Let's Build The Perfect City

Over the last hundred years, most societies have experienced an incredible increase in wealth. One would think that our cities would reflect that, but in many ways, they don’t. What is currently being constructed is by many viewed as inferior to what was once built. Why is it that the buildings of the past are often found to be more attractive?
In this video, I will take a closer look at how we design our cities. I will break down what I believe are successful elements of city design, and then package them together into a final product.
Prince Charles Was Right - 2008 Intelligence Squared Debates
• Prince Charles Was Rig...
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Visuals:
elements.envato.com/
The remaining footage was captured by the channel creator, or borrowed from:
docs.google.com/document/d/12...
Audio:
artlist.io/
GEAR IN THIS VIDEO:
Camera: www.dpreview.com/products/fuj...
Gimbal: www.priceboon.com/product/zhi...
Lens: www.dpreview.com/products/fuj...
Microphone: www.photographypls.com/ultima...
Memory Card: www.cameramemoryspeed.com/rev...
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About:
This channel deals with topics concerning architecture and city design. The aim is to broadcast interesting and peculiar structures as well as to challenge current standards within the field. If you (like me) have a passion for the subject, consider checking out some of my other videos!
I also have a homepage!
tinyhauss.com

[@thehaussmann]

Many of you have asked for the names of the various places featured. If you click on subtitle settings and choose Abkhazian it will now display the English place names.

[@Nameofuser555]

think you made some good points but I also strongly disagree with some things. at 17:57 you showed a picture of the 'zuidas' financial district in Amsterdam and listed it as an example of a place where nobody wants to live. i take issue with that because it was originally planned to create a neighbourhood where some of the biggest Dutch corporations could build their headquarters and it has been largely succesful. all the construction there was market-driven and the district occupies about the same amount of land as 'la defense' in Paris. it is now considered to be the most prestigious location in the netherlands to have an office. at the same time, more residential buildings have also popped up in recent years with appartments being in high demand. this district has its own shops, restaurants and some small convenience stores (and there will be more in the future, this part of Amsterdam is still under development). this district also has a train station, which will be replaced by a new one at some point which will become Amsterdam's main transportation hub. and a direct metro connection which will take you to the center in 10 minutes with a time interval of 5 minutes. i think this part of Amsterdam is in my opinion one of the most succesful projects in recent history in Amsterdam.

[@shzarmai]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/aobQhmSaiMpmpJI

[@friedrichhayek4862]

This is Communism.

[@jeremyaugustine2838]

I’d like to add a little something to this video. From what I’ve seen a lot around KZbin I have found that their is a substantial if not large amount of people that argue against the adding of “unnecessary” ornaments to buildings because of affordability. With the argument being that as people add ornaments and others things to buildings to make them look nicer, this makes living in the building itself, and the surrounding area more difficult. Because not only do the people who made the building want to make their money back for all the extra money they spent on ornamentation, but also the building may then raise the value of the land around it from it just existing. Thus promoting other more expensive development in the area, and the raising of prices for things like housing in the area, thus slowly making the entire area unaffordable. With many people who present this argument pointing at places like Rome, Paris, Venice, London, San Francisco, New York and Berlin as places that have become unaffordable to the actual people that live in and around them because of the high prices created by the large amounts of value these ornate buildings posses. Though I guess all of this is still a mater of opinion and experience, and I’d like to hear what you think about it. 🤔

[@friedrichhayek4862]

@@jeremyaugustine2838 Complete nonsensical: (1) If everything have ornaments the price by excess supply of ornaments removes any extra price. (2) The housing crisis is state created, not organic.

[@vividdaydream1516]

I agree on all of the points in the video, and I'd like to add my own: "The Perfect City" (imo) contains plentiful public spaces & publicly funded amenities. Your income level shouldn't dictate how much you can interact with the rest of the world - I'm tired of living in places where people who lack disposable income can't afford to go anywhere or do anything.

[@sizor3ds]

Oh yeah. Modern North American cities are seriously lacking in quality public spaces

[@oppionatedindividual8256]

It does incentivise harder workers tbf. But that’s just my anti-socialist bias. I am pro-Urbanist though. Suburbia is evil. Only the richest people should have that, and find it themselves if they want to disassociate, that’s a luxury.

[@davidhayden6116]

@@oppionatedindividual8256 On the contrary, I think people who have more free time, more things to do outside of their house and a better quality of life in general are more likely to work hard at their job because it feels rewarding and you're not tired all the time. Also, this idea that we all need to push ourselves to work hard is bullshit when we have a few rich arseholes at the top creaming off half the wealth that we produce.

[@oppionatedindividual8256]

@@davidhayden6116 what’s this ‘we’ bullshit. I’m not a commie or a socialist, my dads a millionaire mate. He didn’t get there by being a pussy and whining for higher pay, he got there through graft. He’s been bankrupt ffs, if he can do it anyone can. I intend to surpass him, within his lifetime.

[@maxi979]

@@oppionatedindividual8256 yes but those same workers are as sad as hell and tired as fuq, literally see it in Taiwan

[@cammysmith7562]

Honestly didn’t realise how few subscribers you had. Thought you would be a decently sized channel with a video like this. A very well balanced, informative and enjoyable video.

[@jrjr648]

Also some of the best channels don’t have millions of subscribers and you it may take you some time to stumble upon them

[@nikinhosvr4861]

bruh same, i checked when i read your comment. I was almost certain it’d be a couple hundred thousand

[@juliusnepos6013]

Same

[@merryfergie]

The channel started 6 months ago & there 2 videos.

[@whannabi]

That's what having good quality stock footage does to a channel.

[@davislinkaits6935]

"If you are given land on the waterfront, that's like playing FIFA on amateur mode." Haven't laughed that much about urbanism for quite a while. Good one. Quite a lot of cities just see it as a fantastic amount of space to build a road/highway and think nothing about it.

[@JasperKlijndijk]

there just isnt any easier way to get me mad, highways on a waterfront

[@akiraraiku]

Sometimes i wonder if Pixar's Cars is not a satire of current urbanism in many places. The only living beings in thid world are automobiles and the world is conceived around them. This isn't that much different from our own.

[@dumbguy1007]

My city has a bunch of rundown industrial areas blocking off much of the access to its riverside. Some of it is being redeveloped into attractive housing, but it still forms blocks, disconnecting those neighbourhoods from making a coherent riverside area.

