HOW TO MAKE AN ATTRACTIVE CITY? 6 POINTS BY ALLAIN DE BOTTON (VIDEO)

“Cities are a big deal,” says de Botton. “We pretty much all have to live in them. We should try hard to get them right”—in part, by a more “scientific” approach to what makes cities pretty or ugly.

The philosopher, author, and founder of London`s The School of Life lays out six qualities of attractive cities:

1. Order (buildings should be uniform in appearance and layout—to a degree);

2. Visible life (it`s nice to see people walking the streets and working in shop windows);

3. Compactness (don`t sprawl);

4. Orientation and mystery (a balance of large and small streets should allow for efficient travel… and for getting lost, on occasion);

5. Scale (a building should be five stories max, unless what it stands for is really worth more air space);

6. A sense of the local (Melbourne should look a little different from Barcelona, because its cultural and geographic qualities are different).