We are naturally attached to our hometowns or to the cities we are born and brought up with irrespective of the journeys our lives take as we grow! We have an unbreakable bond with them and often call them our own. I am sure you all must have done that at least once; calling a city your own. That pretty much sums up how deeply we get connected to a city. We even try to find resemblance between the cities we visit and our own city.
Every city has a peculiar characteristic based on its architecture, people, density, culture, history, economy and so on. Cities communicate with us through various of its elements. Some of these being physical whereas others being intangible. Infrastructure, open spaces, people, art, culture, waterbodies, cuisine, etc. form the elements of a city. Let us take an example of Barcelona (Spain). It is famous for its architecture specially structures like Sagrada Familia by the Architect Antoni Gaudi and the typical repetitive block planning that cohesively create enticing experiences for the visitors or inhabitants. These experiences are the tool for communicating with the cities. The observations through these experiences etch on our minds as memories. And the interaction with cities begins. Some cities might be fast, or some might be vibrant, some might be full of greenery, some might be connected more to nature, some might have towering buildings, and some might have amazing food to eat. All cities have something that is an icebreaker for its newcomers or a go to element for its residents.
In the city of Jaipur (India), the ancient heritage and history still speak through the elements of the city making it memorable. You may travel a lot, switch cities for work, settle in a different city yet your experiences and memories keep you connected with your home city. Cities communicate in ways that it is possible to interlink or connect them at some point. Our mind instantly finds links too similar experiences or compares contrasting ones.
Take the case of a city like Mumbai (India), which is a ‘city of dreams’ for many who come to make their careers successful in the city. The pace of the city is incredibly fast, and a new person might find it difficult to keep up with it. He or she might remember the contrasting experience from their home cities and thus an interaction between Mumbai and the person gets facilitated. Gradually the person might get used to the pace resulting in a steady communication.
Like these there are multiple examples of cities all over the world. But the idea of the cities communicating with us through experiences is constant. Share your favorite city and which element makes it top your list!
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