[@vsmoraes0]

I am not an architect, nor I am an engineer. I am actually a geologist but I too take great interest in urban planning and have thought on how I would build my perfect city before. One thing I see very few people mentioning when the topic is urban planning is the city's geology. It is where the city sits on top of and many take it for granted, but this dramatically affects the decisions on a city. All we have to do is take a look at cities built on geologically hazardous areas such as Rio de Janeiro, Petrópolis and Mexico City or straight up aberrations of human stupidity such as Balneário Camboriú or Dubai. First, the city needs to have a decent portion of permeable land to prevent floods. When it rains, a portion of the water infiltrates into the soil and what the soil can't absorb is converted into surface flow. In the context of a city, surface flow = flood. To concrete and asphalt are impermeable materials while natural soil is not. In addition, plant cover prevents erosion so having greenery will make sure that soil stays there. Photosynthesis is also an excellent mechanism for temperature control, not to mention shadows provided by trees so a well arborised cities suffer less from hot days. I can't overstate the benefits of dedicating ample space to parks, a stretch of trees in the middle of all avenues and a tree corner every few meters along sidewalks. Of course, not every street can be a Rua Gonçalo de Carvalho (Porto Alegre), but that doesn't mean it is not an example to be followed. Finally last, but definitly not least: green rooftops. Green rooftops on all buildings except those which's application would turn up unviable by its presence. Sticking to geology, it is important to pay attention what is under the city being built. I know the Mexico City case will never (I hope) be repeated again, but it is such a didatic example I can't help not mentioning it. Historically, the location where Mexico City currently stands used to be a lake. The Aztecs built their capital, Tenochtitlan, floating on the lake. Not on its entirety, but land reclamation wasn't a large scale practice. After the fall of the Aztecs, the spanish decided to drain the lake. This is where geology knowledge which at the time was inexistent was important. Lakes are calm bodies of water, and calm waters deposit clay. Clay is just about the worst type of soil to build on because it is soft. When you put a heavy load on it, said load starts to sink and that's exactly what's happening to Mexico city at an alarming rate. Other example of geology being overlooked can be tracked to Rio de Janeiro and Arequipa. Those cities' populations increased faster than their infrainstructure could absorb it which resulted in a growth that was organic, but was a movement that led to impoverished populations building precariously on geologically hazardous areas. On Rio's case, on hilly areas that, though relatively harmless when dry, are subject to landslides during intense rainfall, and Rio is located at the SACZ (South Atlantic Convergence Zone), which, in short, is a climatologic event that causes heavy rain during summer months. Arequipa's case is even more delicate because that is an urban sprawl invading an active volcano and the absense of urban planning includes an evacuation plan should an eruption happen. Now I want to touch on geology working on favor of city building. You probably have heard of Machu Pichu before. Did you know that Machu Pichu was built where it was because the region has two different fault zones basically perpendicular from one another, essentially resulting in pre-formed blocks which were used to build the city. They weren't cut or transported by the Incas, they were discovered. It was the result of geological knowledge, however it was avaliable to them Quoting Professor Menegat, the researcher responsible for that discovery (and also my teacher, if I may say) "The Inca were the only civilization that domesticated mountains." That may sound hyper specific for some, and it is, but every place has a unique geology of their own. If the Inca could take advantage of it, why us, with the technology we have, can't? There's plenty more I would like to talk here. I didn't even got to start on my thoughts past geology. Unfortunately my current schedule is tight and I'll have to cut it short today.

[@guilhermepontes2416]

C eh BR neh? KKKK qual gringo conhece Petrópolis e balneário camburiu, mto lgl mesmo que outra pessoa goste de planejamento urbano nesse país também, sou da área de economia

[@guilhermepontes2416]

Nossa, vendo teu perfil aqui tu segue as exatas mesmas pessoas que eu KKKK, vários canais de história, até o andré roncaglia, mto legal mesmo, essa área prática das ciências sociais, questões de planejamento urbano, infraestrutura, economia, história também, são muito interessantes

[@vsmoraes0]

@@guilhermepontes2416 Olha meu amigo, sinceramente eu não compreendo o choque. Brasileiro falando de planejamento urbano não é nada de mais. Nacionalidade não tem nada a ver com isso. E por essa lógica eu seria peruano também, porque não é todo o gringo que conhece Arequipa.

[@FernandoMendoza-dw8nz]

Glad I came to ur TEDtalk

[@longiusaescius2537]

Thanks

[@jelsner5077]

Loved this! I spend a lot of time daydreaming about my personal "perfect city." I'm very drawn to the renderings of utopian Renaissance cities. Subscribed and looking forward to future content.

[@thehaussmann]

I'm glad you liked the video! Having lived in Budapest, I got to enjoy the city's Neo-Renaissance scene. Renaissance architecture can be such a beautiful addition to a city :)

[@jelsner5077]

@@thehaussmann Prague also has a lovely Renaissance Revival area. I guess it was a former slum that had been torn down and rebuilt in the late 19th century. I remember the tour guide dismissing it as "just a copy of Renaissance style (Prague has a lot of "real" Renaissance buildings, including the beautiful Summer Palace), but the revival architecture (I thought) was lovely, too.

[@velvet3784]

@@jelsner5077 oh yes some people like to dismiss revival architecture as "fake" or "copying" but don't mind endless copy-paste glass and concrete boxes spreading everywhere since 1960s. For them 1600 and 1700s architecture is ok, but 1800s architecture is suddenly no longer heritage and not worthy of admiration. Lol

[@dv9239]

Guess we are all living the same life

[@lehamahardhika6229]

@@thehaussmann i have a question what if in part of that city is burning and the wind was powerful and the weather to hot? That dangerous you know that what i scared so what do you suggest about that?

[@PixXx31]

The Scruton quote was so perfect. Many architects just have this huge ego for no reason and would rather die than "not reinvent the wheel" whenever they can. I've had this mindset, too until a few years ago, and in some form I still do, because innovation is great, but it can't be forced and it's just crazy to think we could do better than what has been a centuries long learning process in many cases. And tbf, it doesn't just concernt architects, but many other professions, too.

[@grouchypotatowolfpack5580]

Don't forget the fucking havoc they create for the guys on the ground who have to make the shit they think up. So much wasted effort because some arrogant architect who doesn't know a drill from an impact driver didn't like what he saw.

[@sakr-el-bahr272]

Tbf, there are awards to be won.

[@akiraraiku]

Before you learned not at a school in a vaccum but in real life with a master, interacting with real people and learning by doing. This must have been a humbling experience for young architects.

[@EtherealBlueRainbow]

What makes Paris work as a city is that most of the Parisians are only a few minutes on foot from everything they need: grocery stores, pharmacies, shops, cafés, restaurants, recreational areas. Compared to a lot of other places, there is more space for pedestrians to walk, a lot more trees to create shade and provide more oxygen, and a lot more benches to sit on if you want to take a break. The Haussmanian style mixed with greenery is very soothing and calm to the eye, which is quite needed in the the chaos & pressures of city life. Add in an extensive public transport grid to link neighborhoods without requiring the need for a car.

[@SCIFIguy64]

I don't know, if they can't wash off the graffiti it isn't gonna be as nice a city much longer.

[@EtherealBlueRainbow]

@@SCIFIguy64 Graffiti we can live with just fine, especially since they get cleaned. It doesn't compare with the ease of being in bustling, walkable city. Another thing is that when your eyes have so many other interesting or pretty things to focus on, you don't really "see" the graffiti. Ironically, it's in the neglected, newer neighborhoods with only ugly brutalist type infrastructure that you'll notice every "wrong" including graffiti. It stops being art & becomes an expression of misery & neglect.

