{"id":71577,"date":"2026-01-14T15:08:05","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T12:08:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peyzax.com\/designing-for-the-majority-rebuilding-a-citys-character\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T20:45:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T17:45:16","slug":"designing-for-the-majority-rebuilding-a-citys-character","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.peyzax.com\/en\/designing-for-the-majority-rebuilding-a-citys-character\/","title":{"rendered":"Designing for the Majority: Rebuilding a City\u2019s Character"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">H\u0131zl\u0131 Git<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-69e1a6db798b1\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #ffffff;color:#ffffff\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #ffffff;color:#ffffff\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-69e1a6db798b1\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peyzax.com\/en\/designing-for-the-majority-rebuilding-a-citys-character\/#Why_Is_the_Majority_a_Design_Material\" >Why Is the Majority a Design Material?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peyzax.com\/en\/designing-for-the-majority-rebuilding-a-citys-character\/#The_City_Likes_%E2%80%9CSeries%E2%80%9D\" >The City Likes \u201cSeries\u201d<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peyzax.com\/en\/designing-for-the-majority-rebuilding-a-citys-character\/#My_Claim_%E2%80%9CLet_There_Be_Ornamental_Crabapples_Everywhere%E2%80%9D\" >My Claim: \u201cLet There Be Ornamental Crabapples Everywhere\u201d<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peyzax.com\/en\/designing-for-the-majority-rebuilding-a-citys-character\/#Looking_with_Empathy_at_the_Question_%E2%80%9CWhy_Dont_We_Have_Something_Like_Japans_Cherry_Blossom_Festival%E2%80%9D\" >Looking with Empathy at the Question: \u201cWhy Don\u2019t We Have Something Like Japan\u2019s Cherry Blossom Festival?\u201d<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peyzax.com\/en\/designing-for-the-majority-rebuilding-a-citys-character\/#Positioning_the_Flowering_Crabapple_as_an_Element_of_Urban_Character\" >Positioning the Flowering Crabapple as an Element of Urban Character<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peyzax.com\/en\/designing-for-the-majority-rebuilding-a-citys-character\/#To_Be_Effective_Is_in_Part_a_Matter_of_Patience%E2%80%94and_of_Working_in_Series\" >To Be Effective Is, in Part, a Matter of Patience\u2014and of Working in Series<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<p><div class=\"flex flex-col text-sm pb-25\"><article class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none [--shadow-height:45px] has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none has-data-writing-block:-mt-(--shadow-height) has-data-writing-block:pt-(--shadow-height) [&amp;:has([data-writing-block])&gt;*]:pointer-events-auto scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]\" dir=\"auto\" tabindex=\"-1\" data-turn-id=\"beda3147-00b7-47c3-ac51-ceaaa5f6c7e1\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-10\" data-scroll-anchor=\"true\" data-turn=\"assistant\">&#13;\n<div class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-10 [--thread-content-margin:--spacing(4)] @w-sm\/main:[--thread-content-margin:--spacing(6)] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-margin:--spacing(16)] px-(--thread-content-margin)\">&#13;\n<div class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\" tabindex=\"-1\">&#13;\n<div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col grow\">&#13;\n<div class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal [.text-message+&amp;]:mt-1\" dir=\"auto\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"cfa39ac8-cbe6-4333-bf11-52872553993c\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-5-2-thinking\">&#13;\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden first:pt-[1px]\">&#13;\n<div class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert w-full wrap-break-word dark markdown-new-styling\">&#13;\n<p data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"708\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">In the world of urban planning and design\u2014especially in the minds of mayors\u2014there is often a recurring illusion: \u201cIf we deliver one good project, the city will change.\u201d The statement isn\u2019t wrong, but it is incomplete. A city is not a showcase where a single project shines; it is more like a fabric woven from the repetitive motions of everyday life. You can place a pattern onto that fabric and it may look beautiful. <strong>Yet for that pattern to become a \u201ccity language,\u201d the same idea needs to reappear\u2014again and again\u2014across different streets, different neighborhoods, and different seasons.<\/strong> The fate of design, unless it touches the daily habits of the majority, usually remains a \u201cwell-intentioned example.\u201d<\/p>&#13;\n&#13;\n<\/div>&#13;\n<\/div>&#13;\n<\/div>&#13;\n<\/div>&#13;\n<\/div>&#13;\n<\/div>&#13;\n<\/article><\/div><\/p>\n\n<p>A symphony cannot be made with a single note. Spring does not arrive with a single flower. You cannot claim that \u201cpublic life\u201d has been saved with one well-designed square. This question of repetition can look like a technical \u201cscaling up\u201d problem; yet in truth, it leans on something sociological: <strong>Collective behavior is shaped not by isolated examples, but by patterns that multiply.