64 - Developing

This weekend they're having an arts festival downtown. Which is a pretty unusual setting since the downtown area is generally seen as degraded, polluted, noisy, and unsafe to be in.

But it all makes sense when you throw in a good amount of police to watch over, and some really good performers.

Downtown San Jose is a neat case study. Most people all over the world are born into ready-made cities, which had solved their major problems long before. San Jose hasn't. Running the city like it's still 1950 and ignoring basic urban infrastructure laws has made the downtown area... as many would put it... a polluted, stinking town.

Fortunately 10 years ago some people started thinking about that. And 5 years ago they finally got the nerve to do something. And since then, the city has been transforming itself, little by little.

It's something I see as kind of a privilege... getting to watch a run down urban center transform itself. It's the stuff you spend years reading about in urban design textbooks, but can never quite put your finger on it until you actually see it happen.

And this is where 2011 starts

And this is where my year starts off. Downtown, looking for an interesting photograph a little while before sundown. Funny thing, I have yet to find a place that offers a nice panoramic view of the downtown area and doesn't require 50 releases and permits to let you in.

Summer seems to be back, I hope. Not a hint of a drizzle the whole day today. Temps are back around 20C, and I can finally walk around the house without that huge winter coat.. In fact this morning I actually had to get out of bed and open up a window... it was that hot.

Tomorrow's the last day before I have to hit the office again on Monday. Gotta find a way to make the most of it.

The city alone

Most of your life you see the city in the same light: full of people, full of cars, full of noise. When I was at the University, several long nights finishing projects showed me there was a completely different side of the city most people never see: the one that comes out only at sunrise, and lasts only for about an hour.

What's there to see at sunrise? Nothing. The city alone. Deserted. No people, no cars, no noise. It's like you're the only one there, you and maybe a couple of people waiting for the bus or walking to the shift change.

And the most interesting part is, the city becomes your playground. You can park anywhere, explore the view from the middle of the street, stop at a green light to take a look at something... and nobody's there to care about it.

Yesterday I canned my urge to go out at night, and today at 4:30 AM I was out walking the streets. 4:30 AM, downtown, on a Sunday. And not a soul to be seen. I'm still looking over the photos and adjusting stuff, hoping to have the set up on Flickr by the end of this week.

Downtown

Went downtown today, hadn't been there in a while. Same old downtown, same old buildings, same streets with endless traffic jams...