These constellations of amenities define the scene by making available an array of meaningful experiences to residents and visitors. It treats the particular constellation of amenities in a place – cafes, galleries, pubs, music venues, fashion houses, dance clubs, antique shops, restaurants, fruit stands, convenience stores and the like – as constituting the local scene. This chapter investigates the consequences of local ‘scenes’ for urban development.
In vivid detail and with wide-angle analyses-encompassing an analysis of 40,000 ZIP codes-Silver and Clark give readers tools for thinking about place tools that can teach us where to live, work, or relax, and how to organize our communities. Scenescapes not only reimagines cities in cultural terms, it details how scenes shape economic development, residential patterns, and political attitudes and actions. They articulate the core dimensions of the theatricality, authenticity, and legitimacy of local scenes-cafes, churches, restaurants, parks, galleries, bowling alleys, and more. In Scenescapes, Daniel Aaron Silver and Terry Nichols Clark examine the patterns and consequences of the amenities that define our streets and strips. Scenes enable experiences, but they also cultivate skills, create ambiances, and nourish communities. These are all experiences created by a given scene-one where we feel connected to other people, in places like a bar or a community center, a neighborhood parish or even a train station.
He’s watching a young couple execute a complicated series of moves on the dance floor, while at the table in the corner the DJ adjusts his headphones and slips a new beat into the mix. Let’s set the scene: there’s a regular on his barstool, beer in hand.