Which is the best thing to do in your city?
I like to find the edges of my city. In my case I am fortunate the edges are well marked. To the south is the sea, to the west the river Tamar and to the north Dartmoor. Only the eastern edge has the slightly blurry edges of urban sprawl but that is contained by Dartmoor running to the north and the sea to the south. So there is a fat ribbon of development to the east until that stops and agricultural land re-establishes itself.
I also love the centre of the city where I can find independent shops, a market and a museum and art gallery.
My least favourite part of my city are the burbs. Vast stretches of anonymous housing developments. I blame an obscure folk song from my childhood.
Little Boxes
Song by Malvina Reynolds
Little boxes on the hillside
Little boxes made of ticky-tacky
Little boxes on the hillside
Little boxes all the same
There’s a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they’re all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same
And the people in the houses
All went to the university
Where they were put in boxes
And they came out all the same
And there’s doctors and lawyers
And business executives
And they’re all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same
And they all play on the golf course
And drink their martinis dry
And they all have pretty children
And the children go to school
And the children go to summer camp
And then to the university
Where they are put in boxes
And they come out all the same
And the boys go into business
And marry and raise a family
In boxes made of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same
There’s a pink one and a green one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they’re all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Malvina Reynolds
Little Boxes lyrics © Audiam, Inc, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
I was only young when I heard these lyrics and I would not have known the word dystopian but I absolutely knew that this was not a future I fancied in any shape or form.
On the whole I have avoided anonymous suburbia. I know that it is hugely comforting and homely to millions of people. Funny really that my view of my city or indeed any city was shaped by a folk song.
theoldmortuary.design 
interesting what sticks with us, isn’t it? i’m all about the differences, that’s what makes a place come alive, the quirks, the details, the improvs, the make the best of’s, the bohemians, and on. once when i had been training for a long walk with a group of friends, my foot was hurtingso i decided to walk back to where my car was parked, it was in a neighborhood of big, boxy, ticky-tacky’s, everything was beige or brown though, ‘earth tones,’ and every street had a name like ‘boulder ridge,’ etc. i had no idea how to find my car, every street and house looked eerily like one of 3 options the developer had clearly offered and it took forever and when it began to snow, i looked like i was homeless, limping, cold and lost and finally found my car by accident on one of those streets.
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