Evolving the original Pattern Language

The world has changed since Christopher Alexander's Pattern Language appeared in 1977. There was a lovely site called downlode.org that explained the original patterns but it was zapped for what I regard as silly copyright reasons. All told, the only references to pattern language I see are rip-off declensions that do not relate to Alexander's subject which is the creation of human living arrangements, cities, settlements, regions - things widely ignored in contemporary thinking.This is simply a preface to suggesting that the original Pattern Language is in limbo even though it has an official site that you must join in order to converse with whoever is representing this still pregnant thought trove. I fully acknowledge the genius of the original work, but I lament the way it has transited into our cyber-world and seek to move beyond it, because world has changed since 1977.

It is now appropriate to suggest that we have urban amenities everywhere and to further suggest that such amenities - under the cyber sign - include
global awareness that is unprecedented and which underlies democratic revolution. Along with
creation of high-tech car-free communities that make life walkable again.



The evolution of Pattern Language is the separation of the automobile from the human mix, something that should have been done originally, and the awareness that urban amenities do not need to be confined to existing metropolises, that indeed they should be available everywhere.

We need a new generation of designers to create car free communities that have all aspects of the city in walking distance and enough densiity to enable a vital local economies.
Charles Sanders Peirce - Thinking in Threes