Before I gave up living in Berkeley I wanted to spend some more time here. There is definitely too much of the college atmosphere for me to be happy living here. Although, it is a very beautiful city. The bike infrastructure here is amazing! I got to thinking how Berkeley is one of three platinum rated cities by the League American Cyclists (along with Boulder and Portland) and how it is driven be the affluence of the community. I got a little distressed on how the most livable cities are those with wealthy populations. However, the fact that they are kicking ass for cyclists and not cars is amazing so I applaud them. Cars stop for pedestrians and cyclists everywhere. It is some sort of utopia for sure. There are bicycle boulevards everywhere and cyclist triggered crosswalks with immediate response.
I spent a good couple of hours people watching at what has become my favorite place in town and my idea of the best public space in Berkeley. The area just outside of the Downtown Berkeley BART station is always bustling with people. College kids, professionals, the homeless, street musicians. All of this takes place in a very organic atmosphere which as far as I am concerned is the reason this is happening. I spent a half an hour or so scouring the immediate and adjacent area for security cameras. None to be found! Even better the spontaneous interaction that was happening was taking place unbeknownst to the watchful eye of the local police or homeland security! Wow, I guess being a TA for Jeremy Nemeth rubbed off on me more than I thought. This is what it looked like this afternoon:
Fuck eHarmony, meet your future mate in a public space!
Oh transit, how your beauty strikes me.
Being the planning nerd that I am I was contemplating what was happening here and the variables that encourage public spaces to be vibrant and healthy places. In the hopes of attracting the interest of other planners I figured I should come up with an acronym. DDT-Density, Diversity, and Transit. “DDT can kill those ugly underutilized urban spaces.” How’s that for a slogan?
It really looks as though you are in your element TJ! Be careful out there and keep enjoying your new life.