manzini sustainable everyday

After all this thinking about overstimulation in commercial city centres,  I started reading Ezio Manzini who captures the issues of the inherent stress in consumerism:

" Well-being has two dimensions: the material and the non-material. Anyone who buys food and prepares dinner has the material satisfaction of filling his or her stomach and the non-material stisfaction of having cooked a particular dissh or enjoyed good company. Non-material satisfaction, however, requires deliberate attention for use and enjoyment. Having too many things makes time for non-material pleasure shrink; an overabundance of options can easily diminish full satisfaction; whoever wants to optimise his overall satisfaction must limit his quantitive aspirations. " Manzini, E and Jegou, F 'Sustainable Everyday: Scenarios of Urban Life' (2003)

Dont rush

Jacqui Chanarin told me about recent visitors to Japan where they are putting 'don't rush' signs up intended to influence crowd behaviour in commuter zones. The idea being that negotiating crowds could be easier and a less frustrating experience if everyone were more calm and careful. I found this one which apparently means " Don't rush or you will go round in circles"