一座自己长出来的城

陈静，好久不见！我上个月搬家了，新家在东边的新街区，你有空可以来看看。

Chen Jing, long time no see! I moved last month. My new place is in the new district on the east side. Come see it sometime.

真的吗？新街区是什么样子的？我还没去过东边呢。

Really? What's the new district like? I haven't been to the east side yet.

街道都是直的，跟棋盘一样，因为整个街区是提前规划好的。我每天从家走到地铁站，只要十分钟，效率特别高。

The streets are all straight, like a chessboard, because the whole district was planned out in advance. Every day it only takes me ten minutes to walk from home to the subway station. It's really efficient.

效率听起来很好，但是我住的那条老街完全不是这样。我们那条街弯来弯去的，从我家走到地铁站要二十分钟。

Efficiency sounds nice, but the old street I live on is nothing like that. My street winds back and forth, and it takes me twenty minutes to walk from home to the subway station.

那你为什么还住在那条老街，不搬到效率更高的新街区来？

Then why do you still live on that old street instead of moving to a more efficient new district?

因为我舍不得那条街啊。我家楼下有一家卖包子的小店，特别好吃，那家店能开在那儿，就是因为街正好在那里拐了个弯。

Because I can't bear to leave that street. There's a little shop downstairs that sells buns, really delicious ones, and the only reason that shop could open there is that the street happens to bend right at that spot.

街拐弯跟小店有什么关系？我不太明白。

What does the street bending have to do with the shop? I don't really understand.

你想，那条街不是谁规划出来的，是几百年自发长出来的。街拐弯的地方，人走得慢，会往两边看一看，正好看到那家小店，慢慢地，大家都知道那儿有个好吃的地方，小店就这样开下来了。要是街是直的，规划得整整齐齐，谁会在这么小的地方开店呢？

Think about it, that street wasn't planned by anyone, it grew on its own over hundreds of years. Right where the street bends, people slow down and look to both sides, and they happen to spot that little shop. Slowly, everyone came to know there was a good spot to eat there, and that's how the shop stayed open. If the street were straight and planned out all neat and orderly, who would open a shop in such a small spot?

我明白你说的意思了，自发长出来的街是有点儿意思。不过新街区也不是什么都不好，我奶奶去年腿不方便了，坐轮椅出门，老城的路太窄，她走不了，搬到我们街区以后，路宽了，过马路也安全，她自己就能出门了。

I get what you mean, a street that grows on its own does have something to it. But the new district isn't all bad either. Last year my grandmother's legs stopped working well and she has to go out in a wheelchair. The streets in the old city were too narrow, she couldn't get through them. After she moved to our district the streets were wide, crossing the road was safe, and she could go out on her own.

这个我同意，对你奶奶这样的人来说，安全和方便真的比什么都重要。可是我还是觉得，要是每个街区都规划得一样整齐，效率虽然高，会不会有点儿无聊？

I agree with that. For someone like your grandmother, safety and convenience really do matter more than anything. But I still think, if every district were planned to look just as neat and orderly, sure the efficiency would be high, but wouldn't it be a little boring?

为什么你觉得无聊？

Why do you think it would be boring?

因为什么都提前决定好了，走哪条路差不多，看到的房子也差不多，不会有意外。我倒是喜欢在老街上走，不知道拐了弯以后会看到什么。

Because everything is decided in advance. Whichever road you take looks about the same, the houses you see look about the same, there's never anything unexpected. I actually like walking on the old street, not knowing what I'll see after the next bend.

也许两种街区都需要吧，一种是规划出来的，一种是自发长出来的。

Maybe we need both kinds of districts, one that's planned and one that grows on its own.

也许吧。不过要是让我选，我还是想每天在那条会拐弯的街上走一走。

Maybe. But if it were up to me to choose, I'd still want to walk that bending street every day.