As I mentioned in my second posting (Personal Opinion) that one of the reasons of a high-rise not having a community feel is cultural difference and almost the similar thing was mentioned by Vanessa. Vanessa mentioned about her experience in Montreal that how there was community feel because there were people from different backgrounds.
When I mentioned the point of cultural difference I was thinking of Karachi, Pakistan. In Pakistan - Karachi is biggest metropolitan area and it has a lot of apartment complexes. And my personal experience from visiting family relatives living in those apartment complexes was very different from my experience of living in a Vancouver apartment complex. In Karachi the relatives knew all their neighbors i.e. those on the same level, one level above and one level below. Also they knew neighbors on the first floor, and some other living in different blocks of the same apartment complex.
I should explain first in Karachi one apartment complex comprises of few blocks (e.g. A, B, C ....) and usually the complexes have an open space in the middle where usually kids gather in the afternoon to play. And the place feels so lively because of kids playing (of course loud too :). Where as here in Vancouver the apartments do have nice open green space around them but it is an area where no one can have BBQ because either due to building codes or people just don't' know that they can have any out door activity, like BBQ etc.
Here in Vancouver the neighborhood for sure would have a public park for kids to play . But in my opinion for an apartment building to have community feel the interaction has to happen in close proximity where people live. So people feel comfortable in a group of unfamiliar people (initially) and can introduce by mentioning where exactly they live (as ice breaker). And even if some people were not aware of something happening where they live, if they were to leave/enter the building can see some activity and drop by or simply say "hello" to people which creates a bit familiarity among people.
In my opinion it is human nature that we get to know or get comfortable with people in a common space and when we are comfortable enough and know that the person will get along well with, then we invite them to our personal space. But apartment buildings fail to do so as there is no common space where groups can meet. Though some buildings do have common spaces where people can have parties but again it has to be booked for a specific events, so I guess the need is to be bit more creative and re-creat the common space for people to interact and socialize.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Response to Venessa's Comment
I read Venessa's comment left on my first posting, it seems to be very helpfull (thanks Venessa) I'll go to West End and check with the community centers to collect some information. And yes you are very true all the information that I managed to collect so far in terms of Vancouver Downtown from 70's or 80's are interviews or planning documents. And one thing I find interesting about the interviews from 84ish was that they were talking about traffice issues and densification of downtown in future which is the present. But haven't come across an interview as of yet where they mentioned about the community aspect of downtown.
Personal Opinion
I yet to have come across some source that I can use for my blog topic. So I thought I should add my personal opinion till I find some thing significant to put on blog as link or a source.
I'll start with what I think of neighborhood feeling in a high rise (micro level). I think the high rises do not have any feel of neighborhood, very few people would know their neighbors. The few people that know their neighbors would be those who are members of strata. There is no social activities that will bring people together.
One of the reasons is because people don't get to meet/talk to their neighbors in an environment where they get to know well enough. One reason would be probably the cultural difference, in western culture everyone is too polite not to interfere in someone elses' private life. This is a positive thing not to be in someone elses' space but at the same time it creates a very isolated/non lively environment. Where you leave/enter the high-rise by walking through the sterile halways - take elevator. Some people come across their neighboors in the elevator and they only say "Hello! How are you doing?" so just a very formal greeting.
I'll start with what I think of neighborhood feeling in a high rise (micro level). I think the high rises do not have any feel of neighborhood, very few people would know their neighbors. The few people that know their neighbors would be those who are members of strata. There is no social activities that will bring people together.
One of the reasons is because people don't get to meet/talk to their neighbors in an environment where they get to know well enough. One reason would be probably the cultural difference, in western culture everyone is too polite not to interfere in someone elses' private life. This is a positive thing not to be in someone elses' space but at the same time it creates a very isolated/non lively environment. Where you leave/enter the high-rise by walking through the sterile halways - take elevator. Some people come across their neighboors in the elevator and they only say "Hello! How are you doing?" so just a very formal greeting.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Vertical Neighborhood
The phenomenon of vertical neighborhoods i.e. one single high rise houses so many people that it is a neighborhood on its own. With the ever-increasing number of high-rises, Vancouver Downtown has become more densely populated than Manhattan. I would like to see what kind of relation neighbors have in Vancouver Downtown, as most of the time in a high-rise a lot of people do not know their neighbors and what kind of social dynamics does it creates at micro and macro level (Micro level – community feel of a single high-rise and Macro level – community feel of the neighborhood). This is very basic topic as of yet, since it can branch off into lots of directions, any suggestions are more than welcome. I also have to find out how and where can I find information related to my topic, if anyone has any idea of sources that will be helpful in my research please do let me know.
The phenomenon of vertical neighborhoods i.e. one single high rise houses so many people that it is a neighborhood on its own. With the ever-increasing number of high-rises, Vancouver Downtown has become more densely populated than Manhattan. I would like to see what kind of relation neighbors have in Vancouver Downtown, as most of the time in a high-rise a lot of people do not know their neighbors and what kind of social dynamics does it creates at micro and macro level (Micro level – community feel of a single high-rise and Macro level – community feel of the neighborhood). This is very basic topic as of yet, since it can branch off into lots of directions, any suggestions are more than welcome. I also have to find out how and where can I find information related to my topic, if anyone has any idea of sources that will be helpful in my research please do let me know.
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