Libra
05-06-2016, 02:35 AM
(Edited 05-06-2016, 02:42 AM by Insertnamehere.)
How would you describe where you live? What is the general vibe of you area? Is it rural, suburban, or urban? Whats the pace of life?
It's a city alright. Very small, in comparison to what American cities can grow to. Constrained by geography it's the one place that never could and will never follow an orderly planification with straight streets and clear spaces. An amphitheatre of hills sorrounding a ridiculously slim bit of flat land in front on a harbor. People built where they could how they could. Vibe? That on an old-ish decaying city. The pace is normal for a city, tending to slow. Slower than most other places that are not rural or small towns.
What do buildings look like there? Are they old, new, a mix? Are areas mixed use, or restricted to one type of thing (residential, commercial, industrial)?
A bit of everything to be honest. There are modern buildings, XIX century Victorian is still pervasive in the "neat" places, Catholic churches (Spaniard and French), a Lutheran Church with a German School right next to it, etc, etc, etc, all of that also going back to XIX century styles, except for the Spaniard bits, those are older. Other than that a myriad of different houses that don't usually follow a repeated pattern....you know...just houses and they can be from yesterday or from 50 years ago, who knows. Industry is almost non-existent, it is mainly a residential and commercial city based mostly on port activity and then banking, commerce, tourism and education in all its levels (particularly concentrating most of the major colleges/universities in the area), along with housing a naval base. There's a coffee/tea products processing plant, a floating dry dock and a small scale shipyard.
How do people act there? Are people friendly? Is there tension? Why is there tension? How diverse is your area? What is the street life like, or is there a street culture at all? On the streets do you mostly encounter people you know or strangers?
Mostly in a friendly and relaxed manner. If you go to the ghettos, that are usually in the upper parts, things can go bad if you meet the wrong kind of folks concentrating there, but there's the poor folks who are nice are still around. It used to be better in this respect, poverty didn't imply criminal activity. Nowadays that is growing to be the rule in those parts.
No tension, except when someone is protesting against something, usually on labor day or on September 11 (we all know why). Soccer matches can be tricky when our local "hooligans" get out of hand. The worst thing of the sort I've ever seen happen was last year. But these things are far and apart from each other.
Oh there is a street "culture" yes, the "culture" of graffiti-ing everything in sight and drinking and partying cause apparently you don't have anything better to do. Let it be said here that I am proudly NOT a "street" person. There's also better things of course, street performers, small scale carnivals, music events blah blah blah.
Would you describe your area as successful? What makes a neighborhood or community successful? Does your area seem to be in a place of growth, decline, or neither? How different is your area in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening, and at night?
Successful? Hardly. It's barely able to retain its once great status even on a moderate level, it's constantly underfunded, always facing some kind of shit, earthquake, storm, massive fire, etc wrecking havoc. I see decline or at least stagnation. As different as any city when the sun is or isn't there.
What are the best parts of your area? What makes it unique, desirable? What are the biggest challenges you see facing your area or community?
My city is quite unique within the country, visually and historically. Late XIX century European inmigration shaped the local architecture you see today and its geography forces the unusual building process and street path, both facts leading to the unique visual aspect of the city with respect to the rest of the country. It's different than anything that colonial Spaniards or modernism and locations in valleys/river basins have left in other cities.
This historical and unusual aspect makes it worth to visit and know, along with the educational offer, which attracts a good number of the regional students (region = first-level administrative division in the country).
The challenges are many. The municipal administration is always lacking in resources and the chances for producing them are limited. Very little can be done in construction, large scale commerce and expanding the port sector because of the geography constraints and because a good part of the city is a UNESCO heritage site, so it's really hard to just modify and build anew. It also has height limitations for buildings due to a "view to the harbor" legislation. All of this and lack of space, means that both population (numbers and renewing) and economical activity remain stagnant without any easy way to overcome it.
Whats your primary mode of transportation around your area? How much time do you spend on the street? Do you know your neighbors? Are there businesses in your area that you shop at? Do you feel connected to your community? Do you feel safe walking in your area? Why or why not?
Bus and train, only as long as I have to (I spend more time out in the summer while I'm on leave), yes I know most of my immediate neighbours, yes I have pretty much everything I need within reach, no I don't feel connected to anything and I don't want to be either, yes I feel safe (then again I know where and when not to walk through), why? nothing has ever happened to me, not even a small bit of pick-pocketing. Of course, I'm aware of my sorroundings and wise enough to not walk on this or that place at this or that time.
