The Soul

Do communities have a soul?

If so, how would you define it?

Communities, in my mind, are interesting amalgamations of people, places, experiences, and zeitgeist. I know, that last word is a new-agey, loaded term. Bear with me. I hope it will make sense at the end.

First - people. This is the most important ingredient in a community. Every one of us contributes to one degree or another. I generally walk to work, and I see an interesting cross-section of folks as I trundle my way to the office. The place we're renting is in a (ahem) low-rent neighborhood (if you can call almost $1000/month low-rent). Some of the houses are single-family residences, others are larger, older homes that have been split up into apartments, and still others are multi-family dwellings. And it's awesome. There are people EVERYWHERE, sitting on porches, kids playing in the yards and streets, chasing each other with stick/swords, riding scooters, and just being people. It's refreshing, and it shows how life could be. Or maybe still is. Closer in to work I see people heading in to the law offices, insurance places, and other offices near City Hall. They're dressed up a bit, guys in suits/sports coats, ladies in slacks or skirts. Very professional. Very much contributing to the official sense of the area. And it's awesome, too. Because people are dynamic, unpredictable, and lovely. I see these people and assign stories to the tired child, face flushed with running after his friends, to the professional lady walking in her pencil skirt, the guys coming in and out of the county corrections office (I walk by it four times a day). Sometimes we exchange glances and nods, more rarely a smile or a greeting. That's OK. I understand the zone in which one makes one's way in the world. While we share the planet, and we can even share the sidewalk, the experience is unique. I don't want to get in the way. Sartre would be grateful.

But there's something about people, something that having people in a place... It's hard to describe. It's transformative and synergistic. This can be true of areas of strife as well as a walk to work. Just think of the revolutionary and riotous workings and demonstrations that occur the world over. It's true that the tyrant has only one fear - the people.

Next - place. As a city planner, this one is important to me. I believe in the power of PLACE. That spaces, well-crafted and carefully thought out, can contribute in meaningful ways to the overall quality of life in a community. Designers often try to quantify this - a very difficult task. Some try to pare things away, giving people only the very basic building blocks around which to form their experience; others try to pack their spaces with so much - too much? - that it becomes almost sensory overload. The best spaces, in my point of view, balance the disparate needs of those who may occupy the space, creating some flexibility while helping to generate a sense of uniqueness and being special.

I am reminded of the time when Salt Lake City was awarded the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. The announcement was broadcast and shown at the City and County Building downtown, and the crowd was immense. While there may have been other locations for the announcement to be shown (I think I saw it at home), this was the place people gathered. It was perfect - the building, the backdrop of the mountains, the large, open areas for people to gather... It was the right place. And it was unforgettable.

Also of significance - experiences. By this, I don't mean events, per se. Surely the announcement of the Winter Olympics was a huge deal for Salt Lake City. But this was overshadowed by the Games themselves, of the collective experiences of the thousands who participated, both as volunteers and as competitors. It was a blast, and it changed the way I think about Utah and about my place in the world.

Each of us, as we go through our days, has a series of experiences that tie us together with other people and to the places we are at. Even the neighborhood I walk through on my way to work, although I don't enter the houses, and the trees may just be trees, they become a part of me, and I them. It is in this way that people and places become inexorably linked, and a real community is formed.

Add to this the final point - zeitgeist. This word, which has been defined to be the "feeling of the time" or "spirit of the age" has a meaning that is profound. The elements above - people, places, and experiences - all form a unique portion of the continuum, one part of our essence, one part of who we are at the very core. Collectively, this helps to form the gold on the gilded age that is the present. It is the combination of all of these elements that make our society, our culture, our lives what they are. It may sound grand and perhaps a bit like hyperbole, but I really think that this is the case - the same way that the ocean is made up of individual drops of water.

And just like the ocean, the thing is eternal, inexorable, and absolutely awe inspiring.