Cities and minimalism: towards new urban models with more self-control***

***The present writing aims to offer an English translation for the article published in Italian as “Città e minimalismo, verso nuovi modelli urbani con più self-control” (Formiche.net - March 13, 2023: https://formiche.net/2023/03/minimalismo-citta-modelli-urbani/ )

By Lorenzo Bona

A stimulating study from RentCafe recently analyzed many cities in relation to the notion of minimalism.

The study can be thought as organized in two major parts.

The first one may appear largely instrumental to recall possible ways to think about minimalism.

The second part may be viewed as the product of a line of reasoning that gradually translates into a ranking of U.S. cities with over 200,000 residents: from the city that is considered to be the most compatible with idea of minimalism, to the one that is seen as the less aligned with this idea.

On this basis, the study helps us to bring to memory that people frequently use the concept of minimalism in order to refer to:

·       various forms of human creativity like architecture, interior design and art;

·       a growing social trend that reflects individual preferences for situations characterized by a mix of quality characteristics like beauty, functionality, simplicity and frugality.

By extending these ideas, the study also invites us to take into account other interesting elements.

One of them concerns the possibility to adopt the notion of minimalism to describe a lifestyle of persons who tend to show a preference in favor of limited possessions, low-cost behavioral routines and eco-friendly practices without necessarily giving up the possible enjoyment of elegant and pleasant situations.

Some of the most relevant rewards that this lifestyle seems to offer to those who practice it could appear as a result of strategic choices that some people can make by embracing a sort of soft commitment which could be briefly summarized in this idea: to possess only practical things.

More specifically, the main rewards this lifestyle seems to offer to those who embrace it would be easier access to free time, nature and other attractive and enjoyable sides of life that can support their personal well-being.

Another interesting element the study invites us to consider is that our lifestyles typically emerge not only as a consequence of personal choices but also as an outcome of individual decisions which usually are substantially influenced by the places where we live.

In other words, different factors that concur to forge the individual identity of many cities can make it easier or more difficult – depending on the circumstances – for people who cultivate the idea of minimalism to fully center their daily activities around this idea.

For example, the possibility of living in cities with easy access to public transport systems, cycling infrastructures, pedestrian areas, can significantly help people reduce their dependence from choices that are relatively more resource consuming than others, such as going to work by car instead of on foot or by using a bike.

Similarly, living in urban centers where there are abundant natural spaces and housing inventories made up of small houses can make it possible to people to be less dependent on more costly or less frugal options, such as buying a big home instead of a smaller one or paying for a gym membership to do sports activities instead of performing them at a lower cost in public parks.

To create a ranking of cities that could best help people develop their existence in accordance with the notion of minimalism, the study from RentCafe seems to suggest to consider as useful indicators of an interest in what could be called a minimalist lifestyle several aspects like these:

·       presence of public transportation systems compatible with pedestrian and bike traffic or other eco-friendly forms of transit

·       availability of small homes and apartments to buy or rent

·       average monthly cost of electricity bills

·       extent of work-from-home situations

·       climate and natural landscape with qualities in favor of low-cost outdoor activities or schemes of actions that allow people to live well without necessarily owning too many things (e.g. clothes)

·       accessibility to self-storage options which may allow people to keep potential items they don’t want to completely give up, while their life develops in small homes or apartments with limited storage space

·       number of google searches revolving around the idea of minimalism

By limiting the attention of this writing to the first three spots of the ranking proposed by RentCafe, Salt Lake City, UT, emerges as the best city in the country that supports a minimalist lifestyle.

Right after this city, it is possible to find Arlington, VA and St. Paul, MN – which respectively gained the second and third place in the ranking.

Many elements of the study that this writing tried to summarize appear as able to fruitfully favor further progress of the debate around the evolution of our cities.

For example, some time ago, an article that I coauthored (“Come dovranno essere disegnate le città dopo la pandemia”, Formiche.net, 20.05.2021) expressed the idea that the evolution of our cities could perhaps greatly benefit from the development of urban models more strongly capable of promoting higher levels of self-control in the places where we live.

The idea was heavily drawing inspiration from researches at the intersection of economics and psychology that have been carried out with particular intensity by a scholar named Howard Rachlin, who has suggested innovative self-control strategies to help people act less impulsively in the event they would face a potential temptation that could be associated with possible rewards for behavior patterns which if implemented may be able to hinder, in certain situations, the possibility of greater rewards for alternative behavior patterns that are considered of higher value.

It does not seem an exaggeration to add that many things that have so far been recollected about the notion of minimalism and its links with potential strategic choices oriented towards the development of a minimalist lifestyle may perhaps appear largely able to be reconciled with the possibility of plans of actions based on self-control: think for example to a hypothetical fan of minimalism who chooses not to buy the car of his dreams in order to have an environment with less pollution and at the same time one extra reason to focus better on other immaterial aspects, such as the possibility of a better physical shape by additional opportunities for movement based on walking or cycling.

In this perspective that tries to pay special attention to the relevance of self-control, it seems reasonable to hope that the idea of minimalism can continue to stimulate the development of lifestyles and urban models that increasingly aspire to translate into real-world situations the possibility of a better balance between conscientious attitudes and pro-productivity behaviors.