Blue Biophilic Cities: Nature and Resilience Along The Urban Coast 1st Edition Timothy Beatley (Auth.) full chapter instant download

You might also like

Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 44

Blue Biophilic Cities: Nature and

Resilience Along The Urban Coast 1st


Edition Timothy Beatley (Auth.)
Visit to download the full and correct content document:
https://ebookmass.com/product/blue-biophilic-cities-nature-and-resilience-along-the-u
rban-coast-1st-edition-timothy-beatley-auth/
More products digital (pdf, epub, mobi) instant
download maybe you interests ...

Blue and Green Cities: The Role of Blue-Green


Infrastructure in Managing Urban Water Resources 1st
Edition Robert C. Brears

https://ebookmass.com/product/blue-and-green-cities-the-role-of-
blue-green-infrastructure-in-managing-urban-water-resources-1st-
edition-robert-c-brears/

Blue and Green Cities: The Role of Blue-Green


Infrastructure in Managing Urban Water Resources (2nd
Edition) Robert C. Brears

https://ebookmass.com/product/blue-and-green-cities-the-role-of-
blue-green-infrastructure-in-managing-urban-water-resources-2nd-
edition-robert-c-brears/

Urban Disasters and Resilience in Asia 1st Edition


Rajib Shaw

https://ebookmass.com/product/urban-disasters-and-resilience-in-
asia-1st-edition-rajib-shaw/

Cities and Urban Life 7th Edition, (Ebook PDF)

https://ebookmass.com/product/cities-and-urban-life-7th-edition-
ebook-pdf/
The Rise of Autonomous Smart Cities: Technology,
Economic Performance and Climate Resilience 1st ed.
Edition Zaheer Allam

https://ebookmass.com/product/the-rise-of-autonomous-smart-
cities-technology-economic-performance-and-climate-
resilience-1st-ed-edition-zaheer-allam/

Energy Use in Cities: A Roadmap for Urban Transitions


1st ed. Edition Stephanie Pincetl

https://ebookmass.com/product/energy-use-in-cities-a-roadmap-for-
urban-transitions-1st-ed-edition-stephanie-pincetl/

(eTextbook PDF) for Cities and Urban Life 7th Edition


by John J. Macionis

https://ebookmass.com/product/etextbook-pdf-for-cities-and-urban-
life-7th-edition-by-john-j-macionis/

A Future of Polycentric Cities: How Urban Life, Land


Supply, Smart Technologies and Sustainable Transport
Are Reshaping Cities 1st ed. 2020 Edition Cole
Hendrigan
https://ebookmass.com/product/a-future-of-polycentric-cities-how-
urban-life-land-supply-smart-technologies-and-sustainable-
transport-are-reshaping-cities-1st-ed-2020-edition-cole-
hendrigan/

Smart, Resilient and Transition Cities: Emerging


Approaches and Tools for A Climate-Sensitive Urban
Development 1st Edition Adriana Galderisi

https://ebookmass.com/product/smart-resilient-and-transition-
cities-emerging-approaches-and-tools-for-a-climate-sensitive-
urban-development-1st-edition-adriana-galderisi/
CITIES AND THE GLOBAL
POLITICS OF THE ENVIRONMENT
Series Editors: Michele Acuto,
Joana Setzer and Elizabeth Rapoport

BLUE
BIOPHILIC
CITIES
Nature and Resilience
Along The Urban
Coast

Timothy Beatley
Cities and the Global Politics of the Environment

Series Editors
Michele Acuto
University College London
London, United Kingdom

Elizabeth Rapoport
Urban Land Institute
London, United Kingdom

Joana Setzer
London School of Economics and Political Science
London, United Kingdom
Aims of the Series
More than half of humanity lives in cities, and by 2050 this might extend
to three quarters of the world’s population. Cities now have an undeniable
impact on world affairs: they constitute the hinges of the global economy,
global information flows, and worldwide mobility of goods and people.
Yet they also represent a formidable challenge for the 21st Century. Cities
are core drivers not only of this momentous urbanisation, but also have a
key impact on the environment, human security and the economy. Building
on the Palgrave Pivot initiative, this series aims at capturing these pivotal
implications with a particular attention to the impact of cities on global
environmental politics, and with a distinctive cross-disciplinary appeal that
seeks to bridge urban studies, international relations, and global gover-
nance. In particular, the series explores three themes: 1) What is the impact
of cities on the global politics of the environment? 2) To what extent can
there be talk of an emerging ‘global urban’ as a set of shared characteristics
that link up cities worldwide? 3) How do new modes of thinking through
the global environmental influence of cities help us to open up traditional
frames for urban and international research?

More information about this series at


http://www.palgrave.com/series/14897
Timothy Beatley

Blue Biophilic Cities


Nature and Resilience Along the Urban Coast
Timothy Beatley
School of Architecture
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

Cities and the Global Politics of the Environment


ISBN 978-3-319-67954-9    ISBN 978-3-319-67955-6 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67955-6

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017954972

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018


This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of
translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on
microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval,
electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now
known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are
exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information
in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the pub-
lisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the
material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The
publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional
affiliations.

Cover illustration: Détail de la Tour Eiffel © nemesis2207/Fotolia.co.uk

Printed on acid-free paper

This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature


The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Preface and Acknowledgements

Blue Biophilic Cities builds upon and extends several earlier book projects,
including Blue Urbanism (2014), which was an initial attempt at fleshing
out some of the main ideas discussed here. The chapters that follow seek
to integrate more clearly the concepts of blue urbanism and biophilic cit-
ies, and also build on my earlier work on biophilic city planning and
design. I argue that coastal cities offer special opportunities to foster deep
connections to the wondrous marine environment around them—indeed
that we must begin to understand that “nature in the city” includes those
organisms, habitats and natural processes that may less obvious but are no
less important or worthy of wonder. As coastal cities take steps to recon-
nect to the marine realm, they will have chances to build, grow and design
in ways that will make them more resilient in the face of rising sea levels
rand climate change.
A special impetus for this book arises from an ongoing documentary
film project, which is nearing completion. With a tentative title similar to
this book (Ocean Cities), this collaboration has led to interviews with key
individuals, site visits to key blue cities, and much of the content in the
pages that follow. Many thanks are due to Chuck Davis, my filmmaker-­
colleague, who has helped shape the ideas in the film and who has worked
so creatively and diligently to make it a reality. It is hoped that this book
will serve as an important supplement or companion to the film, which
builds on an earlier documentary venture, The Nature of Cities, which
aired on many Public Broadcasting System stations around the USA. We
have similar high hopes for the new film. The latter relies heavily on

