Place Parts, Episode 8: About the Lady Well and a Cure

Today, in Episode 8, I depart from recent episodes built around interviews. Rather, I offer a contemplative walk to a local setting that seems even more powerful in these strange times. This episode continues with themes of context and the embedded history of local places, but I find surprising relevance in the location and purpose of a sacred well.

Die-hard urbanists may wonder why, in this episode, I visit an ancient “lady well” along an equally historic path between rivers in the Village of Speen. While this video venue is not covered in Sustaining a City’s Culture and Character, the general message certainly is. The beautiful, familiar, romantic, poetic, and artistic need to mix and merge with the smart, empirical, technological, and efficient; that blend of all is the sustained culture and character that we seek from place to place.

Context and immersion are complicated and time-consuming, but we must take the time to remember them. Principles devoted to sustaining a city’s culture and character demand diligence, careful assessment, and consideration.

Review the special “landing page” for Sustaining a City’s Culture and Character here.

Originally published at https://sustainingplace.com on February 8, 2021.