[@SCIFIguy64]

@@EtherealBlueRainbow I was just there and couldn’t stand Paris due to the graffiti and overall disorder going on. I understand they’re getting ready for the Olympics, but it feels they’re neglecting the regular maintenance. I spent 2 days in town before heading south on train to actually enjoy my vacation.

[@Heikki-fm5yn]

​@@SCIFIguy64If you don't like the graffiti in Paris, don't go to Brussels...

[@bearcb]

As a Brazilian, I’m glad that you used Brasilia as the example of what the perfect city should NOT be. It is indeed an urbanistic and, to some extent, an architectural nightmare! You also showed some shots of the Paulista avenue, in São Paulo, which is in many ways the opposite of Brasilia’s avenues: a lively space where people gather, with bars, restaurants, shopping centers, museums, cultural centers, a green park, bookshops etc. Even the all too modern architecture seems to fit in.

[@GuilhermeOliveira-mi4xw]

He literally showed Paulista Avenue as an example of how lassez-faire style doen't work. It is not an something to look up to if you liked his perspective.

[@bearcb]

@@GuilhermeOliveira-mi4xw he mentioned Brasilia avenues, not Paulista, comparing them to the architecturally uniform boulevards in Paris. And he talked about how avenues should be living places, not merely freeways, like the Brasilia ones, which is the point I made. It’s true that the Paulista development didn’t follow any architectural rules, but it did end up having some architectural uniformity: NYC-style skyscrapers, with old houses and other styles breaking it here and there, which is actually good.

[@lucasmarinho5850]

São Paulo é um fracasso e um exemplo do que não ser seguido

[@bearcb]

@@lucasmarinho5850 em termos, ruim comparado com Europa, mas muito melhor que Brasília

[@TheNatanbr]

@@lucasmarinho5850mas dá pra comparar como um certo grau de corretividade tras um certo grau de benefícios. A Paulista tem comércios em baixo e moradia em cima. Isso torna ela melhor q lugares que não tem.

[@matteoiapadre98]

I'm Rome but have been living in Paris for a year now. While Paris is wonderful, the homogeneity that is one of its strength can get alienating after a while. Rome on the other hand is by no means perfect (bad public transport and heavy car use outside of the center) but I think it manages many of the challenges you described quite well. Of course the historic city center is stunning (most beautiful on earth imo) but is by no means the center of all activity. Even just the center could be divided in "districts" based on the architectural style (Baroque vs 19th century vs ancient roman, for example). And even outside of it, due to how large the city is in terms of area, and how architecturally and geographically diverse its neighborhoods are, you end up with lots of "islands" with their own centers and peripheries, and some of the more popular ones were social housing projects up until a few years ago! I think it's a shame, for how beautiful it is, that most people only know Rome for its city center.

[@jandron94]

Probably that it goes down to your cultural background. For most of the French (and more largely the francophone world Paris is the center of it all, in a very centric way. So when you come from a Francophone background you feel in Paris like being in the one and only place to be (a bit less in this modern digital global and globish age). Paris (with its suburbs) is much more populated than Rome, Paris can be seen as a country within a country with its very distinct (abscond for outsiders) and specific administrations to manage such an inner country with centrical levels (region, departements, Paris Intramuros, arrondissements, île Saint-Louis...). So the homogeneity, harmony and density of Paris Intramuros (the outer suburbs being a gigantic and confusing uncoordinated spreadout harsh mishmash of old and modern architactural styles) is quite unique and surely the essence of a Parisian way of life (boulevard stroll, cafés, terrasses, metros, ...) as seen as in countless French movies (half if not more of French movies take place in Paris !) Rome on the other hand is more alike Berlin and Madrid in the sense that those cities are not the modern national center of it all (except in a few specific aspects) even if they have a huge historical and cultural importance. "Where are the suburbs?" one might wonder when being used to Paris... Some Parisians complain that Paris has become an open air museum for tourists, Rome in that sense is a supreme collection of magnificent distinct open air museums...

[@febraxchines1330]

Paris is wonderful???😂😂😂😂

[@DaDa-ui3sw]

@@febraxchines1330 yes

[@febraxchines1330]

@@DaDa-ui3sw you are blind? Its a shit hole.

[@sapere7]

@@febraxchines1330 Oui

[@GKCanton]

You have managed to put int words and simple to digest arguments all that I have been trying to articulate for at least six years so, do take that as your gold medal. Great video. Subscribed and liked.

[@thehaussmann]

Frankly, I think a lot of people feel similarly about our built environment. Glad to hear that people find the video relatable!

[@jakewerecat9031]

Oh my goodness, this video is not good, it's perfect! Such a wise, balanced, unbiased and meticulous analyses together with objective and thorough presentation. Many thanks, I've enjoyed it greatly! This content definitely should be shared to reach greater public. Ain't many other channels out there with similar quality.

[@thehaussmann]

Thank you for your kind words.

[@carkawalakhatulistiwa]

@@thehaussmann try to make a comparison video of Soviet microdistrict vs USA Suburbia design

[@live688]

I enjoyed it, but it was definitely far from perfect, he said as much in the last chapters, 5 and 6. Speaking of, the video needs the timestamps for chapters to make referencing them much easier (also improves algo score, I heard).

[@grand-dadmiral]

Unbiased? Balanced? lmao

[@dreadpiraterobertsnumba5]

Had us in the first half, not gonna lie.

[@havedalDK]

I have been building my own "perfect city" in Minecraft for years now, and I've considered a lot of what you've have said in this video over the years. Though I've always stuck with the idea of a car-free city center with neo-classical buildings sourrounding it, and on the outskirts I'd have business district with Art Deco skyskrapers. It's extremely difficult though to create the "third space" artificially in a game, but that is what I'm always striving for.

[@robsonedugd1170]

You could post a video of this city, it looks very nice

[@guerreiro943]

Are you me? ahah I've been building a Roman-style city in Minecraft for a few months now. It's honestly became one of my favourite ways to relax after a long day.

[@Chinoiserie9839]

The walking through narrow streets before you could get to a public square reminds me of Frank Lloyd Wright's design philosophy of different levels of elevations and dimensions in a household. Like the room feels bigger when you have to go through a narrow passage to get there.

[@LightbulbTedbear2]

This video said everything I've been trying to put into words for years. 10/10. The London examples really speak to me. Density-wise, there's not much difference between Kensington and places like Croydon. Then why is Kensington a tourist hotspot and ultra desirable neighbourhood? It's literally just because it looks pretty. Imagine if, every time a new building was built in London, it was built in the architectural style and street layout of Kensington. EVERYONE could live in a place as nice as Kensington, if we just built places like that.

