I’ve always held a special place in my heart for cities. The graceful architecture, the sense of adventure, the people, all the different cultures that clash and compliment and compound, the food, the shopping, I could go on and on.
So I will. Not only are cities beautiful on the surface, with their sweeping skyline vistas and unrivaled vantage points in the form of skyscraper rooftops, but they’re mechanically interesting, as well. All the inner workings fascinate me, as they have to follow the same mechanical principles as engines and guns and industrial machines, every single intricate piece has to line up perfectly with very little wiggle room. Cars on the roads, planes overhead, ferries on rivers, trains underground, and most importantly, people. People are everywhere. In buildings, on streets, in cars and planes and ferries and trains; everywhere. People are the blood cells in the beating heart of a metropolis, and they all have to move in unison and perfectly in time.
People are what make cities what they are. That may sound like an obvious statement, but think about this: If you’ve ever visited a city, chances are that you’ve been told by friends or by family that you HAVE to visit a certain restaurant, park, museum, etc. People are what create these things. Another obvious statement, maybe, but what I mean is that in my small city alone, with its small city population, public art abounds and there are enough small, family-owned restaurants to visit to last a lifetime. I try, though I struggle, to imagine what it would be like if the whole city was scaled up hundreds of times over. An easily understandable analog is New York City.
Let’s talk about statistics really quickly. In 2018, the city of New York, New York had an estimated population of 8,398,748 people. Compared to my hometown of Ogden, Utah, with a population of 87,325 people in 2018, that’s a 9,617% difference.
Now, consider: for every up and coming artist that strives to make Ogden a more beautiful city, there are 10,000 in New York with similar goals. For every couple that opens a restaurant in Ogden with the hope of introducing foreign cuisine to people who haven’t had the chance to travel, there are 5,000 more couples who share that passion In New York. For every small business owner that dreams of making the world a better place in Ogden, 10,000 are working just as hard in New York.
Now, New York isn’t for everyone, so it might not be for you. But fear not, there are always other options.
How about Portland, Oregon? Oh, Portland, where individuality is celebrated and shines like a beacon cutting through the drab fog of homogenized society that you might find in other cities.
Maybe Seattle, Washington? A city surrounded by forest, with no shortage of clean air to breathe or nature to explore. A city that is no slouch when it comes to tourist appeal, either, with the Space Needle being just one of the reasons the place might interest a traveler.
Perhaps Orlando, Florida? Known for its theme parks and other entertainment options, it’s a city that is sure to grab your attention, keep you occupied, and never bore you.
Maybe Las Vegas, Nevada, where it’s hot?
Or maybe even Hiroshima, Japan, in the east? Where the city itself seems to practice Shinto, where beautiful nature parks and trees mingle seamlessly with the grandeur of Eastern architecture, where the fashion scene is so amazing it actually changed my life, and where every other aspect of culture is completely unlike anything we have in the West?
Those are just examples of cities I’ve visited myself. There are so many more that I have not yet, and, unfortunately, may never get the chance to explore; but, maybe you’ve had a different experience visiting a city. If you’ve been put off by a summer trip to a far too hot Palm Springs, California, remember that there are other cities that are much cooler, temperature-wise; Lincoln City, Oregon, perhaps. If you’ve felt burned out by the hustle and bustle of New York City, just remember that there is always laid-back Park City, Utah, whose atmosphere might pique your interest a little more.
For every person, a different image comes to mind when thinking of a personal Utopia. For me, it’d have to be a city. Dozens of floors in hundreds of buildings to explore, thousands of new experiences not available anywhere else, millions of people, all unique and shining examples of why humanity is what it is, a collection of hearts and dreams, and this can all be found in one place: a city. It’s that compression of culture, that extreme condensation of the human experience that can’t be felt anywhere else that is, to me, The Appeal of A Metropolis.
-Spencer