v
vi PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

interviews with blue–urban leaders around the country and the world,
and I thank these many people for their time and for sharing their con-
siderable insights.
A number of interviewees who shared their knowledge are due thanks.
These include Josh Byrne, James Cason, Carrie Chen, Calder Deyerly,
Murray Fisher, Heidi Hughes, Roland Lewis, Adam Lindquist, Theodora
Long, Alan Lovewell, Jane Lubchenco, Bruce Mabry, David McGuire,
Peter Malinowski, Wallace J. Nichols, Kate Orff, Bob Partrite, Orrin
Pilkey, Alexander Rose, Sandra St. Hilaire, Jason Scorse, Paul Sieswerda,
Peter Singer, Lindsey Stover, Stena Troyer, Harold Wanless and Julien
Zaragoza. Most of the interviews were in person, often in conjunction
with on-camera filming, and some were by phone.
In several places I draw from a Planning Magazine column I write
every other month called “Ever Green.” In Chap. 4, discussions of
Ocearch’s efforts at tagging and monitoring sharks draws on an earlier
longer draft of a column in Planning Magazine, as does a discussion of
Baltimore’s Healthy Harbor Initiative in the same chapter. A great many
stories and interviews are conveyed in the following pages to follow. I
hope I have represented them accurately, but as usual I take full responsi-
bility for any errors in fact or emphasis.
Some important ocean issues are not dealt with here, or only in pass-
ing. The problem of plastics and ocean garbage, and efforts to control
and collect them, are not addressed, nor are the many promising efforts
to generate power from the ocean. Readers specifically interested in these
topics are referred to the earlier book, Blue Urbanism.
Contents

1 Future Cities: The Blue and Biophilic   1

2 Planning for the Balance of Danger and Delight  19

3 An Unsustainable Bounty from the Blue: Cities to


the Rescue?  39

4 Making the Marine World Visible: Fostering Emotional


Connections to the Sea  57

5 Rethinking the Blue–Urban Edge  79

6 Just Blue (and Biophilic) Cities 103

7 Conclusions and Trajectories: Future Cities that are


Blue and Biophilic 115

Bibliography 133

Index 137

vii
List of Figures

Figs. 1.1 and 1.2 Singapore has emerged as an exemplar of a biophilic


city and has changed its official motto from Singapore
Garden City, to Singapore City in a Garden. Image
credits: Tim Beatley 4
Fig. 1.3 Blue biophilic cities seek to rethink the many ways
they impact or connect with the marine world,
including through the harvesting and consumption
of seafood. Image credit: Tim Beatley 8
Fig. 1.4 The sea lions on Pier 39 in San Francisco are a major
attraction, and a glimpse of blue wildness nearby.
Image Credit: Tim Beatley 11
Fig. 1.5 A goal of Blue Biophilic Cities is to provide extensive
contact and connection with the marine world. Here
joggers in Coogee Beach, near Sydney, Australia, enjoy
a remarkable coastal walkway with dramatic views.
Image credit: Tim Beatley 15
Fig. 2.1 New York City is expanding its water transportation
network in many ways, including through water taxis
and by doubling its ferry service. Image credit:
Tim Beatley 21
Fig. 2.2 Brooklyn Bridge Park, shown here, is one of New
York City’s new waterfront parks, and illustrates the
city’s new emphasis on physical and visual connections
to water. Image credit: Tim Beatley 24

ix
x List of Figures

Fig. 2.3 Mr Trash Wheel, shown here, is located in the


inner harbor of Baltimore, Maryland, where it
utilizes river current and solar energy to collect
waste and debris. Image credit: Adam Lindquist,
Healthy Harbor Initiative 27
Figs. 2.4 and 2.5 Miami Beach has been elevating roads in
neighborhoods such as Sunset Beach, shown here.
It creates an interesting physical disconnect between
street level and storefront entrances, and sometimes,
as shown on the right, a sheltered seating area for
customers. Image credit: Tim Beatley 30
Figs. 2.6 and 2.7 Rotterdam has employed a variety of urban design
strategies to retain and control water. Shown here is
the Bethemplein—a so-called “water plaza” that serves
to collect and retain rainwater, but on sunny days adds
a public space to the neighborhood. Image credit:
Tim Beatley 35
Fig. 3.1 The Pikes Place Fish Market is an iconic institution in
Seattle, Washington, and a popular tourist destination.
The market is now only selling fish that are sustainably
harvested. Image credit: Tim Beatley 42
Fig. 3.2 Along the edges of Sydney’s South Beaches there are
many opportunities to find and interact with marine
life. Shown here is one of the many signs erected by
Randwick Council to help residents look for and
identify some of the more common marine species
they are likely to see. Image credit: Tim Beatley 44
Fig. 3.3 The Fog Harbor Fish House Restaurant in San
Francisco has committed to serving only sustainably
harvested seafood. Here the general manager show
the author the so-called “white board” in the kitchen,
which summarizes and keeps track of all the seafood
purchased and served in the restaurant. Image credit:
Tim Beatley 46
Figs. 3.4 and 3.5 Calder Deyerley, shown here, is proud of his family’s
fishing heritage. He fishes along the Californian coast
near Monterey using sustainable techniques, and sells
his fish to local restaurants and to the local CSF.
Image credit: Tim Beatley 48
Fig 3.6 Oyster aquaculture is one promising and more
sustainable option for producing food from the sea.
In New York Harbor, the Billion Oyster Project is
List of Figures 
   xi

attempting to use oysters to educate residents on


and connect residents to the harbor ecosystem, and
is directly engaging high school students in this
program. Image credit: New York Harbor School 53
Fig. 4.1 The release of “drift cards” shown here, is a way to
engage the public in studying how quickly and
extensively potential oil spills from tankers might
travel through the Strait of Georgia, near Vancouver,
British Columbia. Image credit: Andrea Reimer,
Georgia Strait Alliance 59
Fig. 4.2 The nonprofit Ocearch has been tagging and tracking
great white sharks and, through social media, helping
to educate about and build new emotional connections
to these majestic marine animals. Image credit: Ocearch 62
Figs. 4.3 and 4.4 One of the most effective ways to engage children in
the marine realm is to take them into the ocean.
Shown here are images from the so-­called Seagrass
Adventure, where fifth-graders are lead into the water
to see what kinds of marine life they can find. This is
one of the most popular programs of the Marjory
Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center, Miami.
Image credit: Tim Beatley 66
Fig. 4.5 Pier Into the Night, is an event in Gig Harbor,
Washington, where divers send images in real
time to a screen on a public pier. Here families are
mesmerized by what the divers are finding. Image
credit: Tim Beatley 69
Fig. 4.6 Billion Oyster Project engages high school students
from the New York Harbor School in the raising,
monitoring and studying of oysters placed in New York
Harbor. Image credit: New York Harbor School 74
Figs. 5.1 and 5.2 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge is an example of a growing
number of hotels that embrace sustainability. Most
impressively, it incorporates biophilic design principles
in many different ways, including through a prominent
green wall in its lobby. Image credit: Tim Beatley 82
Fig. 5.3 The water views walking across the Brooklyn Bridge
in New York City are spectacular. Image credit:
Tim Beatley 84
Fig. 5.4 The Sydney Harbor Bridge is a prominent landmark
in the city, and it is now possible to climb to its top.
Image credit: Tim Beatley 85
xii List of Figures