[@circleinforthecube5170]

these arguments really fall apart when you look at how architectural taste has changed over time and that architectural taste is different for everyone because not everyone is going to like the Kensington buildings, i think they are quite boring comparable to 1800s foursquares in the US, remember how victorian buildings used to be hated and demolished for modernist buildings, people fail to consider that the 50s-90s just happened, the sentiment against modernist design is not permeant like some architectural ideologists want to make it seem, Croydon's problem also seems to be its incredibly car centric just from photos alone, the buildings are very standard for britan while kensington seems very walkable

[@Orthodoge]

You should look at traditional Asian cities, Xi’ An, Pingyao, Kyoto, Old City Beijing. Also I think the City wall(with beautiful Gates and a ring of Park outside it’s perimeter) can be a good thing, representing symbolic boundaries even if it has no defense purpose in modern warfare

[@dog-ez2nu]

The fat that Beijing tore down a lot of its old city walls for a ringway is definitely something that makes me ccringggee

[@ligametis]

Most of their old tows are rebuilt theme parks

[@lovenutzhate4981]

@@ligametis you just told me you’ve never been there without telling me you’ve never been there lmao

[@ligametis]

@@lovenutzhate4981 Then you don't know how china is demolishing true old towns to build some imaginary ones. It happened in Kashgar, now undergoing in Datong

[@imb5128]

@@ligametis Definitely not even remotely close to "most".

[@danrejk9685]

Wait! This video was made by a guy with a bit over 100 subs??? You must be joking! This video is just sooo good! I watched all 24minutes of it and only now noticed the sub count. Keep it going dude!

[@Pngjayjo]

Landscape architect here. You've responded to a question I find to be massively central to our future development as a society. I live in a major Western US city, and the curse of suburbia is pretty rampant here. That said, poly-centric development patterns are starting to emerge, with three or four major "Old Town" districts already pretty well developed. It'll be interesting to see how our cities respond to this next generation as we ask questions that have been ignored for too long.

[@peepeetrain8755]

Major cities are taking on new cities project. Sydney for example has come up with the "3 cities plan" where they are now focusing on 2 major hubs to become cbd's. (Parramatta and western Sydney). Cities like Tokyo/Yokohama are polycentric in nature because it used to be a bunch of small towns and has merged into a megacity with multiple cbd's and hubs. Polycentricism is the new stage of city models.

[@longiusaescius2537]

Yeah

[@user-et3sr8ks2p]

Too bad.. i love American Suburban and their wide road , easy to access , greater economy opportunity...

[@tracienielson7183]

@@user-et3sr8ks2p YES! I regularly have to visit several large cities, including New York and LA. It's always stress-inducing. I just don't believe people were meant to be piled on top of each other. Picking on suburbia seems to be fashionable and meant to induce guilt in those who live there. Give me a single-family home on half an acre and I'm in heaven.

[@CarlOttersen]

1. The script is great! 2. I really appreciate your definition of what/how Vienna is put together - i lived in Zone 1 many years ago and adored it; it was at the time the modern area was being built, on the other side of the Danube! 3. Your channel is 'Hausmann'; I lived in Paris and liked it immensely for the reasons you describe, though it is a pity the old heart was lost in the process. 4. And I have lived in Brasil; what can I say - just think of the sacrilege when old Rio was wiped out, for the sake of modernism and money... Corbusier and Niemeyer have so much to answer for ...

[@circleinforthecube5170]

if you get mad at neighborhoods being wiped out for architectural change then nobody better tell you about the concept of infrastructure, personally the modernists have made up for all their crimes with all the created beauty like the sears tower or petronas twins from their original first strikes on the fire of modernist architecture

[@sebilian_ledsit]

I would like to add another important point: A highly effective and coast efficient public transport system that is available and affordable for everyone. Also the concept of social housing distributed across the city and not only in some districts is worth mentioning so that all social classes meet and aren’t separated via different districts.

[@BellsShop]

Regarding the old town design, keep in mind that many cities founded in middle ages in plain field (not on acient foundations) are actually designed as grid (take my city, Wrocław as example). They were suprisingly regular with an exemption of streets just near the former city walls (grid meets circular plan of walls). So I wouldn't say the cosiness of the old towns is a matter of non regular plan, rather the humane scale of it.

[@thepedrothethethe6151]

Slums are at the humane scale, but aren't as endearing as some old towns. There has to be a limit between complete disorder and order.

[@peepeetrain8755]

grids have always existed and for good reason. It's easy to keep order and sell plots of land and get around. The romans are known for their grids.

[@izzy3203]

what you described is what i observed to some extent in japanese cities. Old Towns dont really exist in their architectural form anymore but the multiplicity of centers makes the city highly convenient and alive throughout a large area. Every of these Centers often revolves around the public transportation hub (mainly train stations) and features small footprint building with lots of small shops etc. On the opposite big apartment stacks also rule the cities and form strange distant neighbourhoods that dont work as well and become dead. My observations mostly rely on Fukuoka, where i lived for half a year.

[@longiusaescius2537]

Nice

[@ReplyMNO]

This video was recommended by KZbin for about 9 days now and I am glad I watched it. Amazing content. Thank you sir.

[@jorgecuevas8843]

This video is on a professional level. You got a new subscriber! I love European architecture and culture! Greetings from Mexico

[@antoinetremblay4449]

I kinda liked the Oslo neighborhood tbh lol. Love your video and agree with most of your points, but it does at times still feel like old=good, new=bad (I don't blame you, I'll take Paris over Rotterdam anytime, but I was hoping you could also show us more examples of new developments that are "perfect city" material in your view). Keep up the good work, hope your channel blows up!

[@velvet3784]

Really? Oslo neighbourhood look like it can be anywhere. It looks like it is made out of Lego blocks but enlarged to a size of a building.

[@lordgemini2376]

Agreed 👍

[@animatiekoning1617]

Rotterdam has its older and nicer neighbourhoods though, don't judge solely on its city center

[@juliechristinskoms3892]

@@velvet3784as a person who lives in Oslo this place also looks more terrible in reality. Our politicians has also let builders ruined our capital city and it makes me sad. It evens pop up ugly glass blocks up in the middle of old historic buildings😢

[@juliechristinskoms3892]

No it’s terrible, ugly and eastern Oslo in general is grey, sad and depressing. No green areas and full of traffic

[@rexx9496]

I spent last summer traveling across 13 European countries from Scotland to Croatia and many in between. This video really clarified so much that bothers me about my experience in American cities but didn't have the language to quite put into words. You helped me understand much better why American cities are so horrible. Americans are great at doing certain things, but they are not great at designing livable cities. What is so depressing is knowing it won't change because there are very small number of people who even care about this sort of thing. Most Americans are perfectly content living in a far flung suburb where there are no sidewalks, nobody is walking about and every detached SFH home looks exactly like the one next door. Spending summer in Europe I missed seeing lively town centers where people are eating outside at night al fresco. You don't really find that much in the USA. Maybe it's just not in our DNA but I also think the perceived lack of safety in the USA is a contributing factor. People need to feel guarded behind walls and eating outside feels too vulnerable. But it's such a shame because al fresco dining is one of the great joys of visiting Europe. Another problem is that if you are American and share the type of views displayed by the creator of this video and want to live in a better designed city, you have very limited options. And what options there are will be prohibitively expensive unless you're in the top 5% of income earners. Few people can afford to live in Manhattan, San Francisco or central Boston. Btw, my favorite city in all of Europe was Nice, France. I think that town just has it all. The sea, near mountains, beautiful vistas and overlooks, gorgeous old town, good weather, architecturally beautiful with both French and Italian influences, very walkable. I'd love to live there.

