Urban Flaneur Guidebook

Many times urban planners sit in their offices, go to meetings, 'crunch numbers' and do not really explore this city that they practice their trade.  An enlightened administrator should  his/her urban planners to ' go out, explore, and become part of the fabric of the city!'  However, when urban planners are out exploring their planning area, they should have on badges indicating that are part of a planning organization. While they are sitting in a cafe observing the movement of the city, perhaps random citizens may come up to them and express their concerns. What a great way to get the pulse of the city as an urban planner.   However, the 'factory' mentality of urban planning is that you must be at your desk and hard at work so that you can please your supervisors that you are not 'goofing off.'  The idea of the urban planner as an urban flâneur needs further discussion. I welcome comments on this topic.

An urban flâneur is one who casually observes what is going on in an urban environment making critical observations while strolling about the city. A city planner collects data, attends meetings prepares future plans for a specific town, village, city or region. The flâneur is seen as operating in a fuzzy, objective/subjective and qualitative milieu; while, the urban planner is involved in quantifying and analyzing data (‘hard facts’), applying standards and regulations to aid in the effective and efficient operation of an urban area. The training that as a planner receives is based on the rationalist-lineal approach and does not include training about how to be a good observer in an urban environment. Most of all the public and the elected officials view the urban planner as a government employee who is at the disposal of elected officials and the public---a public servant. The idea of wandering about a city would not be considered productive or would be done on the off-hours. It woul...

I think it is good to revisit this topic as it needs more thought as a methodology of urban geography. I came across this interesting blog post by Fiona Ferbrache on Geography Directions: http://geographydirections.wordpress.com/2011/05/10/urban-geography-a-flaneurs-encounter-with-graffiti-in-toulouse/ The author discusses her weekend stroll in Toulouse, France, her encounter with urban graffiti and her take on what it means to be a flâneur. She also mentions a recent article about urban graffiti by of McAuliffe and Iveson’s (2011). People are making statements in the city continuously. Graffiti is a message to the inhabitants of the city drawing them into contemplation to its underground element, its lack of color, and public art. Reference: McAuliffe, C. and Iveson, K. (2011) Art and Crime (and Other Things Besides … ): Conceptualising Graffiti in the City. Geography Compass. 5,3. pp.128-143