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Sure, but I think the negative effects of slum clearance on cities (many of which are unbeknownst to suburbanites who use, for example, the highway that tore through an urban area) are at least prolific enough to make the following statement untrue: "Slum clearance was great."
Even city dwellers use those highways. I live in Chicago and without the expressway system it would take 1:30+ to get from one part of town to the other. With expressways it drops to a more manageable 45 mins or so(non-rush).
This one is about 10-15 years old, and was directed by Ken Burns. If that helps.
Ken Burns? He lost ALL cred with me when he did that baseball series, and couldn't even acknowledge that the Pirates won the 1960 World Series. It was just Billy Crystal whining, "We lost. And we lost to the Pirates!" (As if the Pirates were on the level of say, a high school team). A pox on Ken Burns, seriously. (J/K)
Even city dwellers use those highways. I live in Chicago and without the expressway system it would take 1:30+ to get from one part of town to the other. With expressways it drops to a more manageable 45 mins or so(non-rush).
Ken Burns? He lost ALL cred with me when he did that baseball series, and couldn't even acknowledge that the Pirates won the 1960 World Series. It was just Billy Crystal whining, "We lost. And we lost to the Pirates!" (As if the Pirates were on the level of say, a high school team). A pox on Ken Burns, seriously. (J/K)
Don't you know that the Yanks are the only team on this planet that matters? That the earth does not revolve around the sun but Yankee Stadium?
Say an American or European city in the early 20th century, say the early 1920s before the automobile and highway ruled.
Densities were actually generally higher. Take Manhattan, for instance, in 1900 it actually had MORE people than it does now, even with all the high-rise apartments! Goes to show you can have density without height.
There was a lot more mixed-use, of course. Shops, houses, light industry all occupying the same areas. The more noxious industry was already being 'zoned' away by this stage.
Nonetheless many cities already had a network of handsome public parks and gardens, Boston and London are good examples.
Much more day to day interaction: nowadays you'll only find this in the US in Manhattan, inner Boston, Philly, Chicago, San Francisco, but the culture has changed so interaction isn't as 'natural' as in days gone by.
I think life would be somewhat more interesting. People could still could still escape the cities to the countryside, and suburbs were envisioned as 'country estates' for the wealthy. Of course cities have evolved over time, some of the industrial cities of the 19th century like Glasgow, Manchester, Leipzig were some of the worst cities there have ever been.
I'm interpreting this as living in cities with built environment designed to match 1920's metros with all the modern amenities utilities, public transportation etc... but not engineered to deference of automobile traffic volumes of today.
If so, I would definitely like the design elements without the accompanying era's pollution etc...
An interesting component that encouraged social interaction is cities of that era was the household (and individual) buying patterns. Using data from another poster regarding 1 in 7 households having a car as an example, this means higher velocity of purchase activitiy in small increments. People did not just go shopping once a week with ability to carry large volume of goods. Rather, they purchased almost daily. I recall stories of parents who grew up in inner city midwest metro with streetcar lines being the primary transportation option.
Basically, the workers in many of these large metro areas worked at large factories in neighborhoods within walking or streetcar ride distance. People went to central / neighborhood markets and local butcher / bakeries etc... quite regularly (on their return home from work) and would buy the days dinner.
The overall decline in household size through the century is another intriguing factor as to how a modern city designed like 1920's era metros. The actual amount of built space in SF residential / commercial / industrial per person or household would be an interesting dataset. This overall decline in household size and technological advances to manufacturing / business environments in general is what impacts the 'higher density / less height' conundrum OP mentions. People in work environments were jammed into high head count small space environments (steno pools, manufacturing assembly lines, etc...). I think the nature of the work/ business environment led to higher velocity and face to face interaction / socialization in everyday life. The majority of work was likely very dreary and repetitive.
So even redesigning the current built environment to be like 1920s, might not lead to as much socialization as in that era. It still would be interesting to experience. Current cities like Amsterdam, London and any others which restrict auto access to old town historic areas would be fun, but the cost of living in those types of built environment would be high. Something which the simultaneous development of auto / inexpensive gasoline era in majority of metro areas led to massive outward (suburban) area development.
I think majority of people, especially with children / large households, looked forward to the additional cheap built space they could acquire to eliminate living on top of each other. This likely alleviated much stress. Other culturally unifying activities of the era that helped to 'melt' the diverse immigrant masses was the limited entertainment options which most experienced together (amusement parks, outdoor parks with high usage, theaters, sporting events etc...) and could share a new commonality. I think in today's technology overload era of streaming internet et. al. - it simply enables people to chose not to socialize face to face - even though they may be by electronic means.
Now all we need is a 'holodeck - time machine' combination device and we can experience whatever era we want.
I like living in San Francisco. I'm grateful that much of my hometown was pre-automobile in its layout and scale. Makes for very interesting pedestrian zones and I love to people-watch. Walking up and over all the hills helps me stay fit too. I have a house in an area of the city that was developed during the 1930s and 40s (so it has a one car garage), but my car stays put most of the week. When I go to work downtown I take public transportation and then walk. Most locals I know do - the cars you see are in large part out-of-town commuters.
Those photos are 4 decades off-topic. They were taken in the 1880's.
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