[@velvet3784]

I think American cities were more similar to European ones but got vandalised in 60s and 70s to build wider roads

[@gabrielroque6664]

I'm not an architect, but I know that architecture can undoubtedly influence safety. American cities are designed in a way that people feel and are vulnerable. Everything is far away, and empty, and no one is walking down the streets but locked in their cars and buildings, which creates an appropriate environment for violent crimes.

[@OfTheGaps]

_"it won't change because there are very small number of people who even care about this sort of thing"_ Even in America, people are starting to care. Some care because they want a better quality of life. Others care because the suburban pipe dream is bankrupting their cities. Still others care because global climate damage is becoming increasingly obvious, which in turn makes the unsustainability of car culture more obvious.

[@Sinstat]

Yet still so many people live in Manhattan. Manhattan has what no other city has. There’s no “deadspace” each corner has something. Each street has food or something to do.

[@OfTheGaps]

@@Sinstat Manhattan is an outlier in so many different categories compared to other American cities. It is densely populated and walkable with functional mass transit, a huge park, and tons of attractions. That's why so many people want to live there, and why it is prohibitively expensive for most.

[@EtherealBlueRainbow]

I love the idea of different neighborhoods with each their own identity! It would be so much fun to enjoy a different style for every outing. + depending of your individual style, you could choose to live in the place that fits you the most while still enjoying the same quality of life as everyone else!

[@abdiqanihashi484]

I love the balance between authenticity and harmony. Diverse colours, patterns and designs that are mutually complementary but naturally distinct👏

[@daimhaus]

About BERLIN as a POLYCENTRIC CITY: Berlin has developed into a polycentric city as a result of the division. (East and West) The historic core, since it was completely destroyed in WW2, is in a vacuum between other more relevant districts of the 18th-19th and 20th centuries. Life for most people takes place within these neighbourhoods. Characteristically, these 19th century neighbourhoods consist of a relatively regular rhythm of streets, squares, parks and unique buildings (churches, former factory buildings, etc.). Life takes place mainly within these neighbourhoods. (In Berlin called Kiez: A Kiez is a smaller, unofficial part of a neighbourhood usually around a square or a busy, larger street. In this Kiez you live, go to school, shop and enjoy being outside, maybe you even have your job there. The neighbourhoods are connected by larger streets and avenues: (See in the Prenzlauer Berg neighbourhood the large axes Schönhauser Allee, Prenzlauer Allee and Greifswalder Straße which radiate radially from the East Centre and are connected by e.g. Danziger Straße. In the eastern part of the city (called Mitte) the government district forms the political centre, the Friedrich- and Dorotheenstadt form one of the many cultural centres with many shopping possibilities, theatres, and of course museums (Museum Island). Furthermore, the eastern centre stretches from Alexanderplatz towards Scheuenenviertel to places like Rosenthaler Platz, which is located on a ring-like street that stretches around the historic centre. In the western part of the city, Savignyplatz, Breitschalkplatz and the iconic Kurfürstendamm (Ku'damm; fancy Boulevard) form the centre. This district developed historically from a formerly independent city (Charlottenburg). Since the 19th century, planned residential boulevards and green side streets have shaped the cityscape. Berlin is certainly a very interesting city, and deserves a Video of it's own I think :) Interesting Sites: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobrecht-Plan Kiez Map: img.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/api/v1/prod-ads/images/15/150e2842-052a-4619-889f-e41fe124b474?rule=$_57.JPG shop.tagesspiegel.de/media/image/29/f3/07/kiezplan-von-berlin-25915-20266_900x900.png edition-gauglitz.de/kiezplan-von-berlin-400-kieze-viertel-und-ortsteile#more-1440 de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiez

[@longiusaescius2537]

Nice

[@judy1519]

As a Viennese person this really made me appreciate my city so much more and also put into words a bit why its such a liveable city to live in. Thanks for this cool video!

[@velvet3784]

Vienna is a gemstone

[@AA-zt5pl]

Greetings from 5. Bezirk 😁

[@Simon-.-]

i ´m parisian and i find that wien is a city almost as elegant as paris. it’s really beautiful

[@daritter]

Vienna is a shithole, overrated and boring as fuck.

[@euanharcus543]

Please keep your upload schedule consistent! It will do wonders for your channel. Love your videos, more people need to talk about this stuff.

[@pakhyeoncheol]

It gives me so much hope to see this revolution of thought regarding urban design. I really hope I get to see the fruits of this excitement for improvement during my lifetime

[@fumi.s]

Wow wow! What a great and informative video, so glad I stumbled upon it. Subscribed and can't wait to see more!

[@valtress96]

This is a great recommendation from KZbin and i got from both my yt accounts i hope it gets millions I think the way we build our cities is one of the most important thing in life

[@andreitraianoancea8111]

Great video, congratulations! Hope people with your mindset will be the architects of the future.

[@sk00k]

This is one of the best videos I've ever seen. It's informative, entertaining, engaging, just all around 12/10. You got me to really care about the subject matter.

[@LiamBleu]

I've watched this video countless times now. Your views and the points you make about how a city should be designed, is inspiring! It made me subscribe and I can't wait to see more content!

[@Tuxedoed]

Great video dude, it all feels really high-quality. As an aspiring architect, I really do find it interesting to think about how new buildings need to be rethought in a way that expresses vernacular history and culture, and not just the ubiquitous post-modernist style found so often. I also agree that cities are really just a balance of many different factors, and that residents should get to decide where on different spectrums their city lies. However, as a Londoner, I find that the unique history of London that has led to it having one of the most diverse architecture of any city creates an amazing atmosphere that I don't find as much in other cities, even cities such as Paris where the architecture is stunning and the boulevards organise the city (generally) very well. Also, there's a charm to the contrast between high-tech, minimalist post-modernist architecture and ornamented, traditional buildings. Anyway, once again great video and I'm looking forward to seeing more videos from you soon!

[@morriskaller3549]

Stockholm and Gdańsk, shown several times. the city i live on and the city I've visited the most. 😎 Edit: norra tornen, the two boxy high rises in Stockholm fit, there is a modern development area right next to them

[@thehaussmann]

🤫Hush, don't tell the rest of them. You are correct though, the towers are part of a modern development. However, since they're placed at the very edge, they do look quite out of place when approaching from the south.

[@ligametis]

@@thehaussmann Where such glass towers do not fit I think is Vilnius and Tallinn. Just under a decade they messed up their old town panoramas and green low rise zones surrounding them.

[@enzoputtontortelli3488]

This video is brilliant. I really liked the fact that you recognized your own bias, and made us aware of it! I wish more people would start doing that. Thank you for the master class!!!