Figs. 5.5 and 5.6 One of the most spectacular and beautiful coastal
walks is from Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach, in Sydney,
Australia. It is popular with both residents and tourists.
Image credit: Tim Beatley 86
Fig. 5.7 Gordon’s Bay Underwater Nature Trail, near Sydney,
Australia, is very close to the shoreline and easily
accessible by visitors and residents. Image credit:
Tim Beatley 88
Fig. 5.8 Australian rookpools provide an unusual opportunity
for a more natureful swimming experience—one that
blends the experience of a municipal pool with that of
swimming in a more open ocean environment. Image
credit: Tim Beatley 90
Fig. 5.9 The “floating wetlands” have been placed in Baltimore’s
inner harbor. Adam Lindquist, shown here, runs the
Healthy Harbor program, which is responsible for
these floating wetlands. Image credit: Tim Beatley 95
Fig. 6.1 Through an initiative of the Baltimore Parks
Department, kids from underserved neighborhoods
learn all about kayaks, including how to sit in and steer
them, and then they experience being on the water
often for the first time. Image credit: Tim Beatley 105
Fig. 6.2 An alleyway in an underserved neighborhood in
Baltimore, Maryland, receives an “Alley Makeover.”
Image credit: photo by Adam Stab; alley art design
by Adam Stab and Leanna Wetmore 107
Fig. 6.3 A rendering of what the 11th Street Bridge Park in
Washington, DC, will look like when completed.
Image credit: Courtesy OMA + OLIN 109
Fig. 7.1 Students of the New York Harbor School help to
grow and monitor oysters as part of the Billion Oyster
Project. Image credit: New York Harbor School 118
Fig. 7.2 New York City has opened up many new parks along
its waterfront in recent years, including this one along
the Hudson River, adjacent to one of the city’s most
popular bike routes. Image credit: Tim Beatley 120
Fig. 7.3 Beach combing and shell collecting are some of the
many ways in which urban residents can enjoy nearby
marine environments. One of my family’s favorite
pastimes is collecting and creatively displaying colorful
coquina clam shells. Image credit: photo by Tim
Beatley; credit for the idea of displaying coquina’s
in this way, and by creatively framing them, goes to
Anneke Bastiaan 124
List of Figures 
   xiii

Fig. 7.4 The blue urban nature pyramid provides a way to


begin to understand and visualize the minimum
amounts of daily marine nature we need and might
have available in a blue biophilic city. Image credit:
original concept by Tanya Denckla-Cobb; image by
Tim Beatley 126
Fig. 7.5 Octopus mural, Fremantle, Western Australia. Image
credit: Paul Weaver 129
CHAPTER 1

Future Cities: The Blue and Biophilic

Abstract We live on the blue planet and, increasingly, an urban planet.


Yet we often don’t connect these realities. This chapter begins to explore
these important blue–urban connections and argues that marine nature
offers remarkable opportunities to promote wildness, health and healing,
and a deeper sense of place. Blue cities can be biophilic cities. Cities around
the world are beginning to seize these opportunities to overcome the
“ocean blindness” that is a major obstacle to these city-ocean connections.
Appreciation for nearby marine nature and wildness will continue to grow,
and planning and design will increasingly reflect this.

A recent story in The Economist declares in its opening sentence: “Earth


poorly named.”1 It ought to be called the water planet, or just blue. More
than two-thirds of the surface of the planet—a vast area of the planet’s
living space—is water, so we have named it poorly indeed. Much of our
experience as a species has been in the terretrial realm, where we have lived
and evolved, so perhaps it is understandable that we have taken a blinds
eye. Our expectation of the oceans has been for them to perpetually offer
up a bounty of seafood, to serve as receptacles for human pollutants of
many kinds, and act as transport highways, connecting cities and settle-
ments throughout the world, linking cultures and economies.

© The Author(s) 2018 1


T. Beatley, Blue Biophilic Cities, Cities and the Global Politics of the
Environment, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67955-6_1
2 T. BEATLEY

These same qualities of invisibility, or “ocean blindness” as The


Economist calls it, are what largely explain why oceans today are in such
trouble. We have difficulty seeing the ramifications of the many ocean
degradations we have wrought and their long term cumulative effects
(though this is becoming increasingly evident). Out of sight, out of
mind—though marine health and marine life may be nearer to urban resi-
dents than we think (and potentially much more “seeable” and “know-
able,” this book will argue).
Just as we are the blue planet so too are we increasingly the urban planet.
As a city planner this does my heart good, and while cities today face a
range of problems and challenges, many believe they represent the best
hope for improving the quality of human life and expanding economic and
social opportunity. As we seek to create a more sustainable world, cities
must increasingly be a key element, perhaps the key element in such strate-
gies. We argue increasingly for the need for denser, more compact cities,
where it is possible to walk everywhere, reducing dependence on automo-
biles. We seek to develop more sustainable ways to feed and house urban
populations and we invite more sustainable forms of infrastructure, includ-
ing bikes paths, public transport and renewable energy.
The goal of creating more dense, compact cities in turn raises a ques-
tion of the role of nature in urban life. Can we design and build more
sustainable places in ways that maintain, indeed foster, new connections
with the natural world. At the core of this goal is a belief (a key one that I
hold, which will be explored in the pages that follow) that we need nature
in our lives. We need to have daily, indeed hourly contact with nature.
Nature is not something optional, but absolutely essential to leading
happy, healthy and meaningful lives.
At an intuitive level many of us appreciate the positive benefits of
nature. A stroll in the woods, or time spent tending a garden deliver clear
and visceral improvements in mood, in reducing stress and in inducing
more creativity. Evidence has been mounting showing that contact with
nature has substantial mental health benefits and is a potent antidote to
chronic stress.2 We also know there are many other benefits—evidence
from psychology suggests that we are more likely to be generous in the
presence of nature, more likely to cooperate and more likely to think lon-
ger term.
Rachel Carson wrote eloquently about the importance of wonder in our
lives, and here nature is uniquely suited to it. In her influential essay (later
published as a book) she hoped for every child to have an indestructible
FUTURE CITIES: THE BLUE AND BIOPHILIC 3

