I recently read an article in “Rolling Stone” written by Al Gore.  It was another chapter in his view on climate change and environmental conditions.  This piece rehashes several facts and theories represented in his documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth”.  It digs a bit deeper, however, and points out several other interesting tidbits – one of which touches on a dying term in our society:  “citizen”.

Though his article is mostly aimed at much larger world issues, I was particularly intrigued with this side note.  Given where our world is today, with respect to technology, media, commercialism and the general fast-paced, short-attention-span society surrounding us, human beings are no longer referred to as citizens.  We are too often labeled as consumers or audiences.  We are simply whittled down to targets for the “sales pitch” – and sadly, many of us have become slaves to the media feeding this monstrous machine.

‘Citizen’ is defined as “an inhabitant of a city or town; especially one entitled to the rights and privileges of a free man or woman.”  ‘Consumer’ is defined as “a person who acquires goods and services for his or her own personal wants or needs”.  To me, those are two very different definitions.  Of course, we all have our needs, and we all rely upon a multitude of services within our communities to provide those goods in order to help sustain our families and lifestyles.

But when did these terms become so intertwined that the former (citizen) became lost?  It seems that a basic human element has been forgotten in this twisted transformation.  Is the media the ultimate bad guy and culprit?  To some extent, the answer to that question is simply, “yes”.  We, however, cannot roll over, completely blame the media, throw our hands up and surrender to it.  We can do small things everyday to regain the value and purity of life before the onslaught consumer lifestyle.  I believe it begins with recognizing our fellow humans once again for what they truly are:  “citizens”.  Pick up a phone once in a while, or better yet, make a personal, face-to-face appearance and shake a hand or offer a hug.  Give the texts, emails, and tweets a rest on occasion and simply write a letter (even if it’s just to your own mother or grandmother).

In architecture, we provide a service.  We provide a service to other humans; to citizens.  When designing a house or dwelling unit, a museum, or a library, we, as architects, should not enter into that process with our client with a “consumer-minded” agenda.  We must identify with that future inhabitant or inhabitants as one human communicating with another.  This principal goes back thousands of years… before cell phones, computers, soft drinks, and Nike ads.

In an ever-evolving world filled with growing technology, there is no escape from the realities that lie within our media.  While embracing so much of what is actually good about evolving technology, we must also push ourselves to retain the qualities in life that made our world and our country so great; the people in it.  We will continue creating architecture for citizens on a human scale.  We must also remember to live our lives and set better examples for our children and grandchildren as citizens… not consumers.