[@thoraro]

Helt enig med deg angående Kværnerbyen. Topp video! Subscribed and looking forward for more.

[@sergiodepablocalatrava6338]

Last Panoramic view of Madrid is just insane. Such a well design city in the end, with different areas, all different yet all interesting. Nice video!

[@rsnankivell1962]

I think it was the second-to-last panoramic view, not the last one. But it doesn't matter, Madrid is amazing. One of my favourite cities. Regards.

[@patrice7p]

Marvelous! You did great! I hope there will be more architects thinking like you. I just love old European cities. More classical architecture, please! Lots of love from old baroque Germany 😊

[@anthonyj.campbell4490]

It is criminal that you have so few subscribers! You somehow managed to verbalize all my scattered thoughts on city planning in a single, coherent video. My hat's off to you, sir!

[@ArneLuksic]

Takes a great skill and effort to create such quality video materijal such as this. THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST that I ever seen! It raised totally honest questions and "mistakes" in town/city designs all ever globe. This video shoud be mandatory for all city developers and architects!

[@luceas6834]

Well made video even if I don't necessary agree with your opinions on modern architecture and urban planning, I can always appreciate a well made video 👍

[@Wichamp59]

Poly centric cities can be crippled by poor mass transit infrastructure. Los Angeles is polycentric but a challenge to get around due to poor transit infrastructure

[@priyadarshi8548]

That's why he takes European cities as reference and not US cities

[@freehorizons9491]

Great video! Keep up the good work and your channel will blow up. You really managed to but what many people think and feel about good city design into easy understandable concepts and words

[@luismoreno1674]

Very unique and original perspective that I’ve never seen anyone mention. Very well-written and edited video. Looking forward for more videos!

[@tim333y7]

I feel like this video is very eurocentric, I mean Tokyo is very polycentric and is imo one of the greatest cities in the world, and you can clearly see that its japanese without seeing the major landmarks, despite the vast majority of its Buildings being built after the second world war

[@live688]

great point

[@sliftylovesyou]

I am sure that is because Haussmann is German and is therefore most familiar with city planning in Europe

[@live688]

@Yarp Yarp ??

[@DavidLopez-rk6em]

Its eurocentric but thats not a bad thing. He may not have much knowledge of asian cities. Growing up in europe he's able to succinctly explain what makes european cities so great. The video was extremely well made, its not a video that could've been made with research alone. This is a video where years of experience were required

[@live688]

@@DavidLopez-rk6em it is a bad thing. It's not major bc the video is still good but the fact is the video was not in the context of let's build the perfect European city, it was let's build the perfect city. If he was a bit more committed/ had more funding, he could've collaborated with someone the missing expertise

[@Forlfir]

Amazing video, you clearly vocalized my thoughts and explained why Paris should be a model for certain things (I love living here ^^). Also having been to São Paulo and Brasilia, I don't want any more cities to look like that

[@gelindark]

Awesome brother, thank you for this, this is a video I did not know I had been looking for! I'm very passionate about beautiful and daily quality of life oriented cities, keep up the good work.

[@TheDutchMitchell]

This video summarizes all my struggles and thoughts about our current way of building. Thank you very much. I can't wait to see what else you can come with.

[@Nullppointer]

I'm late to the party but I'd like to note that, even though Brasilia deserves most of its criticism (as an urbanism experiment it failed, but I guess it was worth a shot), São Paulo actually meets many of the items you described (with way more chaos than expected): it's VERY polycentric, many of its neighbourhoods have an unique character, wall-to-wall mixed use buildings (or at least mixed use blocks) are very common and it's quite walkable in many of these regions. Sadly it suffers from disorderly growth and some terribly car-centric pieces of infrastructure, but all things considered I'd think it's a good example when compared to american urbanism. The same is true for some other huge modern metropolis, such as Taipei.

[@longiusaescius2537]

Hm

[@Aurvqny]

São Paulo tinha muito potencial... Infelizmente, o tema planejamento urbano demorou a ter a devida atenção no Brasil... Rio de Janeiro é outra bola fora...

[@lucasmarinho5850]

São Paulo é um desastre em forma de cidade

[@TravisGilbert]

This is a fantastic video I’m here to comment that I’m watching at 1K views bc this will clearly get more

[@simonsaysno]

You were right about this one 😅

[@turg9958]

This video is so thorough and high quality, especially for such a small channel, hope you get a burst of growth soon!

[@denisb1098]

Just brilliant! You basically explained what I, and, I assume, many people, “feel” instinctively, but yet aren’t able to analyse and express. Thank you.

[@lopez816]

I think the tittle should be: "Let's build the perfect city in the global north". i understand your'e european and have a highly eurocentric point of view, but i would invite you to study cities like Buenos Aires, Cape Town or Medellín, which do not rely on a historic city center and have high levels of informality and contemporary organic bottom up city design. the true vanguard of city design lies on the global south

[@artemkhorkin7220]

I like the classic cities of my country, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Rybinsk, but I also like Soviet constructivism Yekaterinburg, Protvino, Polychrome Khavsko-Shabolovsky housing estate, Visagines. So, it is interesting to see constructivist architecture in the "old" city.

[@juste_romekmw7640]

Okay, I usually do not comment on youtube videos but I have to tell you that I'm impressed by the overall quality of the video, I was shocked when I looked at your number of subscribers😂You put into words what many couldn't express, or at least couldn't express clearly 👏Totally agree with what's been said in the video btw

[@lh2738]

Great channel dude, keep up the good work! Greetings from France

[@leoaksil4085]

Fantastic video. I hope it get more views.

[@tatya_bicchu]

Who here for cities skyline 😂

[@ricardogens9834]

Glad KZbin recommended this video to me, your channel is excellently produced and exactly the kind of informative content I was looking for. Looking forward to seeing more of your work and to see you grow. Hopefully, over time, work like yours will have an effect on European's and the world's consciousness and how they look at their cities, and return us to building more beautiful, more desirable cities, with more character and more personality than what we're getting today. As a fellow Luxembourguer, I'm a fan of Leon Krier and his work, and I, like him, feel that many of the best parts of Luxembourg City (which he used to love the planning of) have been wrecked or brought down by modernists and post-modernist city planners. The old town is still quite beautiful (though starting to get corrupted) but the classic suburbs and the faubourgs's 19th century works are sadly being replaced, and it hurts me to see it being done so brazenly.

[@simonvavra6608]

An awe-inspiring video that gave me so much insight into the problem! I appreciate your mentions of several cities and how you serve everything without leaving anything important out! It's one of the best and most educative videos I have seen in a month. Big thumbs up and I wish you the best of luck from Prague! P. S.: The modern architecture we see today resembles a Kafkaesque way of seeing life and incites me with the 1894 novel philosophy. Definitely, something we all probably wish to prevent.