There, only those...it's already taken me forever to reply.
It's a city alright. Very small, in comparison to what American cities can grow to. Constrained by geography it's the one place that never could and will never follow an orderly planification with straight streets and clear spaces. An amphitheatre of hills sorrounding a ridiculously slim bit of flat land in front on a harbor. People built where they could how they could. Vibe? That on an old-ish decaying city. The pace is normal for a city, tending to slow. Slower than most other places that are not rural or small towns.
What do buildings look like there? Are they old, new, a mix? Are areas mixed use, or restricted to one type of thing (residential, commercial, industrial)?
A bit of everything to be honest. There are modern buildings, XIX century Victorian is still pervasive in the "neat" places, Catholic churches (Spaniard and French), a Lutheran Church with a German School right next to it, etc, etc, etc, all of that also going back to XIX century styles, except for the Spaniard bits, those are older. Other than that a myriad of different houses that don't usually follow a repeated pattern....you know...just houses and they can be from yesterday or from 50 years ago, who knows. Industry is almost non-existent, it is mainly a residential and commercial city based mostly on port activity and then banking, commerce, tourism and education in all its levels (particularly concentrating most of the major colleges/universities in the area), along with housing a naval base. There's a coffee/tea products processing plant, a floating dry dock and a small scale shipyard.
How do people act there? Are people friendly? Is there tension? Why is there tension? How diverse is your area? What is the street life like, or is there a street culture at all? On the streets do you mostly encounter people you know or strangers?
Mostly in a friendly and relaxed manner. If you go to the ghettos, that are usually in the upper parts, things can go bad if you meet the wrong kind of folks concentrating there, but there's the poor folks who are nice are still around. It used to be better in this respect, poverty didn't imply criminal activity. Nowadays that is growing to be the rule in those parts.
No tension, except when someone is protesting against something, usually on labor day or on September 11 (we all know why). Soccer matches can be tricky when our local "hooligans" get out of hand. The worst thing of the sort I've ever seen happen was last year. But these things are far and apart from each other.
Oh there is a street "culture" yes, the "culture" of graffiti-ing everything in sight and drinking and partying cause apparently you don't have anything better to do. Let it be said here that I am proudly NOT a "street" person. There's also better things of course, street performers, small scale carnivals, music events blah blah blah.
Would you describe your area as successful? What makes a neighborhood or community successful? Does your area seem to be in a place of growth, decline, or neither? How different is your area in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening, and at night?
Successful? Hardly. It's barely able to retain its once great status even on a moderate level, it's constantly underfunded, always facing some kind of shit, earthquake, storm, massive fire, etc wrecking havoc. I see decline or at least stagnation. As different as any city when the sun is or isn't there.
What are the best parts of your area? What makes it unique, desirable? What are the biggest challenges you see facing your area or community?
My city is quite unique within the country, visually and historically. Late XIX century European inmigration shaped the local architecture you see today and its geography forces the unusual building process and street path, both facts leading to the unique visual aspect of the city with respect to the rest of the country. It's different than anything that colonial Spaniards or modernism and locations in valleys/river basins have left in other cities.
This historical and unusual aspect makes it worth to visit and know, along with the educational offer, which attracts a good number of the regional students (region = first-level administrative division in the country).
The challenges are many. The municipal administration is always lacking in resources and the chances for producing them are limited. Very little can be done in construction, large scale commerce and expanding the port sector because of the geography constraints and because a good part of the city is a UNESCO heritage site, so it's really hard to just modify and build anew. It also has height limitations for buildings due to a "view to the harbor" legislation. All of this and lack of space, means that both population (numbers and renewing) and economical activity remain stagnant without any easy way to overcome it.
Whats your primary mode of transportation around your area? How much time do you spend on the street? Do you know your neighbors? Are there businesses in your area that you shop at? Do you feel connected to your community? Do you feel safe walking in your area? Why or why not?
Bus and train, only as long as I have to (I spend more time out in the summer while I'm on leave), yes I know most of my immediate neighbours, yes I have pretty much everything I need within reach, no I don't feel connected to anything and I don't want to be either, yes I feel safe (then again I know where and when not to walk through), why? nothing has ever happened to me, not even a small bit of pick-pocketing. Of course, I'm aware of my sorroundings and wise enough to not walk on this or that place at this or that time.
There, only those...it's already taken me forever to reply.
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