<\/strong> People see something once and call it \u201cinteresting\u201d; by the third time, they begin to \u201cget used to it\u201d; by the tenth encounter, they internalize it as \u201cthis is how this city is.\u201d Cities work a bit like that: a single project is a story; multiplying projects become culture.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote is-style-default\" style=\"border-width:10px;border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;font-size:0px\"><blockquote><p><em>A city is not a display window where a single project shines; it is more like a fabric woven from the repetitive motions of everyday life.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n<p>Architects, landscape architects, urban planners\u2026 From time to time, all of us carry the weight of good ideas that remain in the \u201cminority.\u201d A bold project gets built, the visuals are splashed everywhere, it\u2019s talked about intensely for a while\u2014and then everyday life returns to its own rhythm. At that point, you can\u2019t help thinking, \u201cWhat did I fail to do?\u201d Yet in most cases, what\u2019s missing is not the quality of the design, but the power of repetition. The absence of repetition is the city\u2019s greatest forgetfulness. And that forgetfulness comes back to the designer as \u201cfailure,\u201d even though a city does not learn by seeing something only once.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_Is_the_Majority_a_Design_Material\"><\/span>Why Is the Majority a Design Material?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n<p>One of the most valuable reminders from the field known as the sociology of architecture is this: Space is not only designed; it is lived, imitated, and sometimes quietly rejected. People learn how to walk on a sidewalk, how to sit in a park, where a parent positions themselves in a playground\u2014less from \u201cwritten rules\u201d and more from repeated practices. If the designer does not align with these practices, design eventually remains as mere decoration.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1300\" height=\"867\" src=\"https:\/\/www.peyzax.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/kullanici-deneyimi.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-71432\" title=\"\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">**User experience is the \u201coperating manual\u201d that sits above all design decisions.**<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<p>That is why thinking about the majority in design is not \u201ctrying to please the majority\u201d; it is about building a language that can touch the majority\u2019s repetitive behaviors. <strong>The mere existence of a bike lane does not create a cycling culture in a city. But a network that connects neighborhood to neighborhood\u2014repeatedly establishing the school\u2013park\u2013market axis\u2014eventually produces the perception of a \u201ccycling city.\u201d<\/strong> The same is true for children\u2019s playgrounds: a single outstanding playground looks great on Instagram and makes for good political material; but for a child, the feeling of a safe city emerges when all playgrounds work with \u201csimilar qualities.\u201d Trust is not a singular object; it is a repeated experience.<\/p>\n\n<p>Let\u2019s think of it this way: Snow that falls once is a \u201cview.\u201d But snow that keeps falling for days, layering on top of itself, is \u201cwinter.\u201d A city\u2019s character works the same way; a single implementation creates a view, while repetition creates a season. If we want design to become a \u201cseason,\u201d we have to take the majority into account: multiple repetitions, continuity, a maintenance routine, institutional ownership\u2014and even a bit of stubbornness.<\/p>\n\n<p>Here, the designer\u2019s field of empathy expands. Because many designers want to convince everyone that they have saved the world with \u201ca single powerful project.\u201d Yet the city is not persuaded; the city slowly gets used to things. And getting used to something is, for the most part, a product of repetition.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_City_Likes_%E2%80%9CSeries%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>The City Likes \u201cSeries\u201d<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n<p>Cities live through collective memory. A city comes to accept as \u201cnatural\u201d the things it has done again and again in the past. In our cities, the problem is often this: something is done once, and then it remains the \u201cfirst and only.\u201d Being first and only can carry a kind of romantic pride, but it does not build a sustainable language. There is a big difference between saying \u201cwe have it too\u201d and saying \u201cwe have this culture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1300\" height=\"730\" src=\"https:\/\/www.peyzax.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/DSC09488-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-71418\" title=\"\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kastamonu (11 September 2014)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<p>Sometimes, the design world also falls into a kind of \u201cnovelty fetish.\u201d Every project wants to act as if it has never been done before. That flatters the designer\u2019s ego, but the city\u2019s learning mechanism asks for the opposite: encountering something familiar again, in a different place. The city likes \u201cseries.