[@johnson941]

I think one of the most important things when building the perfect city, is to avoid having too much of the same. I don't have anything against brutalism, except for when it's overdone. I don't have anything against the single family houses, except for when there's too many. I don't have much to say about skyscrapers, as long as there only is one or two and they are not too big. All this of course comes after we decide that certain areas will be allocated to these kinds of architecture. In my opinion, there is also a limit to how large a city as a whole can be, before we should build an entirely new city next to it. I'm not rooting for multi million cities, but instead placing multiple cities with a max of maybe 400-500K people in a relatively close distance to each other (10-20 minute by rail).

[@bryanperdomo1283]

How does it feel to have a KZbin channel with only two videos and already one of them is 30k +? That's awesome M8. This channel is destined to greatness.

[@thehaussmann]

I'm blown away! To hit 1000 subs on Christmas Eve was the best present I got :)

[@spary5751]

@@thehaussmann thats some fairly rapid growth for a channel as small as yours, can't say it's not well earned, u got a sub from me

[@noahgonzalez6405]

Fantastic video and a calming, succinct narration you deserve and I believe you will get many more subscribers

[@loganwalters152]

You deserve more subscribers for this. Awesome job!

[@sardarate]

I have seen a lot of 'perfect city' videos, but, honestly, none have been as good as this one; so concise, yet balanced. A perfect video-essay. Worthy of a comment, and worthy of a lot more attention. Opened a whole new door in my mind regarding this topic.

[@marijn29m37]

Awesome video! Fellow léon krier fan!!

[@snada7621]

The author literally words to express the idea that has been rolling around in my head for a very long time, hello from Belarus) Thank you for such a great video.

[@camden_96]

Super nice video. I agree for the most part about the synchronicity and style of neighbourhoods and boroughs (and that Paris is more aesthetically pleasing than London - especially from a sky/drone view). However 😅 thats what I disagree with, having such an appealing city as Paris and not being able to see it from various angles and heights (from skyscrapers) is a loss in my opinion - (I may be bias as I live just outside of London), but I personally believe that London does skyscrapers so much better than Paris (sorry Paris). While London's tallest skyscrapers are still mostly clustered, I love the juxtaposition if you stand in specific streets around Ledenhall Market and St Mary Axe (you can see with street-view on Google Maps) - that you have the neoclassical facades at ground level, and rising from them are modern (almost sci-fi) glass structures - feats of modern engineering and precision, mixed with the classical and poetic (another example would be a viewpoint where you can see both Tower Bridge and the Shard). I think it's really a beautiful and inspiring sight personally, it's like they are emphasising eachothers appeal. I find that when you dedicate specific parts of a city to skyscrapers (La Defense & Canary Wharf) you could honestly be standing in Toronto or Chicago and it wouldn't matter (if not for local accent), besides that it feels shoved out of the way and thoughtless. So while I do agree that skyscrapers are generally globalist architecture - I think it comes down to being poorly integrated into the character of the city. Basically, it's comes down to the design style - while I personally love a sci-fi/corporate aesthetic (equally as much as I love neo-classical), that is the global standard for 21st century buildings. So I don't believe its a problem with the height of the building, it's a problem with globalist/boring style-design. For example we could create a building that is only 4 stories in height, and still design it in the globalist modern style (destroying unique local character); or we could create a building that is 50-100 stories in height that follows an agreed city-wide/borough-wide aesthetic like you suggested (which would add to the area culturally/visually regardless of being a supertall structure). For example, an art-deco borough with small and tall buildings in that style / a neoclassical borough with small and tall buildings / a futuristic-corperate borough... Etc. Etc. Etc. The problem with design style - is even if Europe adopted a specific style for their skyscrapers, it only takes for New York or Boston or Dubai to say 'we like that', and suddenly its spreading globally 😅 architects from Europe would be travelling all over the world and bringing their style with them lol (which is also why city skylines are becoming too similar - because they have all been designed by a small community of globally respected architects). I think the only way to combat that would be to (like you said) require the architects to follow specific aesthetic requirements (such as glass colour, materials used, light bulb colour, and building embellishments). Either way I completely agree that one thing every European city needs is a much larger perspective when it comes to city planning and style. As a (basically) Londoner, that's one thing I'm so jealous of Paris - that they redesigned their streets, while we chose to keep ours the same (mish-mashed). Its a really good example of the negative impacts of making short-sighted and uninspired decisions - its just a shame that we drew the short straw hahah. Thanks for the video.

[@Jason-zq9dm]

Great video!

[@bartoszszczepanik2211]

The video was really great! I'm looking forward towards your future projects! The only thing that would benefit it would be adding timestamps for the different parts

[@danieletheredge4284]

Awesome video! I feel like I just found a hidden gem with this channel. Keep it up!

[@MrAldi1000]

Such a great and interesting video, thanks so much! I agree with your conclusions and I think you brought up many interesting points. However, in my opinion the form-follows-function-movement is no the reason why we build boring and unasthetic buildings ("the loss of beaty") since the second half of the last century . I'd personally rather blame the tendency to save costs on materials, through repetitive floor plans etc.

[@jamess4116]

You just reconfirmed why Vienna is one of my favorite cities!

[@tammiesspark]

I've watched several of your videos. But this video shows we are on the same frequency. Well thought out content. Subscribed.

[@ba1anse]

This is the best video I've seen about city planning. Amazing insights! thank you for sharing!

[@joaomateus6787]

loved the video, unfortunately humans have been losing architecture style, and also you should talk about Paulista avenue in São Paulo and how it dramatically has changed since the end of the 19 century.

[@linuxman7777]

Yep, many of the best cities on earth are poly-centric and don't have a monolithic downtown like Tokyo, But some cities for geographic reasons are often limitied to a single downtown, with many suburban towns around. In some US cities, many of the suburban towns are actually nicer than the central city themselves but they don't often have all the job opportunities(See some towns around Northeastern Cities like NYC, Boston, Pittsburgh, Philidelphia etc), Then there are the Sprawlburbs which are the types of suburbs people are most critical about, they aren't towns, they are bedroom communities where people work in the City and shop at the Big Box on the Stroad, and they do promote the issues you discussed.

[@alexandreg1828]

you started it! please do not stop making videos. I do not watch TV and I am willing to have you as my main channels because this is what i consider entertainment.

[@FarMoreAccurate]

This was such a fun, informative and enjoyable experience to explore a concept I have little to no basic knowledge of and explore that through your perspective and understanding of the subject. Thanks for sharing and followed! I look forward to your future content!

[@pedrob3953]

It's important to know that you don't "design" a city, you just establish some important rules, and then let it grow and evolve, like an organism.

[@AntonTheKicker]

It's 3am and now I want to build a city

[@stonemilker4621]

incredibly informative and engaging in thoughts. thank you for restoring my passion for architecture and urbanism! this is amazing right here.

[@obie2013]

I thought about something similar to that duplication idea almost a year ago and you're the first person I've seen discuss something like it, subscribed!

