CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Infrastructure

The mother of all consultations

(36 posts)

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  1. crowriver
    Member

    "Mundane answer is Hypocrisy"

    It's not quite that simple though, is it?

    It's more to do with mental silos that people apparently construct for themselves:

    Silo 1 - On holiday, leisure, etc. in foreign country - enjoy living differently to back home.

    Silo 2 - Commuting, work, shopping, etc. in home country - habitual behaviours and 'just doing what what everyone else is doing / what's practical / what works for my lifestyle'.

    It's related to the exceptionalism of national / local identities. See also: "Edinburgh is unique / different / special'.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  2. unhurt
    Member

    the exceptionalism of national / local identities. See also: "Edinburgh is unique / different / special'.

    Indeed. The things that work in other historic capitals just CAN'T work here, for REASONS.

    @morningsider the "Grand-Place Paradox" does have a nice ring to it.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  3. gembo
    Member

    I don't think Edinburgh is different from elsewhere apart from the lack of a visionary cyclist figurehead.

    Red Ken, who was pro cycling, lost his mayoral robes by imposing the congestion charge. So Edinburgh politicians let the people speak. Thus losing the visionary David Begg. Londoners would have voted against congestion charge if given the chance.

    Athens has notorious stories of people having two number plates/cars to avoid driving ban. Seattle had surge in blow up doll sales when single occupant vehicle charge was brought in.

    I do see the on holiday behaviour not sticking on return to quotidian.

    I do see Edinburgh as having a highly educated and articulate population. With this comes a heightened sense of entitlement.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  4. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    How about the "Grand-Place Paradox"?

    Excellent and apposite. Edinburgh's city fathers and muthas are clearly terrified of having an area of the city where the citizens can assemble.

    Car-snarled streets fine, areas of grass fine but paved squares verboten. Picardy place the paradigm - they were clearly terrified that a human-friendly site might result and created the Island of the Dead as a last minute defence.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  5. crowriver
    Member

    "I don't think Edinburgh is different from elsewhere"

    I agree. Or at least not that different. However many folk seem to think it is different.

    I can only put this down to exceptionalism, and I don't believe education or being articulate has very much to do with it either. Indeed it's the epitome of an unthinking attitude or disposition.

    See also: the immigrant vs expat dichotomy; 'We should have kept our Empire'; 'We don't need a written constitution, Parliament is sovereign'; 'Leaving the EU will allow Global Britain to flourish'; etc.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  6. Stickman
    Member

    One senior Edinburgh Tory councillor’s leaflet from the last election said:

    “Find Edinburgh solutions to the challenges the city faces rather than doing it like other places - Edinburgh is unique and our solutions should be too!”

    She now frequently posts pictures from her trips to the continent with comments along the lines of “why can’t we do this here”, for example about street cleaning methods etc. Her most recent one was saying that an example of a Manchester street design needed some “Continental elan”.

    Posted 6 years ago #

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