\u201d And that is not a bad thing. Just as a chorus repeats in a piece of music and we catch the emotion in that repetition, cities also need certain choruses. Pedestrian priority, shading, seating-and-rest bands, child-scale details\u2026 These are the chorus. When the chorus repeats, it doesn\u2019t simplify the song; it makes the song something people can claim as their own\u2014something they can memorize.&#13;\n<\/p>\n\n<p>We can see this most clearly in something very simple: wayfinding behavior. If, in a city, directional signage, the lighting language, and sidewalk materials keep changing, people have to \u201crelearn\u201d each time\u2014and they get tired. But if the language is consistent, people move faster, feel more at ease, and the city becomes \u201cfamiliar\u201d to them. This is how design relates to the majority: producing trust through familiarity.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"My_Claim_%E2%80%9CLet_There_Be_Ornamental_Crabapples_Everywhere%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>My Claim: \u201cLet There Be Ornamental Crabapples Everywhere\u201d<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n<p>Years ago, after seeing the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peyzax.com\/sus-elmasi-agaci-malus-floribunda-bakimi-ve-ozellikleri\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ornamental Crabapple<\/a><\/strong> and ornamental pear trees planted opposite each other along Cumhuriyet Avenue, an idea came to my mind. With that idea, I repeatedly posted the following sentence\u2014quite boldly\u2014on Twitter to the Erzurum Metropolitan Municipality mayor of the time (Ahmet K\u00fc\u00e7\u00fckler): \u201cOrnamental crabapple trees should be planted everywhere in this city.\u201d When I say this in a conversation, some people smile; some say \u201cyou\u2019re exaggerating\u201d; and some ask a fair question: \u201cwhy a single species?\u201d My concern is not to reduce botanical diversity; it is to weave a city\u2019s visual\u2013scent\u2013seasonal memory through one strong motif. In a place like Erzurum\u2014where the climate is harsh, winter lasts long, and the color palette hovers for months between grey and white\u2014having spring felt through a sudden burst of red blossoms is genuinely valuable. Ornamental crabapples (Malus species) can stage that burst; at a small scale, yet with a large effect, they can function almost like an \u201curban signature.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"563\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/www.peyzax.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20230528_143043-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-71420\" title=\"\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Malus hupehensis &#8211; Atat\u00fcrk \u00dcniversity (28 May 2023)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<p>Ornamental crabapple stays on stage not only with its blossoms, but also with its fruit. Even after flowering ends, the small fruits provide visual continuity; they attract birds; and with fruits that can remain on the branches even in winter, they leave a \u201ctrace of life.\u201d On Cumhuriyet Avenue, it has already been planted together with ornamental pear trees. Now imagine starting to see this plant again and again\u2014along Erzurum\u2019s wide boulevards, in neighborhood streets, around schools, near playgrounds, and within mass-housing landscapes. Not for one year, but for five years, ten years\u2026 That is when the ornamental crabapple becomes not just a tree, but an \u201curban memory.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<p>The core of my claim is this: the character of cities is often built not through a single good idea, but through that idea multiplying. In Erzurum, the ornamental crabapple repeats\u2014again and again and again. After a while, people start describing spring as \u201cornamental crabapple season.\u201d Children memorize those blossoms on their way to school. Photographers choose locations around them. Caf\u00e9 names, boutique brand packaging, and municipal posters borrow the motif. This is a kind of \u201curban imitation economy.\u201d Here, imitation is not negative; it is the engine of cultural production.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Looking_with_Empathy_at_the_Question_%E2%80%9CWhy_Dont_We_Have_Something_Like_Japans_Cherry_Blossom_Festival%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>Looking with Empathy at the Question: \u201cWhy Don\u2019t We Have Something Like Japan\u2019s Cherry Blossom Festival?\u201d<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n<p>When people talk about Japan\u2019s cherry blossom festivals (<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/kulturveyasam.com\/sakura-ve-cicek-seyretme-gelenegi-hanami\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">hanami<\/a><\/strong>), they tend to swing between two extremes: either we romanticize it (\u201cthey do it so beautifully\u201d), or we dismiss it altogether (\u201cit wouldn\u2019t work here\u201d). Both are easy sentences. The harder thing is to build empathy and see the mechanism.