More countryside, less city; 21st century town planning
August, 27; 2019. By Arscodex
Madrid Gran Vía by Antonio López
To begin, oh, humanity. We are all very handsome and very smart, but we are still animals. And looking at ourselves with a little perspective, not with a vain eye, but with a critical eye, we can appreciate that the world, yes, our little world, is not currently in equilibrium perhaps, or almost certainly, because man is a plague that is spreading too much. The cities, once a symbol of freedom (remember that phrase: "the city will set you free", in reference to the fact that it is in it where laws actually work and everything is more depersonalized as opposed to what happens in the village) have become in prisons for the human being who lives overcrowded as in a swarm or an anthill, flanked by concrete blocks, with graffiti instead of murals, and noting that as well as once the city gave us freedom, it is today the country that truly sets us free, at this precise moment in history.
Thus, there have been some attempts recently, and worth the paradox, to naturalize the city, dehumanize the city (in the sense of making the city more humane, returning to the countryside), and for example Manuela Carmena, former mayor of Madrid, tried to build a kind of jungle in the Plaza de España which is, as the impertinent would say, a good attempt, meritorious, but ineffective in the end. The current need for man to naturalize is to return to the country. That is to say, to repopulate, now that we can work at a distance more time, the country, reconquer it, so that we are more scattered and not so overcrowded.
These lines, accidentally in this case, are being written from the country. That mythical film that I made three years ago, La ruta de los elefantes, whose main theme is about that need to be happy in the country comes to mind. And we must, without forgetting the fun of the city or the beach, highlight the good of the countryside. To begin with, that feeling of breadth and connection with nature, of balance and peace, is only felt in the country. And this return to the balance between man and nature can only be achieved through some measures that we should take into account among all, without great fuss. The reconquest of the countryside, the dwarfing of the city and birth control. At this point, to prevent man from becoming as has already happened in a plague for this planet, we must control the birth rate not in the West (Europe and North America), but in South America, Africa and Asia. It is easy to understand: the less we are, the more land we have.
On the other hand, the city should not continue to grow. There are some cities in the world that aspire to become large capitals and a large metropoli, when they do not realize that their current size is adequate and it would be better if they did not grow more to give a feeling of easy handling, although perhaps a little provincial, but certainly much more in line with the needs of man at this precise moment. And then, more country; it is necessary to take advantage of teleworking to go more to the country, buy a house, enjoy. It is not about awkwardly colonizing it again, it is about returning little by little, remember that simply by purchasing a little ham in a rural establishment we are giving it movement and so little by little we can increase the time we spend in the countryside.
The population of the world has increased dramatically in recent centuries. We currently have the technology on our part, which allows us to telework and have a more dignified life and with fewer diseases in general. We also have more access to clean energy at this precise moment. So it is necessary to turn all these issues around - still more - to increase the quality of life of the people who inhabit this world, to recover the balance we paradoxically already had long ago. Take two steps forward and one step back, reflect, selectively take elements from the past and also from the future, in short, improve as good wine.
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