[@patrickmelo3398]

Nice vid! I've lived in both Eastern European cities and in the American suburbs and you've really put into words some of the things I've been feeling on this topic. The grid system in America is kinda boring and makes everywhere feel so placeless, yet I've met a surprising amount of supporters of it. I think it really comes down to a lack of exposure to/understanding of good urban places. Also suburban and car culture play a little role. I like your ideas for the "perfect city", though I wonder where industry or working class people fit into it?

[@velvet3784]

Because people are infected with idea clean lines/grids/rectagles= efficient. That is why kitchens that look like pharmacies got popular and why monochromatic minimalist room became a thing. Gladly I think that trend is going away.

[@thepedrothethethe6151]

You now that Cités exists and "Paseos" exists, right? The historic center of my cities is grided, as it was a colonial town by the Spanish, yet it is very fun to explore

[@peepeetrain8755]

don't demonise grids though, grids are not American. Gridded cities have been in human societies since cities were made. Grids are easier to navigate and it is far easier to sell plots of landand divide the city up with grids.

[@davislinkaits6935]

Of course, I understand that a "perfect city" is subjective opinion and respect your go at it (also I like most parts of the video, such as walkability, nullification of bedroom communities, and boulevards) I just wanted to note some points of contention: 1) Having dense, "architecturally unique" neighbourhoods (NHs) en-mass linked with boulevards, raises the question of greenery. Yes, some greenery would definitely be reflected on the boulevards, but a park, forest-park or just a big patch of green is a great tool for a city and its residents to not have the urge to go out in the rural to "enjoy the fresh air and spacious environment". Gruesomely simplifying Ebenezer Howard's "Garden City" idea, would add to the "Perfect city". 2) Your perfect city is built from the perception that "architectural look = NH essence". While definitely it does have an impact, there's also the people aspect. The buildings define the residents, and residents define the buildings. You would most likely not find a mix of low-high paid workers, kids-adults, migrants-locals in these Art Nouveau, Classical architectural NHs. 3) Whilst a poli-centric city is much better than a mono-one, just copy-pasting NHs on a micro-scale does not automatically achieve this. Firms like accessibility, economies of localization, and small globalized hubs. If this is thrown out everywhere around a city, then there would be questions on its attractiveness to companies. 15-minute Paris still needs La Defense to attract these MNCs and revenue. Probably looking at this at a larger scale would solve this issue. Copy paste districts/cities as in the Randstad, Sillicon Valley, Pearl River Delta or Tokyo Metro to create a unique place but unified, connected feeling. Anyway, great video and you've gained a new subscriber :D

[@dpg321]

Very nice! Subscribed immediately. I'm excited to see this channel get big fast.

[@AwesomeAsh99]

What a fantastic video, you've conveyed your ideas well and succinctly. Keep up the good work.

[@Hexagonek]

Great video

[@evanfunk7335]

A wonderful video. What you said about people building cities that they would never want to live in is so true. I live in California, USA and the newer mixed-use developments are a step in the right direction, but it just seems like us Americans have completely lost the ability to make attractive buildings. The modernism, brutalism, and all the other -isms have just wrecked our ability to build beautiful, functional spaces, and yet everybody flocks to the old "main street" part of town without once thinking about WHY they like the "old town" feel. Cognitive dissonance is all I can describe it as, because everyone seems to intuitively understand that the old methods of building cities were better, but nobody makes the effort to recreate them.

[@thehaussmann]

Spot on! All these new -isms have wrecked our ability to build beautiful, as the traditional styles require knowledge and training that is no longer being taught in architecture school. This is how we ended up with blogs like McMansion Hell mocking poorly designed homes. Clients still commission architects to draw traditional houses, but frankly, many of them lack the skills to do so. If we are to once again build beautiful, we must either borrow from the past or invent something new. Since most of the innovative and award-winning buildings are neither innovative nor award-winning material, I have drawn the conclusion that we should embrace older practices. At least for now.

[@goat7844]

One word: money

[@evanfunk7335]

@@phillipbanes5484 i want to agree, but most of the things the government does that make building expensive, are necessary. Osha and workers comp and preservation and safety and all that are there for a reason lol. They add cost, but we aren't china with buildings collapsing all the time. I do agree though overall, they arent BAD, just not nearly as attractive as they could be.

[@evanfunk7335]

@@phillipbanes5484 i didn't know that's what you meant. I totally agree. Minimum lot sizes, minimum parking requirements, setbacks, the whole lot. All pretty worthless. Good analysis, sorry for the miscommunication

[@evanfunk7335]

@@phillipbanes5484 "land of the free," eh?

[@adrenalfilms]

Very well constructed. I love topics like this as I’m always envisioned to live in a perfect city.

[@susurrus5047]

Wow! What an amazing video, so interesting and actually good quality, definitely deserves a subscribe!

[@ChocolateHabanero22]

This is an absolutely fantastic video! You've done very good research and have put in a large amount of thought into its creation. What really impressed me was the balance, and the identification of the problems. It seems like everyone (specifically on YT) has this "America bad", "cars bad", "single family homes bad" mentality, which restricts them from looking at problems objectively. Many thanks, and I wish you much success! ❤️

[@hespera3851]

most of these points are really good but the notion that postmodern internationalist styles grew out of a desire to be "trendy" and "diverse" and that the malevolent nebulous "globalists" are to blame ignores the economic conditions that established the soulless international style in the first place. because of the natural societal evolution away from industrialism and imperialism, the western driven economic order needs to be constantly expanding and consuming, despite the finiteness of places to expand to and resources to consume. buildings / cities have to be built in order to maximize profit and minimize loss, which is to say traditional features, human scale design, public transit, green space, and ornamental details are inherently done away with. cars are profitable, oil is profitable, suburbs are profitable, skyscrapers are profitable. vernacular identity, social services and public amenities, healthy communities, are not profitable. glass and steel and concrete (mass production) is profitable, sculpted masonry and carved wood (specialized craft work) is not. the city becomes characterized by the rule of finance capital and monopolies and as markets are exported overseas so to is the architecture symptomatic to it. despite the immense amount of labor done and the unimaginable quantities of wealth generated, it is not returned to society but rather hoarded by the few in order to maintain this economic order. the architectural style did not create the hostile world, rather the hostile world created the architectural style. there can not be a positive change in the design and health of our cities until those core issues are confronted and the wealth is rightfully returned to the civitas.

[@m.birken2858]

Just discovered your channel because of the Dresden video. I really like your content and style of editing so i was a bit sad to find out there are no other videos to watch :D. Im looking forward to upcoming videos.

[@camapel]

This was an incredible video, I am fairly new to the ideas(2ish years) of sustainable urbanism illustrated by channels like notjustbikes but it was so interesting to hear about the form side of the debate in a perfect city. What comes to my mind first for a perfect city is mostly functions like affordable housing, mass access to good public transit, walkability, bikeability, and strictly mixed-use planning but hearing mainly the architectural side of the debate was fascinating and I really need to dive into some published works you mentioned.

[@dangermus74]

Do you play Cities Skylines? Would be cool to see what design you have come up with for your cities.