poet Mark Strand's little book on Hopper paintings. Here's Strand's entry for Hopper's "Early Sunday Morning": "We look across the street to a two-story brick building that goes from one end of the canvas to the other. A strip of blue sky stretches above it, stopped on the right side by a square that suggests a tall building. It is early Sunday morning. The shadows cast are long. The street is empty. The powerful horizontal thrust of curb, first- and second-story divider, and rooftop makes us feel that the street and building extend well beyond the building’s purview. How far is not important, because as viewers we locate ourselves at the approximate center of the painting, somewhere between the fire hydrant and the barber pole. We can be pretty sure that if the painting were spread out it would offer only a repetition of the features we are already familiar with. There is no actual or implied progression in the shaded or open windows, none in the doorways and storefronts. Here, as in other Hoppers, the city is idealized. The people are asleep. There is no traffic. A dreamy collaboration of stillness and quiet makes it seem that some magical moment is being extended, and that we are its privileged witnesses."
Excellent! Sitte's metaphor of public spaces as outdoor rooms strikes me as something that aligns well with your interest in the creation of spontaneous communities in shared space. I also found his work to be a bit like poetry, in the sense that his language was so compact and susceptible to iterative close readings. Likewise, his site plans were simple, and (mostly) came from real-world examples, yet his reduction of well-chosen spaces to their essential spatial elements was brilliant and (I think) original.
Admittedly, I am partial to Sitte's core arguments. That said, I remember having a sense that he may have been a bit harsh with his contemporaries, who were wrestling with the need to build during a time of unprecedented growth. I think many neighborhoods from his time have aged well, despite violating many of his deeply conservative axioms. I would be interested in your thoughts about Sitte once you've had a chance to process. Hope you enjoy.
You've got me reading Sitte. So many of his arguments remind me of Jane Jacobs and Jeff Speck -- and even James C. Scott in his Seeing Like a State. I have the sense that his views on irregularities and what makes pleasing public spaces were ahead of his time, but I don't know enough to say so.
Beyond his arguments, Sitte's description of and commentary on specific spaces makes for great reading. I have had my composition students read and write ekphrases, and Sitte would provide great "mentor text" were I to do it again. Some of these passages remind me a bit of the poet Mark Strand's little book on Hopper paintings. Here's Strand's entry for Hopper's "Early Sunday Morning": "We look across the street to a two-story brick building that goes from one end of the canvas to the other. A strip of blue sky stretches above it, stopped on the right side by a square that suggests a tall building. It is early Sunday morning. The shadows cast are long. The street is empty. The powerful horizontal thrust of curb, first- and second-story divider, and rooftop makes us feel that the street and building extend well beyond the building’s purview. How far is not important, because as viewers we locate ourselves at the approximate center of the painting, somewhere between the fire hydrant and the barber pole. We can be pretty sure that if the painting were spread out it would offer only a repetition of the features we are already familiar with. There is no actual or implied progression in the shaded or open windows, none in the doorways and storefronts. Here, as in other Hoppers, the city is idealized. The people are asleep. There is no traffic. A dreamy collaboration of stillness and quiet makes it seem that some magical moment is being extended, and that we are its privileged witnesses."
Excellent! Sitte's metaphor of public spaces as outdoor rooms strikes me as something that aligns well with your interest in the creation of spontaneous communities in shared space. I also found his work to be a bit like poetry, in the sense that his language was so compact and susceptible to iterative close readings. Likewise, his site plans were simple, and (mostly) came from real-world examples, yet his reduction of well-chosen spaces to their essential spatial elements was brilliant and (I think) original.
Admittedly, I am partial to Sitte's core arguments. That said, I remember having a sense that he may have been a bit harsh with his contemporaries, who were wrestling with the need to build during a time of unprecedented growth. I think many neighborhoods from his time have aged well, despite violating many of his deeply conservative axioms. I would be interested in your thoughts about Sitte once you've had a chance to process. Hope you enjoy.
Nice description of the Hopper scene.