Florence, Italy. Florence was the first city I visited on my own, when I was just about old enough to get through passport controls at a border. Needless to say that the trip left a deep impression. On my second visit, 25 years after the first, I could finally afford to sleep and to eat indoors. No more having to look out for benches for sitting down for picknicks and sleeping outdoors. However, this time the city felt completely different. Not the urban form though, but the urbanity.
The tabacchis: gone. The piaggios: gone. The laundry hanging over the narrow streets: gone. The gazetto dello sport readers: gone. The ragazzi: gone. The elegant avvocatos: gone. The city seemed to be evacuated from people other than tourists. Instead the area between Piazza della Signoria and Palazzo Pitti has turned into one large duty free shop. All the usual suspects of brands are present. And without exception every shop along the streets caters to the needs of tourists.
With my specialized view for spotting the good benches still switched on, I realized that they were all gone. Instead the public space is being upgraded, the shopwindow design is extended into the streets with sophisticated materials on the ground, smooth details, well-designed lighting. But no more benches.
Sitting down in public space would probably spoil the new concept of the historic city as a duty free shop. Sitting down is not part of it. You would potentially clog the street and thus reduce the pedestrian traffic flow. You would perhaps leave behind some waste that needs to be cleaned up. You would not eat in one of the restaurants and thus reduce their turnover and profit. You would perhaps start looking (in vain) at the city and its life instead of shop windows.
For shopping, I would rather go to Dubai Mall. At least there are no tourists gangs in the way.