sense of wonder “as an unfailing antidote against the boredom and disen-
chantments of later years, the sterile preoccupation with things that are
artificial, the alienation from the sources of our strength.”3 For Carson, the
marine edge was an especially potent and powerful place for stimulating
this wonder, and for sharing it with others, in beautiful books such as The
Sea Around Us.4
In the terrestrial realm we are privileged that enjoying nature can take
many forms, such as watching birds and listening to their songs, walking
in an urban forest, planting and tending a garden, perhaps in one’s front
or back yard, or balcony if one lives in a high-rise building. But there are
also many forms of marine nature nearby that we must begin to better
recognize as opportunities for biophilic connection and that is one of the
key messages here. Much of marine nature is mysterious and difficult to
see because it is inaccessible, under water, far away. But in coastal cities
around the USA and the world, New York to San Francisco, from Seattle
to Rotterdam, from Singapore to Perth, urban populations have remark-
able amounts of blue nature, remarkable amounts of blue wildness nearby.
Such marine nature must be seen through the lens of biophilia, and cities
on the coastal or marine edge understood as blue biophilic cities.
E.O. Wilson, Harvard University biologist, entomologist and conser-
vationist, deserves much of the credit for introducing the concept of bio-
philia, first to the environmental and conservation community, then more
generally to broader society. Biophilia refers essentially to the innate con-
nection we have with nature, our innate affiliation and emotional bonds
with the natural world. We have co-evolved with nature, biophilia says, so
it is not at all surprising that we tend to be more at ease, happier and more
creative when we are surrounded by nature.
What are Biophilic Cities? They are cities that are nature-rich or nature-­
abundant, of course—cities with extensive numbers of trees and amounts
of greenery, where wildlife is welcomed in, where neighborhoods make it
easy to spend time outside. These are cities frequently described with ref-
erence to their natural qualities—cities that have achieved a high percent-
age of tree canopy cover, for instance, or a high percentage of residents
living in close proximity to a park or greenspace.
In 2013 we launched a new global Biophilic Cities Network in an effort
to connect cites putting nature at the center of their design and planning,
sharing stories, comparing notes about effective tools and helping to
inspire each other and to advance the global biophilic cities movement
(Figs. 1.1 and 1.2).5
4 T. BEATLEY

Figs. 1.1 and 1.2 Singapore has emerged as an exemplar of a biophilic city and
has changed its official motto from Singapore Garden City, to Singapore City in a
Garden. Image credits: Tim Beatley
FUTURE CITIES: THE BLUE AND BIOPHILIC 5

A number of cities in the network, notably Singapore and Wellington,


have done much to study, raise awareness about, and conserve and protect
marine environments around them. They are inspiring stories, to be sure,
but they are only emerging examples of Blue Biophilic Cities. There is
much more to do and many more ways coastal cities especially can connect
with and support the marine realm.

The Blue City is a Biophilic City


How does, or how could, biophilia manifest in a marine or coastal urban
context? Blue Biophilic Cities can be described as cities that do not ignore
a marine context, but rather celebrate it. They are cities that seek to appre-
ciate marine nature and understand that much of the biodiversity and
nature around will be marine.
More specifically, blue cities that are Biophilic Cities—Blue Biophilic
Cities—could be described as follows:

• cities where residents actively spend time on, near, or underneath the
water near and around them, whether boating, sailing, strolling or
hiking near the water’s edge, participating in a variety of recreational
pursuits and hobbies, from scuba diving and snorkeling to ocean and
harbor swimming that bring them in close contact with the marine
world and help to shape a sense of connection to the marine
environment;
• cities that seek to maximize moments of awe and wonder and under-
stand the marine world as a nearby place of immense biodiversity and
majesty, recognizing it as a source of opportunities for urban experi-
ences that soften, uplift and deliver joy;
• cities that view nature and ecology holistically, that put marine life at
the core of their view of the natural world in which they sit;
• cities that actively connect residents to the marine world and that
embrace a sense of caring for and protecting marine life;
• cities that attempt to reduce individual and collective consumption
that negatively impacts the marine world, both near and far. Blue
Biophilic Cities understand they are duty-bound to take steps to
reduce the size of their ecological footprint on the world’s oceans.
There is an ethical duty to reduce the ecological impact but also an
affirmative responsibility to do what is possible to actively conserve
and protect the marine world. Blue Biophilic Cities establish marine
6 T. BEATLEY

protected areas where it is possible locally and do what they can to


assume active leadership and support for larger reserves, including
those potentially hundreds or even thousands of miles away;
• cities that work to include marine education in schools and that seek
to educate all citizens about marine life and the threats and pressures
currently being experienced. Achieving a basic (and even advanced)
level of marine literacy is an important goal in all Blue Biophilic
Cities.

It might also be said that these cities seek to shape a connection to


marine nature that is “whole of life.” That is, a connection that begins at
an early age, runs through childhood and extends into adulthood and into
one’s senior years. It is a love of the marine realm that is long-lasting, deep
and fairly continuous. Richard Louv has written compellingly about the
ways that children today grow up disconnected from nature—time spent
outside in nature replaced with screen time, an inability to recognize com-
mon species of flora and fauna, parental worries about safety and a shift
away from teaching natural history, among the many causes.6 In Biophilic
Cities exposure to and learning about nature starts at an early age and
continues throughout life. Schools include hands-on outdoor learning
and integrate nature into their curricula at every stage. And these oppor-
tunities continue in later years as we increasingly recognize the benefits
and meaning nature takes on. Opportunities to engage in blue nature, it is
argued here, ought similarly to be available throughout one’s life.
It is important to recognize the role of the blue in the biophilic, and
that is a major theme of this book. We are the blue planet, as Sylvia Earle
and others frequently tell us. And yet we seem to need constant reminding
of this. Cities, especially it seems, have little explicit recognition of their
marine position in the world, even when they are perched on the edge of
sea.
As former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
administrator Jane Lubchenco said recently in an interview for our film
about blue cities, “Oceans are essential to all life on Earth.”7 Yet they are
in serious trouble and in quick decline in many ways and in many dimen-
sions. Oceans are “warmer, more acidic, hold less oxygen, [are] more
impoverished than ever,” and the biggest problem Lubchenco argues—
bigger than climate change and overfishing—is the lack of understanding,
the lack of public awareness about oceans and how essential they are to
our collective future. Half the world’s oxygen, she says, derives from
FUTURE CITIES: THE BLUE AND BIOPHILIC 7

oceans, and some 3 billion people on the planet rely on the bounty of the
sea for their primary source of protein.
There is little doubt that ocean and marine environments are bearing
much of the brunt of population and development pressures. Contaminated
with immense volumes of plastic and other waste, and absorbing much of
the world’s carbon, it is showing many signs profound degradation and
decline—coral reefs dying in the face of acidification, fish and marine
organisms shifting in the face of rising sea temperatures.
July 2017 witnessed a dramatic event as an iceberg “the size of
Delaware” broke away from the Larsen C ice shelf in Antarctica.8 A 2016
study published in Nature sheds some light on the significance of melting
Antarctic ice. Modeling earlier climate eras, the ominous conclusion is that
a melting Antarctica gets much of the blame for those historic high sea
levels: “Antarctica has the potential to contribute more than a meter of sea
level rise by 2100 and more than 15 meters by 2500, if emissions continue
unabated.”9 Even a meter of sea level rise will be too much for cities such
as New York and Miami to handle (Fig. 1.3).
On the other hand, there are immense benefits and ecological services
we gain from oceans, though many may be in decline or diminished in the
future. The blue economy is worth about $21 trillion in annual income,
according to the UN.10 We can’t afford to ignore the ocean, ecologically
or economically.

