Seeing the Better City by Charles R. Wolfe

Author:Charles R. Wolfe
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Island Press
Published: 2016-03-18T04:00:00+00:00

CASSIS, FRANCE: “FINESSE OF THE AVENUE”

In another street-related urban diary, I focused more on how a weekend street closure has added ambience to a central, more commercial neighborhood in Cassis, France, because the underlying form from a simpler time emerges when the street becomes pedestrian-only. This is because the relationship between multiple urban elements is more apparent without the presence of the automobile.

In an important example of the potential use of a compiled urban diary from afar, the “finesse of the avenue” derived not just from the closure itself, but from the contextual tale that emerged while traversing the particular road surface. To me, the Avenue Victor Hugo in Cassis told the stories surrounding its pavement and curbs. People walked the avenue between a small square-with-fountain and the quay, while the trees, awnings, and overhangs together cast the shadows that passers-by always need. The shiny, at-angle paving stones reflected the light in ways seldom seen on a street. And ambient noise seemed pleasant and appropriate, muffled perhaps by the envelope of finesse just described.

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