BACKPAGE | The Citybuilders
Together, we form a powerful mosaic.
Written By Dave Alsobrooks
The following was originally printed in Issue 2 of Southern Urbanism Quarterly.
We all can be citybuilders. Truth be told, we already are.
If you’ve read to the end of Issue 2 of Southern Urbanism Quarterly, chances are you know your way around bézier curves. You always nail the tie plate on top of studs. Steamed milk is wet paint in your latte art. You keep multiple T-squares within arm’s reach. A stranger never crossed your storefront’s threshold. Your Old Fashioned is old-fashioned. Period. Transects matter. People matter.
You are a citybuilder.
As you get to know us and we get to know you better, we hope our conversation doesn’t reside in a vacuum or a back room. We hope it plays out in city parks, art galleries, grocery stores, kindergarten classes, and gas stations just as much as in planning offices, in public hearings, and on job sites. The conversation about where our cities are headed shouldn’t be left to a few but instead shared by the many. Because us? We want to be a part of where we live, not just make rent.
And once we all see ourselves as citybuilders, our cities will become what they should have been all along: us.
As a designer, I know and appreciate the finer points of bézier curves. But how do they build a city, unless of course they’re helping model a highway or draft a curvilinear contemporary roofline? It’s quite literal if I’m being honest. Every point is part of something bigger. A logo for a local startup that’s sourcing microloans for underserved communities. A plan that illustrates the utility of bike lanes. A data visualization that brings an audience to life. Smile!
And latte art? Well, that’s fueling everything I just mentioned—and more. Although a solid cup of joe will do just fine by me. It’s also good for the soul.
Taken separately, each of these pursuits, professions, and proclivities are singular and perhaps unrelated. But together, they’re the engine humming in the belly of a city that’s feeling itself, figuratively and otherwise.
The fabric of a great city is more than steel and concrete, setbacks, and spillover. It’s a patchwork of folks’ ingenuity, passion, and hospitality (and a dash of Southern hospitality never hurt anybody).
If you see yourself in this mosaic, welcome. Let’s build better cities—together.
Dave Alsobrooks is Art Director of Southern Urbanism Quarterly.