Blue Wonder, Marine Magic


We need healthy oceans and I believe most people would care about them
if given the chance and if fully aware of their plight, what we are losing and
the impact their destruction is having on us. Why this lack of awareness?
Some of it, perhaps most of it, derives from the physical and emotional
disconnect from the watery, marine realm. It may not be far away in terms
of distance, but worlds away in terms of perception and emotional prox-
imity. “Out of sight, out of mind,” explains a lot says Lubchenco.
Filming recently on the waterfront in Vancouver, we heard from
Christianne Wilhelmsen, director of the Georgia Strait Alliance, about the
challenges of fostering ocean awareness even in a city where water is such
a given. “Look at any brochure of Vancouver, it will show water, guaran-
teed. Yet we still exist in a highly urbanized environment where people can
grow up never really recognizing that they are part of an ocean.” And as
Wilhelmsen says Vancouverites don’t necessarily see how an ocean context
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
ofreçiesse[412] me tocaua poco a
mi, y menos me daua por ello.
Miçilo.—Dime, si en vna
quaresma sabias que algun
feligres estaua en algun pecado
mortal, de alguna enemistad o en
amistad viçiosa de[413] alguna
muger, ¿qué hazias? No
trabajauas por hazer a los vnos
amigos, y a los otros vuscar
medios honestos y secretos como
los apartar del pecado?
Gallo.—Esos cuydados ninguna
pena me dauan. Proprios eran del
proprio pastor cura: viniesse a
verlos y proueerlos. Comiasse él
en cada vn año treçientos
ducados que valia el benefficio
paseandose por la corte, y auia
yo de lleuar toda la carga por dos
mil marauedis? No pareçe cosa
justa.
Miçilo.—¡Ay de las almas que lo
padeçian! Ya me pareçe que te
auias obligado con aquella
condiçion; que el cura su culpa
pagara.
Gallo.—Dexa[414] ya esto; y
quiero te contar vn
aconteçimiento que passé en un
tiempo, en el qual juntamente
siendote graçioso verás y
conoçerás la vanidad desta vida,
y el pago que dan sus viçios y
deleytes. Y tambien verás el
estado en que está el mundo, y
los engaños y laçiuia de las
peruersas y malas mugeres, y el
fin y daño que sacan los que a
sus suçias conuersaçiones se
dan; y viniendo al caso sabras,
que en vn tiempo yo fue vn muy
apuesto y agraçiado mançebo
cortesano y de buena
conuersaçion, de natural criança y
contina residençia en la corte de
nuestro Rey. Hijo de vn valeroso
señor de estado y casa real; y por
no me dar más a conoçer, basta,
que porque haze al proçeso de mi
historia te llego a dezir, que entre
otros preuillejios y gajes que
estauan anejos á nuestra casa,
era vna compañia de çien[415]
lanças de las que estan en las
guardas del Reyno, que llaman
hombres de armas de guarniçion.
Pues passa ansi que en el año
del señor de mil y quinientos y
veynte y dos, quando los
françesses entraron en el Reyno
de Nauarra con gran poder, por
tener ausente a nuestro prinçipe,
Rey y Señor, se juntaron todos los
grandes y señores de Castilla;
guiando por gouernador y capitan
general el condestable Don Yñigo
de Velasco para yr en la defensa
y amparo y restituçion de aquel
Reyno, porque se auian ya
lançado los françesses hasta
Logroño; y ansi por ser ya mi
padre viejo y indispuesto me
cometio y dió el poder de su
capitania con çedula y liçençia del
Rey; y ansi quando por los
señores gouernadores fue
mandado mouer, mandé a mi sota
capitan y alferez que caminassen
con su estandarte, siendo todos
muy bien proueydos y basteçidos
por nuestra reseña y alarde;
porque yo tenia çierto negoçio en
Logroño en que me conuenia
detener le mandé que guiassen, y
por mi carta se pressentassen al
Señor Capitan General, y yo
quedé allí; y despues quando
tuue acabado el negoçio parti con
vn escudero mio que á la contina
le lleuaba para mi conpañia y
serviçio en vn roçin; y luego como
entramos en[416] Nauarra fue
auisado que las mugeres en
aquella tierra eran grandes
hechizeras encantadoras, y que
tenian pacto y comunicaçion con
el demonio para el effecto de su
arte y encantamiento, y ansi me
auisauan que me guardasse y
viuiesse recatado, porque eran
poderosas en peruertir los
honbres y avn en conuertirlos en
vestias y piedras si querian; y
avnque en la verdad en alguna
manera me escandalizasse,
holgué en ser auisado, porque la
neçedad como es regoçijada
reçibe pasatiempo con
semejantes cosas; y tanbien
porque yo de mi cogeta fue
affiçionado a semejantes
aconteçimientos. Por tanto yua
deseoso de encontrarme con
alguna que me encantasse, y avn
yua de voluntad y pensamiento de
trocar por alguna parte de aquella
arte el fauor del prinçipe y su
capitania; y caminando vna
mañana[417] yendo reboluiendo
estas cosas en mi pensamiento,
al bajar de vna montaña me apeé
por estender las piernas, y
tanbien porque descansasse algo
mi cauallo, que començaua ya
algo el sol a calentar; y ansi como
fue apeado tirandole de las orejas
y estregandole el rostro di la
rienda a mi escudero Palomades
que ansi se llamaua,
mandandole[418] que caminasse
ante mi; y en esto bolui la cabeça
atras y veo venir tras mi vn
honbre en vna vestia, el qual en
su habito y trato luego que llegó
me pareçió ser de la tierra; por lo
qual y por holgar yo mucho de la
conuersaçion le aguardé, y ansi
llegando a mi me saludó; y por el
semejante se apeó para bajar, y
luego començé a le preguntar por
su tierra y lugar, como en el
camino suele aconteçer y él me
dixo que era de una aldea
pequeña que estaua vna legua de
allí; y yo trabajaua meterle en
conuersaçion presumiendo dél
algun encogimiento, porque como
aquella tierra estuuiesse al
presente en guerras tratan con
nosotros con algun recato no se
nos osando confiar. Pero en la
verdad aquel honbre no mostró
mucha cobardia, mas antes
demasiada liberalidad. Tanto que
de sus hablas y razones
façilmente juzgaras ser otra cosa
que honbre, porque ansi con su
habla me embelleñó que casi no
supe de mi, y ansi del Rey y de la
Reyna, y de la guerra de los
françeses y castellanos venimos a
hablar de la costumbre y bondad
de la gente de la tierra, y el
çiertamente vino a hablar en ello
de buena voluntad. Començomela
a loar de fertil y viçiosa,
abundante de todo lo necesario, y
yo dixe: hombre honrrado yo
tengo entendido desta tierra todo
el cunplimiento entre todas las
prouinçias del mundo, y que la
gente es de buena habilidad y
injenio, y las mugeres veo tanbien
que son hermosas y de apuesta y
agraçiada representacion; y ansi
él me replicó: por cierto, Señor,
ansi es como sentis: y entre todas
las otras cosas quiero que sepais
que las mugeres, demas de su
hermosura, son de admirable
habilidad, en tanta manera que en
saber exçeden a quantas en el
mundo son. Entonçes yo le
repliqué deseando saber de su
sçiençia; importunandole me
dixesse algo en particular de su
saber; y él me respondió en tanta
abundançia que toda mi atençion
lleuaua puesta en lo que el dezia.
Diziendo: señor, mandan el sol y
obedeçe, a las estrellas fuerçan
en su curso, y a la luna quitan y
ponen su luz conforme a su
voluntad. Añublan los ayres, y
hazen si quieren que se huelle y
paseen como la tierra. Al fuego
hazen que enfrie, y al agua que
queme. Hazense moças y en vn
punto viejas, palo, piedra y vestia.
Si les contenta vn honbre en su
mano está gozar dellos[419] a su
voluntad; y para tenerlos mas
aparejados a este effecto los
conuierten en diuersos animales
entorpeçiendoles sus[420]
sentidos y su buena naturaleza.
Han podido tanto con su arte que
