I knew it would be hard to come back to the states after living what seemed to be a different life for the last month. Traveling has been a part of the daily life over the last month, within Milan and Italy as a whole. Metro trips, buses, and trains have just been second nature, but upon arrival in Houston it was back to the American mode of transport- private vehicles. Don’t get me wrong, I am excited to be back in a place of familiarity, Mexican food, and sweet tea; however, my eyes have also been opened to a new lifestyle that makes me question the way in which our country currently functions.
Granted, not all states and towns are the same across the United States or even Europe. However, I find it noteworthy that the U.S. has not taken further note from the urban infrastructure of European cities. My original culture shock upon arrival in Milan, followed by my awe of their intensive recycling system, has now turned into lingering questions of how far off the urban environments in the United States are. Austin is one of the most ‘tree-hugging’ communities in the United States, yet the enforcement of recycling and strong encouragement of public transport seems far lacking in comparison to that of not only Milano, but other European cities that I visited along the way over this last month.
On top of eye opening moments in regards to urban development and design, I have also gained a new sense of awareness overall. While everyone has been questioning the difficulty of a month in a country with an unknown language, I have been wondering why the language barrier was not more of hindrance in reality. And that also made me aware of the importance of design elements such as iconography throughout cities. While it is true that English can be found in many places throughout Europe, there are also more remote areas in each community that are not as emerged in English basics. This could have been daunting if it were not for familiar pictorial images, icons, and symbols that created a universal language to lead me through wherever I was at the time. It was not until this point that I realized the importance and necessity of urban graphic design elements for not only visitors with language barriers, but also the local community who may lack the capability to comprehend more the simplistic images.
These small pieces of the puzzle that I observed over my time in Milano have made me more aware of my surroundings not only in the more urban environments of Austin and Houston, but also more rural environments such as my home of San Angelo. With my main academic focus being of urban developments, city infrastructure, and relational planning, this trip awarded me a new perspective on the city and urban lifestyles. Although I have read and studied various European planning and architectural developments, none could have provided me the information that I was able to experience first hand. Not just seeing, but actually living in Milano for a month as well as my new gained knowledge about various basic aspects of design will definitely be something that will forever be apart of my thought processes throughout my life and future professional career.
