Do Big Cities Need Defending?

I found myself in a discussion last night that became hotter by the moment. On the one side there was a relatively recent "North American" and on the other side, moi!

The topic of this discussion was whether it's better to live in a big city like Boston, or in suburbia. My opponent's clear preference was for the 'burbs, although he had recently bought a condo in the outskirts of Boston. His dislike for anything "big city" stems for having worked for a large financial institution downtown. Picture cube after cube a la "Office Space" or that early scene where the agents paid Neo a visit at his office in "The Matrix", and you will have the general idea.

I sympathize with this view, as most of my working life, I have never worked in a cube. But, if his argument was based on only this observation, then it would be flawed. However, he continued to expand his view. What other things bothered him about a big city? Congestion. And he didn't refer to just traffic congestion and the lack of finding affordable parking (or parking in general), but also, the congestion when walking on the streets downtown. Hmmm...I guess he has never been to Hong Kong, or Tokyo, or even NYC, or New Orleans during Mardi Grass. What bothered him the most was the constant jostling when walking the streets, the fat, smelly people on the buses and trains, the beggars one runs into every other corner. Again, hmmmm...I guess you've seen "The Matrix" one too many times Agent Smith!

What did I have to say during his endless tirade? Well, I suppose I understand his point of view, although I don't agree with it. Don't get me wrong. I like the countryside, the trees, clean air and fields full of cows and horses. I see that every day I drive to work. And for years I lived in a small town outside a large metropolis in Canada. And every time I was driving home from my work downtown, I felt good. I felt good waking up to the sound of birds, being able to open my windows during the day and not worry about car pollution. But, every day when I was driving downtown, and would see the skyline getting closer, I would begin to feel alive. Why? Because there are so many things you can do in a large city. The fact alone that you can walk everywhere during most of the year, that the choices or restaurants, bookstores, clothing stores, entertainment in general are so abundant, that fact alone is enough, at least for me, to love big cities.

I'm writing these lines while I'm sitting at a cafe by the window, watching an endless stream of people walking by, coming in for a coffee, going in and out of the restaurants and the movie theatre across the street. The city is just so alive!

I won't say anything more. I don't have to defend big cities for being harsh, unforgiving and heartless. After all, suburbs are equally as heartless with their vastness and isolation, where people occupy houses on large properties and don't even know their neighbours. I will let the big cities defend themselves as they continue to reinvent themselves every few years or so. After all, you can't have too much of a good thing - big city or suburb.