ellas mandan y los honbres
obedeçen, o les cuesta la vida.
Porque quieren vsar de mucha
libertad yendo de dia y de noche
por caminos, valles y sierras a
hazer sus encantos y a coxer sus
yeruas y piedras, y hazer sus
tratos y conçiertos. Lleuauame
con esto tan traspuesto en si que
ningun acuerdo tenia de mi
quando llegamos al lugar; y
cabalgando en nuestras vestias
nos metimos[421] por el pueblo, y
queriendo yo passar adelante me
forçó con grande importunidad y
buena criança que quisiesse
apearme en su posada porque
seruia a vna dueña valerosa que
acostunbra reçebir semejantes
caualleros en su casa de buena
voluntad; y como fuesse llegada
la hora del comer holgué de me
apear. Salionos a reçebir vna
dueña de alta y buena
dispusiçion, y[422] avnque
representaua alguna edad tenia
ayre y desenboltura de moça, y
en viendome se vino para mi con
vna boz y habla halagüeña y muy
de presto dispuso toda la casa y
aparato con tanto seruiçio como si
fuera casa de un principe o
poderoso señor; y quando miré
por mi guia no la vi; porque
entrando en casa se me
desapareçió; y segun pareçe por
todo lo que passó antes y
despues no puedo creer sino que
aquella muger tenia aquel
demonio por familiar en hábito y
figura de honbre. Porque segun
mostró en su habla, trato y
conuersaçion no creo otra cosa,
sino que le tenia para enbiarle a
caza de hombres quando para su
apetito y recreaçion le daua la
voluntad. Porque ansi me cazó a
mi como agora oyras. Luego
como llegamos, con mil regalos y
ofreçimientos dispuso la comida
con grande aparato, con toda la
diligençia y soliçitud posible; en
toda abundançia de frutas, flores
y manjares de mucho gusto y
sabor, y los vinos muy preçiados
en toda suauidad, seruidos de
diuersas dueñas y donzellas, que
casi pareçian diferentes con cada
manjar. Tubome la fiesta en
mucho regocijo y passatiempo en
vna sala baja que caya sobre un
huerto de frutas y de flores muy
suabes; ya me pareçia que por
poco me quedara alli, sino fuera
porque ansi como en sueño me
acordé de mi viaje y compañia, y
aconsideré que corria gran peligro
mi honrra si me descuydasse; y
ansi sospirando me leuanté en pie
proponiendo yr con la posible
furia a cunplir con la guerra y
luego boluerme a gozar de aquel
parayso terrenal. Y ansi la maga
por estar muy contenta de mi
buena dispusiçion me propuso a
quedarme aquella noche alli;
diziendo que ella no queria, ni
tenia quanta prosperidad y
aparato poseya sino para seruir y
hospedar semejantes caualleros.
Prinçipalmente por auer sido su
marido vn castellano de gran
valor, al qual amó sobre todas las
cosas desta vida, y ansi no podia
faltar a los caualleros castellanos,
por representarsele qualquiera
dellos aquellos sus primeros
amores que ella a la contina tenia
ante sus ojos presente. Pero
como avn yo no auia perdido del
todo mi juizio y vso de razon
trabajé de agradeçerle con
palabras acompañadas de mucho
cumplimiento y criança la merçed
que me hazia; con protestaçion
que acabada la guerra yo vernia
con mas libertad a la seruir. No le
pessó mucho a la maga mi
defensa como esperaua antes de
la mañana satisfazerse de mi
mucho a su voluntad; y ansi me
dixo: pues señor, presupuesto
que teneis conoçido el deseo que
tengo de os seruir, y confiando
que cumplireis la palabra que me
dais, podreis hazer lo que
querreis; y por mas os seruir os
daré un criado mio que os guie
quatro leguas de aqui, donde os
vays a dormir con mucho solaz.
Porque tengo alli una muy
valerosa sobrina que tiene vn
fuerte y muy hermoso castillo en
vna muy deleytosa floresta que
estará quatro leguas de aqui,
llegando esta noche allí, no
perdiendo xornada para vuestro
proposito, por ser mia la guia y
por la graçia de mi sobrina que
tiene por costunbre[423] hospedar
semejantes caualleros, como yo,
os hospedará, y allí pasareis esta
noche mucho a vuestro contento
y solaz; yo le bessé las manos
por tan gran merçed, la qual
açepté; y luego salió el viejo que
me truxo allí cabalgando en vn
rozin y despidiendome de la
maga[424] començamos a
caminar. Fuemos hablando en
muchos loores de su señora, que
nunca acabaua de la
engrandeçer. Pues dixome: Señor
agora vays a este castillo donde
vereis vna donzella que en
hermosura y valor exçede a
quantas en el mundo ay; y
demandandole por su nonbre,
padres y calidad de estado me
dixo él: eso haré yo, señor, de
muy buena voluntad de os dezir,
porque despues desta mi señora
a quien yo agora siruo no creo
que ay en el mundo su igual, y a
quien con mejor voluntad
deseasse ni deua yo seruir por su
gran valor; y ansi Señor,
sabed[425] que esta donzella fue
hija de vn señor natural desta
tierra, del mejor linaje que en ella
ay, el qual se llamaua el gran
varon; y por su hermosura y linaje
fue demandada de muchos
caualleros de alta guisa, ansi
desta tierra como de Francia y
Castilla, y a todos los
menospreçió proponiendo de no
casar con otro sino con el hijo de
su rey; y siendo tratadas entre
ellos palabras de matrimonio
respondió el Rey de Nauarra que
tenia desposado su hijo con la
segunda hija del Rey de Françia,
y que no podia faltarle la palabra.
Por lo qual sintiendo ella afrenta
no auerle salido çierto su deseo,
por ser dama de alta guisa
propuso de nunca se casar hasta
oy; y ansi por auer en su linaxe
dueñas muy hadadas que la
hadaron, es ella la mas hadada y
sabia muger que en el mundo ay.
En tanta manera que por ser tan
sabia en las artes la llaman en
esta tierra la donzella Saxe hija
del gran varon; y ansi hablando
en esto fuemos a entrar en vna
muy hermosa y agraçiada floresta
de mucha y deleytable arboleda.
Por la qual hablando en estas[426]
y otras muchas cosas caminamos
al pareçer dos leguas hasta que
casi se acabó el dia. Y ansi casi
media hora antes que se pusiesse
el sol llegamos a vn pequeño y
muy apazible valle donde pareçia
que se augmentaua mas la
floresta con muchos jazmines
altos y muy graçiosos naranjos
que comunicauan en aquel
tiempo su oloroso azahar, y otras
flores de suabe y apazible olor.
En el medio del qual valle se
mostró vn fuerte y graçioso[427]
castillo que mostraua ser el
parayso terrenal. Era edificado de
muy altas y agraçiadas torres de
muy labrada canteria. Era labrado
de muy relumbrante marmol y de
jaspes muy finos, y del alabastro
y del musayco y moçaraues muy
perfetos y otras piedras de mucha
estima[428]. Pareciome ser dentro
de exçeso sin conparaçion más
polido, pues de fuera auia en el
tanta exçelençia. Y ansi fue que
como llamamos a la puerta del
castillo y por el portero fue
conoçida mi guia fueron abiertas
las puertas con mucha liberalidad,
y entramos a vn ancho patio; del
qual cada cuadro tenia seys
colunas de forma jonica, de fino
marmol, con sus arcos de la
mesma piedra, con vnas medallas
entre arco y arco que no les
faltaua sino el alma para hablar.
Eran las imagines de Piramo y
Tisbe, de Philis y Demophon; de
Cleopatra y Marco Antonio. Y ansi
todas las demas de los
enamorados de la antiguedad; y
antes que passe adelante quiero
que entiendas que esta donzella
Saxe de que aqui te contaré, no
era otra sino la vieja maga que en
el aldea al comer me hospedó. La
qual como le pareçiesse que no
se aprouechara de mi en su casa
tan a su plazer como aqui, tenia
por sus artes y industrias del
demonio esta floresta y castillo y
todo el seruiçio y aparato que
oyras, para holgar con quien
queria noches y dias como te
contaré. Por el friso de los arcos
del patio yua vna gruesa cadena
dorada que salia releuada en la
canteria, y vna letra que dezia:

