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Today in the City, Survival Means Transition
Pandemic or not, we tend to talk only about what we see, even though we instinctively know that things are not always what they seem. We often divide the new and old, without imagining how the two might blend. But now is an enlightening time for long-term stories of adaptation, that show pandemic response in a broader context.
In my pending book, Sustaining a City’s Culture and Character (release date still pending), I tell the story of a London fruit stall that is no longer operating as a conventional open-air stand, and its apparent absence from the city’s several outdoor markets and street fairs. The traditional urbanist, or tourists (after they return) with today’s fascination with festival markets, may sense failure rather than a transition.
But an institution may live on in a different model, in a morphed context more suitable for today. A London fruit stall can sustain in new forms, and its architecture is not a necessary factor to an enduring local business. Location, culture, as well as overlays of architecture, only tell part of the story.
The story of Bobtail Fruit in London is a story of change, from a stall in Covent Garden named for the owner to five brick-and-mortar outlets around the city to a current web-based delivery business of quality baskets of fruit, and milk. Bobtail still prioritizes customer…