<\/p>\n\n<p>In Japan, cherry blossom is not merely an aesthetic event; it is a public ritual repeated for years. That ritual is sustained by a finely woven network of understandings\u2014between government and residents, between local businesses and park management, between the media and everyday life. For a festival to \u201cexist,\u201d it is not enough simply to plant trees; regular maintenance of those trees, tracking the flowering period, a more flexible approach to public-space management, the organization of safety and cleanliness, and even people considering it normal to \u201cbe there\u201d during that time are all required. And that normalization, again, is a product of repetition.<\/p>\n\n<p>In our cities, however, the situation is often this: something gets done, but ownership across institutions is not clearly established. The rhythm of the parks department, the culture department, the transport unit, and the security unit does not really meet. For a festival to be continuous, it needs to be held \u201cevery year on the same dates, with the same seriousness\u201d; here, we often have to start from scratch each year. Starting over is exhausting. And where exhaustion sets in, the festival becomes \u201ca one-off event.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<p>There is also the issue of climate, maintenance, and spatial continuity. Cherry blossom season is brief, but it is a brief period people expect. Here, flowering can sometimes be a surprise; sometimes frost hits; sometimes maintenance is delayed; sometimes pruning is done incorrectly. When people do not develop the confidence that \u201cit will happen this year as well,\u201d the ritual breaks. When the ritual breaks, the festival remains at the level of a poster. And a poster does not build a city; a poster only announces something.<\/p>\n\n<p>Right here, a more realistic question emerges for our cities: \u201cInstead of imitating the culture of cherry blossoms, can we derive a repeatable flowering ritual from within our own climate and urban memory?\u201d My insistence on ornamental crabapples in Erzurum is nourished, in part, by this question. Because ornamental crabapple can speak with Erzurum\u2019s reality\u2014not with the romance of cherry blossoms, but with Erzurum\u2019s wind, cold, wide avenues, long winter, and strong sun.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Positioning_the_Flowering_Crabapple_as_an_Element_of_Urban_Character\"><\/span>Positioning the Flowering Crabapple as an Element of Urban Character<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n<p>Cities are sometimes remembered by a scent. Sometimes by a color. Sometimes by a taste. Designers usually focus on the visual language; yet urban character is something multi-sensory. What the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peyzax.com\/sus-elmasi-agaci-malus-floribunda-bakimi-ve-ozellikleri\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ornamental crabapple<\/a><\/strong> offers here is not merely a \u201cflower\u201d; it can function like a package\u2014given a bit of intent, a bit of organization, and a bit of repetition._<\/p>\n\n<p>The scent of ornamental crabapple blossoms (yes\u2014that lightly sweet scent that sometimes feels almost like \u201cclean air\u201d) could become an urban signature. Small-scale initiatives inspired by this scent could be imagined: cologne, soap, candles, room fragrances\u2026 These need not be designed as tourist trinkets, but rather as more refined \u201ccity mementos.\u201d Just as Oltu stone carries an identity in Erzurum, ornamental crabapple could carry identity from a softer angle. Moreover, products like these bring local producers and designers to the same table; this is exactly where the sociology of design comes to life.<\/p>\n\n<p>The question of a mascot is often underestimated, but I think it is a very \u201cpublic\u201d tool. When a city has a child-oriented face\u2014one that makes people smile\u2014it softens urban belonging. Creating a character based on the ornamental crabapple fruit (for instance, a small red apple figure\u2014wearing a scarf in winter, a hat in summer\u2026) may sound simple; yet as it is repeated in school activities, municipal children\u2019s festivals, and playground wayfinding, it gradually turns into a symbol. A symbol keeps memory alive.<\/p>\n\n<p>The festival dimension is the most critical part: a festival should not be a one-off celebration; it should be a fixed knot point in the city\u2019s calendar. Imagine something like an \u201cOrnamental Crabapple Month.\u201d Not only concerts, but also walking routes, photo frames, jewelry, perfumes, drawing workshops for children, guided photobotanical tours led by landscape professionals, gastronomy workshops\u2026 A program that repeats every year gradually becomes \u201cthe ritual of our spring.\u201d At that point, the role of designers is not only to draw spaces, but to design programs, to design experiences, and even to stage a kind of urban scenography.<\/p>\n\n<p>I think the gastronomy part could be the most enjoyable section\u2026 The fruit of the ornamental crabapple may not be directly suitable for the table, but it is powerful as inspiration: apple-themed flavors, experiments with apple vinegar, local reinterpretations with an ornamental-crabapple theme, even trials like \u201cornamental crabapple pickles\u201d\u2026 The aim here is not to eat the biological material as it is, but to help the motif spread throughout the city. <strong>If the motif spreads, the city gains character. That character is more lasting than a tourism brochure, because it seeps into everyday life.