Juan Miró, co-founder of Miró Rivera Architects reflects in an opinion piece on the value of American cities. Stating that "when we idealize cities like Copenhagen, we risk losing focus of the fundamental historical differences between the urban trajectories of European and American cities", the architect and educator draws a timeline of events and urban transformations, in order to explain why it would be more relevant to look on the inside when planning U.S cities, rather than taking examples from the outside.
I have nothing but good memories of my visits to Copenhagen. It is certainly an outstanding example of a historic European city. It puzzles me, however, as I reflect from the perspective of a dual citizen—born in Barcelona, raised in Madrid, and living in the United States for 32 years—that many of my colleagues teaching urban design harbor a bias that favors cities from Europe and undervalues those from the Americas. These days, for example, Copenhagen is presented to students as the pinnacle of best practices for urban planning. But when we idealize cities like Copenhagen, we risk losing focus of the fundamental historical differences between the urban trajectories of European and American cities.
.jpg?1622537353 "Enough with Copenhagen! It is Time for U.S. Cities to Learn From Models Closer to Home")
