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Cities - 2004

Cities offer hteir daily dose of energy, scents, taste and people flow.

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JurgenJanssens
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130 views1 page

Cities - 2004

Cities offer hteir daily dose of energy, scents, taste and people flow.

Uploaded by

JurgenJanssens
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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JUST FEEL IT…

Fog city, network city, metropole, megalopole, gettopole.


In the jungle or a jungle itself,
Garden city, layered city, grid based, history based.
The men’s health oyster bar, the Cité Administrative…

Cities exist in so many shapes, types, forms. Yes, sometimes even with their particular smell: smoggy,
salty, spicy…Cities are such an interesting thing to look at, to analyse, to feel.
Its diversity is the base of a vibrant subjacent energy. Take the cultural mix. Of course, it is a feeding
ground for frictions, discussions or problems. We love everyone, but changing something about
mental, behavioural or physical ghettos? Hmm, right…
Nevertheless, isn’t it great to walk around and smell some special food, while a few steps away
people leave the Asian supermarket with gigantic 50lbs bags of rice, drop it in their car and go for
some Spanish tapas. Italians try to get you in their restaurant with a smile and a hug… which you
can’t get escape till you are sitting down. Tourists are taking the usual pictures, while locals dip their
cookie in their coffee, smiling and thinking about how good that picture would have looked if taken
from an insider angle.
In the morning, work traffic changes everything. At 7am: ‘Truguna, makoidees, trigordum setus dee’.
The motion formula from Disney’s ‘Bed knops and broom sticks’ seems to work! Everything and
everyone starts to wake up. Doors open and close, lights switch on and off. People get in by train,
others listen to the radio in the traffic jams. Some rush in and out the underground: free morning
newspaper in the hand, nicely dressed to hide their lack of sleep, checking if colleagues are around,
before buying a fresh croissant. ‘I will gym that away. Once…’
The morning rush. The flow of traffic, time and tension.
Shop owners seem to be immune for it. ‘Open: 10-18’ seems to be the key. Actually, it means: ‘You
are welcome to buy our stuff, but only if you leave the morning stress out of our shop’. That’s why
they usually are open much longer during the weekends. People had time to relax, sleep and maybe,
even had breakfast. Mental batteries ok, body feels fine, comfy clothes: ready to join the group.
Abracadabra, the anonymous stream of working people becomes a colourful and smiling crowd, with
groceries, clothes or window shopping being the common denominator.
Late at night, movie watchers, beer drinkers, salsa dancers and late night fry fans mix and mingle.
Looking around, having a drink or just walking around. Carpe diem. Carpe noctem. Carpe at eternam.
Cities are more, of course. Much more. Strikes versus music parades, political games versus
community happenings, pollution versus a variety of parks, renovation versus a rich history…
All of it comes together in schools and sports clubs, in the mind of the people and the discussion in
the bars, in the little things of daily life… Little things like walking around and smiling about the good,
the bad and the typical sides of a city. About the magic and the maktub. Little things like sitting down
on top of a building, for a sandwich, a drink or a chat. Enjoying cityscapes, a view over history and
activity, moving people, twinkling lights and, even when it’s quiet, power and a relentless energy.

Mmmm… I lllllllllllove cities.

Jürgen Janssens | © 2004 [email protected]

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