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p>And let me emphasize again: none of this \u201chappens\u201d within a single year. That is the point. The point is to multiply the same idea\u2014to repeat the same language. To have design, governance, civil society, and local businesses play the same melody, each with different instruments.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"To_Be_Effective_Is_in_Part_a_Matter_of_Patience%E2%80%94and_of_Working_in_Series\"><\/span>To Be Effective Is, in Part, a Matter of Patience\u2014and of Working in Series<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n<p><div class=\"flex flex-col text-sm pb-25\"><article class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none [--shadow-height:45px] has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none has-data-writing-block:-mt-(--shadow-height) has-data-writing-block:pt-(--shadow-height) [&amp;:has([data-writing-block])&gt;*]:pointer-events-auto scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]\" dir=\"auto\" tabindex=\"-1\" data-turn-id=\"753339f2-0068-4a8f-b8c5-5f238ad36eb4\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-74\" data-scroll-anchor=\"true\" data-turn=\"assistant\">&#13;\n<div class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-10 [--thread-content-margin:--spacing(4)] @w-sm\/main:[--thread-content-margin:--spacing(6)] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-margin:--spacing(16)] px-(--thread-content-margin)\">&#13;\n<div class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\" tabindex=\"-1\">&#13;\n<div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col grow\">&#13;\n<div class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal [.text-message+&amp;]:mt-1\" dir=\"auto\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"bec0018c-4467-4864-a204-817ad745d440\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-5-2-thinking\">&#13;\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden first:pt-[1px]\">&#13;\n<div class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert w-full wrap-break-word dark markdown-new-styling\">&#13;\n<p data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"455\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">One of the hardest things in the world of urban design is being willing to multiply your own idea. Because multiplying can look like standardization, and standardization can seem as if it reduces creativity. &lt;strong&gt;Yet a good standard is not the enemy of creativity; it is its carrier.&lt;\/strong&gt; You establish a language standard, and then you can produce hundreds of variations within that language. The majority is the ground that carries that standard.<\/p>&#13;\n&#13;\n<\/div>&#13;\n<\/div>&#13;\n<\/div>&#13;\n<\/div>&#13;\n<\/div>&#13;\n<\/div>&#13;\n<\/article><\/div><\/p>\n\n<p>Sometimes we want to define ourselves through a single \u201cicon project.\u201d We want that project to stand like a sculpture\u2014seen by everyone, applauded by all\u2026 But cities are less like sculptures and more like walks. In a walk, rhythm matters. And what builds rhythm is repetition. A city being child-friendly, a city being pedestrian-friendly, a city\u2019s \u201cspring\u201d being remembered\u2026 These are not built through singular miracles, but through small truths that multiply.<\/p>\n\n<p>That is why I like the ornamental crabapple idea in Erzurum. A little romantic, yes. A little like a dream, yes. But also very realistic: choosing one tree and stitching it into the city\u2019s veins again and again simplifies and strengthens the city\u2019s language. Rather than copying a cherry blossom festival one-to-one, it feels more genuine to draw a flowering culture from within our own climate. <strong>In our cities\u2014or in our lives\u2014many of the things we say \u201cdon\u2019t work\u201d often don\u2019t work simply because they were tried only once. They don\u2019t work because they weren\u2019t repeated. They don\u2019t work because they never reached the majority.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p>Perhaps the quietest yet strongest question in design is this: <strong>How many more times am I willing to say this idea? Across how many more streets am I willing to repeat it? For how many more years can I keep walking after the same small sentence?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p>The city takes that answer seriously\u2014whether we notice it or not\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; In the world of urban planning and design\u2014especially in the minds of mayors\u2014there is often a recurring illusion:&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":71425,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[4968,4966,4975,4948],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bright-ideas","category-city-and-regional-planning","category-column-articles","category-editors-pick"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peyzax.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peyzax.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peyzax.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peyzax.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peyzax.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.peyzax.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peyzax.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peyzax.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peyzax.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peyzax.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}