«Quantos van en derredor,


son prisioneros de amor».

Auia por todo el torno ricas


imagines y piedras del Oriente, y
auia en los corredores altos
gruesas colunas enteras de
diamante, no sé si verdadero o
falso, pero oso juzgar que no auia
mas bella cosa en el mundo. Por
lo alto de la casa auia terrados de
muy hermosos y agraçiados
edefiçios, por los quales andauan
lindas y hermosas damas
vestidas de verde y de otros
amorosos colores, con guirnaldas
en las cabezas, de rosas y flores,
dançando a la muy suaue musica
de arpas y dulçaynas que les
tañian sin pareçer quién. Bien
puede qualquiera que aqui entre
afirmar que fuesse aqui el
parayso o el lugar donde el amor
fue naçido: porque aqui ni entra,
ni admiten en esta compañia cosa
que pueda entristeçer, ni dar
passion. No se vsa[429] aqui
otra[430] cosa sino[431] juegos,
plazeres, comeres, danzar, vaylar
y motexar. Y otras vezes juntas
damas y caualleros cantar musica
muy ordenada, que juzgaras estar
aqui los angeles en contina
conuersaçion y festiuidad. Nunca
alli entró cana, arruga, ni vejez;
sino solamente juuentud de doze
hasta treynta años, que se sepa
comunicar en todo deleyte y
plazer. En esta casa siempre es
abril y mayo, porque nunca en
todo el año el suaue y templado
calor y fresco les falta; porque
aquella diosa lo dispone con su
arte a medida de su voluntad y
neçesidad. Acompañanla aqui a
la contina muy valerosas damas
que ella tiene en su compañia de
su linaxe, y otras por amistad, las
quales atraen allí caualleros que
vienen en seguida de su valor.
Estos hazen la corte mas vfana y
granosa que nunca en casa de
Rey ni emperador tan adornada
de cortesania se vio. Porque
solamente entienden[432] en
inuençiones de traxes, justas,
danças y vayles; y otras a la
sonbra de muy apazibles arboles
nouelan, motejan, rien con gran
solaz; qual demanda questiones y
preguntas de amores; hazer
sonetos, coplas, villançicos, y
otras agudeças en que a la
contina reçiben plazer. Por lo alto
y por los xardines, por çima de
chopos, fresnos, laureles y
arrayanes, buelan calandrias,
sirgueros, canarios y ruyseñores
que con su musica hazen suaue
melodia. Estando yo mirando toda
esta hermosura ya medio fuera de
mi, se me pusieron delante dos
damas más de diuina que de
humana representaçion porque
tales pareçian en su habito, modo
y gesto; que todas venian
vestidas como de casa real.
Trayan muy ricos requamados,
joyas y piedras muy finas; rubies,
esmeraldas, diamantes, balajes,
zafires, jaçintos y de otras infinito
numero que no cuento. Estas
puestas ante mi con humilde y
agraçiado semblante, auiendoles
yo hecho la cortesia que a tales
damas se les deuia, con muy
cortés razonamiento me
ofreçieron el hospedaje y seruiçio
de aquella noche de parte de la
señora del castillo; y yo auiendo
açeptado la merçed con
hazimiento de graçias, me dixeron
estar me aguardando arriba; y
ansi dexando el cauallo a mi
escudero me guiaron por el
escalera. Avn no auiamos
acabado de subir quando vimos a
la bella Saxe que venia por el
corredor, la qual con aquella
cortesia y semblante me reçibió
como si yo fuera el Señor de todo
el mundo, y ansi fue de toda
aquella y trihunfante y agraçiada
corte tan reuerençiado y acatado
como si yo fuera todo el poder
que los auia de mandar. Era aquel
palaçio tan adornado y exçelente,
y tan apuesta aquella
bienauenturada[433] compañia
que me pareçe que mi lengua la
haze injuria en querertelo todo
pintar. Porque era ello todo de
tanto aparato y perfecçion, y mi
injenio de tan poca eloquençia
que es neçesario que baje su
hermosura y grandeza muy sin
comparaçion. Muchos abria a
quien yo contasse esta historia
que por su poca esperiençia les
pareçiese[434] manera de fingir.
Pero esfuerçome a te la pintar a ti
Miçilo más en la verdad que
puedo porque tengo entendido de
tu cordura que con tu buen crédito
debajo destas toscas y cortas
palabras entenderas lo mucho
que quiero sinificar. Porque
ciertamente era aquella corte y
compañia la más rica, la más
hermosa, agraçiada y generosa
que en el mundo nunca fue: ni
lengua humana con muy alta y
adornada eloquençia nunca
podria encareçer, ni pluma
escreuir. Era toda de florida y
bella edad, y sola entre todas
venia aquella mi bella diosa
relumbrando como el sol entre
todas las estrellas, de belleza
estraña. Era su persona de
miembros tan formados quanto
pudiera con la agudeza de su
ingenio pintar aquel famoso
