Monday, 06 June 2005

What would we do without cars? #1

Public_space_steps_istanbul_2 Some thoroughfares like these in Istanbul, of steps between hillside streets, are public spaces uncontaminated by cars. They are spaces of congregation, populated by cats during the day and a vibrant mix of people at night. Like much of the city though, not very attractive for people in wheelchairs.

6 Jun 2005 20:37:43 | Space and place

The comments to this entry are closed.

NEXT POST
Turkey and the network society I've been in Turkey the last few days, courtesy of what is pronounced as the 'Britsh Councl,' trying to contribute to a national Information Society strategy there, and gained a few interesting insights which I'll post. What was striking as far as the Information Society thinking was concerned, was the central contrast of the UK experience of transformation, from a society of very mixed social networks; compared with the predominance in Turkey of strong family-based support-oriented networks of strong ties. I happen to think this could be a major issue for them. If Turkey is putting its hand up and saying, yes we want to be a modern nation, a connected nation participating in the new world economy and part of Europe, then it's likely that the traditional family-based structure of social relationships will be greatly weakened, and that could be quite painful. I don't think that's necessarily a reason not to go ahead, but I think you gotta know what you're doing.
PREVIOUS POST
Local democratic structures While in Turkey several people talked to me about the system of village heads (almost always men, except in some urban areas) which I didn't know about. Between them these people cover all parts of the country, playing an official, unpaid administrative intermediary role which includes things like registering voters and endorsing identity cards. They are elected and often have an office or office space. A bit like a parish clerk in some ways but without the council behind them. They tend to be well-known and motivated to carry the interests of their community. There were differing views, among those I talked to, about how susceptible this system was to abuse and corruption; but it clearly has a very strong basis in tradition and continues to function for a society in transition.

Kevin Harris

Search

My Other Accounts

Recent Comments