From The Guardian by Jordan Fraade:
.
The big problem with ‘coolest city’ lists
.
The problem with a “coolest city” ranking is the way it takes things any city ought to be proud of – diversity, urbanity, art, energy, walkability, transit accessibility – and attaches them to a polarising sociological identity. Most Americans probably don’t have strong opinions about multimodal transit, or bicycle infrastructure. But they do have strong feelings about snobbish urban hipsters. …
Last summer, in the process of rewriting its 1958 zoning code, Washington, DC, floated a plan to eliminate mandatory parking minimums in the entire downtown core and in the vicinity of subway, streetcar, and high-frequency bus lines. At the last minute, under immense pressure, it backed down.
… many different groups came together to defend parking spots – united by a large serving of disdain for the “young people” who wanted parking minimums scrapped. One local AAA representative, defending parking minimums, said that the move toward transit-friendly development just reflected “the arrogance of youth”. …
When it comes to hating millennials in DC, no one can hold a candle to Washington Post columnist Courtland Milloy. Milloy’s anti-bike screed from this July, which stops just short of endorsing vehicular homicide, is a prime example of anti-cool-kids backlash. … This reliance on his audience’s dislike of “those kinds of obnoxious people” is what saves Milloy the trouble of actually explaining why bike lanes, dog parks or fusion restaurants are bad things.
… you don’t need to argue over merits when you can rail against people. …
When the focus of city governance shifts away from winning spots on magazine lists and towards useful service provision for as many constituents as possible – cool people, uncool people and the vast, middlingly cool majority – the US will finally have the urban renaissance it has been promised.
.