Apeles con su pinçel. Los
cabellos luengos, rubios y
encrespados; trançados con vn
cordon de oro que venia a hazer
una injeniosa laçada sobre el lado
derecho de donde colgaua vn
joyel que no auia juizio que le
bastasse estimar[435]. Traya los
carrillos muy colorados de rosas y
jazmines, y la frente pareçia ser
de vn liso marfil; ancha,
espaciosa, llana y conueniente,
que el sol hazia eclipsar con su
resplandor. Debajo de dos arcos
de çejas negras como el fino
azabache le estan baylando dos
soles piadosos a alunbrar a los
que los miran, que pareçia estar
amor jugando en ellos y de alli
disparar tiros gentiles con que
visiblemente va matando a
qualquier hombre que con ellos
echa de ver. La nariz pequeña y
afilada, en que naturaleza mostró
su perfeçion. Muestrasse debajo
de dos pequeños valles la chica
boca de coral muy fino, y dentro
della al abrir y çerrar de un labrio
angelical se muestran dos hylos
de perlas orientales que trae por
dientes. Aqui se forman
çelestiales palabras que bastan
ablandar coraçones de diamante.
Aqui se forma vn reyr tan suaue
que a todos fuerça a obedeçer.
Tenia el cuello redondo, luengo y
sacado, y el pecho ancho, lleno y
blanco como la nieue, y a cada
lado puesta en él vna mançana
qual siendo ella diosa pudiera
poner en si para mostrar su
hermosura y perfeçion. Todo lo
demas que secreto está, como
cuerdo puedes juzgar
corresponder a lo que se muestra
de fuera en la mesma proporçion.
En fin en edad de catorçe años
escogió la hermosura que
naturaleza en vna dama pudo dar.
Pues visto lo mucho que te he
dicho de su veldad no te
marauillarás, Miçilo, si te digo que
de enamorado de su belleza me
perdi; y encantado salí de mí,
porque depositada en su mano mi
libertad me rendí a lo que de mí
quisiesse hazer.
Miçilo.—Por cierto no me
marauillo, Gallo, si perdiesses el
juizio por tan estremada
hermosura, pues a mi me tiene
encantado en solo te lo oyr.
Gallo.—Pues andando ansi,
como al lado me tomó,
siguiendonos toda aquella
graçiosa compañia, me yua
ofreçiendo con palabras de toda
cortesania á su subjeçion:
proponiendo nunca querer ni
demandar libertad, teniendo por
aueriguado que todo el mereçer
del mundo no podia llegar a
poseer joya de tan alto valor; y
avn juzgaua por bienanenturado
al que residiendo en su presençia
se le diesse sola su graçia sin
mas pedir. Hablando en muy
graçiosos requiebros,
faboreçiendome con vnos
ofreçimientos muy comedidos:
vnas vezes por mi persona, otras
diziendo que por quien me
embiaua alli. Entramos a vna gran
sala adornada de muy sumptuosa
y estraña tapiçeria: donde al cabo
della estaua vn gran estrado, y en
el medio dél vn poco más alto,
que mostraua alguna differencia
que se daua algo a sentir, estaua
debajo de un rico dosel de
brocado hecho el asiento de la
bella Saxe con muchos coxines,
debajo del qual junto consigo me
metio; y luego fue lleno todo el
estrado de graçiosas damas y
caualleros, y començando mucha
musica de menestriles se
començo vn diuino serao. Y
despues que todos aquellos
galanes huuieron dançado con
sus damas muy a su contento y
yo con la mia dançé, entraron en
la sala muchos pajes con muy
galanes libreas, con hachas en
sus manos, que los guiaua vn
maestresala que nos llamó a la
çena; y leuantandose todos
aquellos caualleros, tomando
cada qual por la mano a su dama
fuemos guiados por vna escalera
que deçendia sobre vn vergel,
donde estaua hecho vn paseo
debajo de vnos corredores altos
que cayan sobre la gran huerta; el
qual paseo era de largo de
doçientos pies. Eran todas las
colunas de verdadero jaspe
puestas por muy gentil y
agraçiado órden; todas çerradas
de arriba abajo con muy
entretexidos gazmines[436] y
rosales que dauan en aquella
pieza muy suave olor, con lo[437]
que lançauan de si muchos
clabeles y albahacas y naranjos
que estauan çerca de alli. Estaua
vna mesa puesta en el medio de
aquella pieza que era de largo
çien pies, puestos los manteles,
sillas y aparato, y ansi como
deçendimos a lo bajo començó a
sonar grandissimo numero y
differençia de musica: de
trompetas, cheremias,
sacabuches, dulçaynas, flautas,
cornetas y otras muchas
differençias de sonajas muy
graçiosas y apazibles que
adornauan mucho la fiesta y
engrandeçian la magestad y
enchian los coraçones de mucha
alegria y plazer. Ansi se sentaron
todos aquellos caualleros y
damas en la mesa, vna dama con
vn cauallero por su órden; y luego

You might also like