Cinque Terra's Enviable Urban Plan

We'd wager that if you put together a panel of the finest urban planning minds from universities around the world, and they distilled the criteria of the ultimate utopian urban plan, you would find that it had already been realized in Italy's Cinque Terre. Hear me out. If I'm wrong, email me your arguments.

We were on the Ligurian coast of Italy recently, known for chic spots like Portofino, where the yachting and fashion crowd hangs out. Like many well-touristed spots, the classic piazzas are all done over with branded "designer" boutiques. But a little further down the Italian Riviera is Cinque Terre, a series of five less-populated villages balancing on hillsides: 900-year-old Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. These quasi-linked communities offer a compelling urban design story and are an example of how human beings might live together—and off the land—more intelligently. Click here for photos.

Like Venice or Amsterdam, Cinque Terre has been built around human needs, rather than those of automobiles (cars are banned in all of the village centers). Public transportation is a necessity, affordable and enjoyable. The villages are spaced a few kilometers apart, and, prior to the development of trains, were accessible only by traversing the challenging mountain terrain or approaching by sea. Now, boats run hourly during the daytime, and a convenient rail system links the villages, running consistently from 5am to 1am. Because of the somewhat difficult and relatively impractical geography, the area will never succumb to urban sprawl. You realize how much more attractive our urban or suburban communities would be if they were designed around dense cluster of homes with surrounding open space.

The hillside topography and sea provide all kinds of natural amenities. Drainage is one, making it easy to keep the towns clean and irrigate the vineyards and vegetable crops. Without flat pastureland, the sea becomes the main source of food. Catching fish is a lot more fun and healthier than slaughtering cattle or pigs and is a better renewable resource. An abundance of trees provides the locals with a steady supply of wood for heating and building. Sea breezes reduce the need for air conditioning. Having views greatly enhances one's sense of the possibilities and romance in life. (Most of us would choose "great view" over "convenient location" any day for our urban dwellings). Being on the ocean and having foreigners constantly come into town keeps Cinque Terre from being provincial. Aerobic workouts are free, and a fact of daily life in these hilly communities—there isn't a walk that doesn't involve serious inclines or steps.

In Cinque Terre, communications are handled efficiently without complex technology. In the local town square, the rapidity of networking and information dissemination makes cell phones, yellow pages and PDAs almost obsolete. I was able to learn about the available lodging rooms in fifteen minutes through two conversations with the café owners in Vernazza. Talking face-to-face is a much better way to resolve conflicts, build trust and create a sense of community.

Shared cultural values are a by-product of the area's insularity. There isn't much commuting to larger cities, and only the most committed of friends and associates are willing to visit if you live here. Just going to the next town requires a real effort. Thoughtful consumption is also encouraged, and it is definitely not the place for the capricious shopper. You'll think twice before ordering the wrong sofa when you have to schlep it to your home or office.

The cuisine of the five villages is superb, almost unbelievably so, in terms of quality and presentation. We knew the caliber of dining was high when the place that both our Italian and American friends recommended was pre-empted by the adjacent trattoria. We had arrived in Vernazza to go to the highly touted Gianni Franzi but were instead sidetracked by an Italian TV crew turning up that day to do a special on the local dishes created next door. It's hard to pin down the "best" restaurant when they are all exceptional.

You could fault Cinque Terre for being a little remote, being denied access to the lively exchange of cosmopolitan centers. And perhaps the public education system is parochial. But the tradeoff is that the size of these small communities makes them unsuitable for those other urban maladies, like fast food chains or anonymous malls, car exhaust and crime. The biggest threat to the design of the area might be tourism itself which has grown considerably in the last few years. If you visit you should go off season and not on weekends. There is a great hotel nearby, the Locanda dell'Angelo in Sarzana

Best,

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Comments

[thomashan]

Hi Rob,

I wish I could agree with you on Cinque Terre, but unfortunately, my wife and I didn't enjoy it very much when we visited it back in 2005.

Maybe it was the very high expectation we had from reading about it in Rick Steve's tour book or maybe it was due to the very very low tourist season (which we didn't mind at other cities in Italy). But for some reason, we just didn't enjoy Cinque Terre that and even cut our agenda short for extra days in Siena, now that was a fun place :-)

But I do agree with you regarding the healthy living style there.