I took late nights at Starbucks for granted in Canada. Cambridge closes shop early every day. Like, 6pm early. Good luck finding easy food, coffee, or a place to work past 7pm. For someone who is accustomed to midnights at the library and evening cafe trips to refuel or hang out with friends, having this otherwise perfect little town shut down at 6pm is a tough adjustment for my student lifestyle.
I haven't quite figured out where everyone goes. Do they sit in their homes from 6pm-7am? That seems impossible to me, but at the same time I haven't discovered anywhere comfortable outside of my home to just go hang out and work, particularly in the evening. It's a bit of a conflict, actually. For example, when you go to a food joint there are usually two prices listed: takeaway, or eat in. To my surprise (as in Canada any price differential is usually an incentive to avoid wasteful takeaway containers), the eat in option is more expensive by a considerable margin. However, if you choose takeaway, there is nowhere to go eat. This leaves me thinking that I'm paying (quite willingly) for space, for the ability to sit somewhere warm and dry that doesn't demand silence or hassle you out the door... Until it's 5:50pm and you're finally getting into your reading. Sigh.
Maybe that's wrong though. I have two non-mutually-exclusive hypotheses that I'd love some insight on. Are you English? Do you understand these things?
H1: Eat in is more expensive because cleaning the dishes is a nuisance and labour/utility cost.
H2: Eat in is more expensive to encourage turnover in the store. If fewer people are taking up space at tables, more people can pass through. If you get a takeaway container you can pick up and leave at any time, but if you eat in you have to stick around for the duration of your coffee.
**This just in: I've been informed that the difference in price is due to the Value Added Tax being applied to eat in, but not takeaway food. Thank you, Kyle! Reviewing the list of taxed and exempt items is interesting in itself. This discovery negates the suggestion that I'm paying for space, but the discussion is still worth having.**
Public space can be a tricky urban feature to get right. There's no knowing how people will use or maintain the space and how that will change over time. Often, public space becomes disproportionately filled with people who have no private space to speak of, which carries its own set of problems and in my experience dissuades a variety of people from wanting to spend time there.
I haven't quite figured out where everyone goes. Do they sit in their homes from 6pm-7am? That seems impossible to me, but at the same time I haven't discovered anywhere comfortable outside of my home to just go hang out and work, particularly in the evening. It's a bit of a conflict, actually. For example, when you go to a food joint there are usually two prices listed: takeaway, or eat in. To my surprise (as in Canada any price differential is usually an incentive to avoid wasteful takeaway containers), the eat in option is more expensive by a considerable margin. However, if you choose takeaway, there is nowhere to go eat. This leaves me thinking that I'm paying (quite willingly) for space, for the ability to sit somewhere warm and dry that doesn't demand silence or hassle you out the door... Until it's 5:50pm and you're finally getting into your reading. Sigh.
Maybe that's wrong though. I have two non-mutually-exclusive hypotheses that I'd love some insight on. Are you English? Do you understand these things?
H1: Eat in is more expensive because cleaning the dishes is a nuisance and labour/utility cost.
H2: Eat in is more expensive to encourage turnover in the store. If fewer people are taking up space at tables, more people can pass through. If you get a takeaway container you can pick up and leave at any time, but if you eat in you have to stick around for the duration of your coffee.
**This just in: I've been informed that the difference in price is due to the Value Added Tax being applied to eat in, but not takeaway food. Thank you, Kyle! Reviewing the list of taxed and exempt items is interesting in itself. This discovery negates the suggestion that I'm paying for space, but the discussion is still worth having.**
Public space can be a tricky urban feature to get right. There's no knowing how people will use or maintain the space and how that will change over time. Often, public space becomes disproportionately filled with people who have no private space to speak of, which carries its own set of problems and in my experience dissuades a variety of people from wanting to spend time there.
Trinity Bellwoods. Creative Commons image by flickr user saltyseadog.
The best example of public space that I've experienced is Trinity Bellwoods park in Toronto - a place so loved and dynamic that you can barely find a place to put down a picnic blanket on a Saturday without dodging a high velocity frisbee. The park is highly valued by the community, resulting in a careful respect and maintenance from locals and visitors alike. I refused to put up posters in Trinity Bellwoods last summer for no other reason than it felt like sacred territory. However, public space can come in much smaller packages and aesthetics. What matters is that it's welcoming. You shouldn't feel guilty being there or feel like you're getting in the way (think of the difference between: a) sitting on a bench in public courtyard to eat your lunch; and b) sitting on a sidewalk bench to eat your lunch). In my mind, public spaces are like bees. If you love them and nurture them they'll love you back and... you know, honey and stuff. If you treat them as a threat to public safety and a liability, as is the case in the suburb where I grew up, then they might just sting your silly face. Healthy public spaces, like bees, happily buzz in the background to power some of the best, most important bits of civilization. They are where the magic cross-pollination happens and we'd be in pretty rough shape without them.
I'm still searching for my special spaces in Cambridge. Mostly, I just want somewhere dry to sit down and read or eat a packed lunch close to my classes. You can't walk on certain grass here, so university greenspace is a no-go (don't get me started). At times I wish I could just take to the river and float the hours away at peace. If you've got any tips or insights on where people go to work, please let me know. Not only do I want to study there, but it will help me conceptualize the different needs of English vs. North American cities.
I'm still searching for my special spaces in Cambridge. Mostly, I just want somewhere dry to sit down and read or eat a packed lunch close to my classes. You can't walk on certain grass here, so university greenspace is a no-go (don't get me started). At times I wish I could just take to the river and float the hours away at peace. If you've got any tips or insights on where people go to work, please let me know. Not only do I want to study there, but it will help me conceptualize the different needs of English vs. North American cities.
