Proscriptive code for creatives’ dream town?

We’ve looked at what a proscriptive code is, and examples of proscriptive codes, but what’s the proscriptive code for creatives‘ ideal town?

You can check out New York City’s proscriptive code of sorts regarding transportation, World Class Streets, preceding a prescriptive code. You should also peruse a chart of what can be referred to as changing proscriptive codes over time here. As you can see, proscriptive codes can vary greatly over time as cultures and economies change. It can also vary by location, influenced by local geography, topography, natural features and climate. However, here are some basic components for current times:

– The buildings and streets will be environmentally-conscious. That means less of a priority for driving and parking.
– Public spaces (as shown above) will be primary focal points, like portals on the internet where people gather.
– People are increasingly embracing and thriving in diversity, and that means a greater variety of places and spaces, homes and workplaces.
– Authenticity has returned as a primary value, and that translates to more local businesses and human-scaled buildings.
– Public health is as big a concern as ever, with more emphasis on walking and biking.
– People will be looking to connect to their friends more often, more spontaneously, like on Facebook, but in person.

Speaking of connecting on Facebook, once we get to a 100 members in the Facebook CoolTown Group (currently 85 members), we’ll have an online chat event with people from around the country, even around the world, to get an idea of what a modern proscriptive code should have, publishing the collective vision as an entry on this site.

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neilkt