A city built for feet
Today we left Morocco. In many ways I feel like I am leaving pieces of me behind, but carrying with me a new set of values and perspectives on life. It was an emotional moment, but I will not ramble on more about those, let’s move onwards to Spain—Andalusia, Spain.
Andalusia is the southern-most autonomous community of continental Spain. The area has been influenced by the Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans and heavily by their Islamic and Christian conquerors. It is sometimes referred to as Moorish-Spain which makes Andalusia the perfect transition from Morocco to European Spain. Flamenco dancing and bullfighting are thought to be Andalusian in origin.
While there we visited the cities of Sevilla and Granada and some of their neighboring towns. Now anyone with sustainability in mind who’s been to some Spanish city will tell you how great the transportation is. Within the city there is no real need for a car with the many city bikes available, the well-connected buses, light rail, metro and of course the fact that walking is so pleasant given that everything is within reasonable walking distance.
In fact, there’s something to be said about cities built for feet (as opposed to cars). Small cobblestone streets, lined with small locally owned shops; public spaces where no cars are allowed; shaded walkways; something about this design makes you want to walk or cycle and explore the city. Granada and Sevilla are two such cities. Granada is an old city, dating as far back as the 11th century, but today it is an old city with a modern flair. You can walk through its small cobblestone streets lined with small stores and people and find everything that you would need. Sevillians also walk everywhere, and if they tire, can jump onto their extensive metro or light rail trains.
I’ve thought of Phoenix often on this trip. And it came to mind quite a few times while walking around these two cities. Obviously these cities are products of their times, and Phoenix, having been developed in the time of the automobile, was designed to accommodate the new technology. As the years have gone by and we’ve began to understand the concept of sustainability, we’ve realized the importance of having walkable communities. And thankfully, there are several efforts going on in Phoenix, despite the challenges of the hot summer and the already installed infrastructure.
Phoenix can never be Andalusia, but it can surely re-design it’s communities with its people (and their feet) in mind.