Dispersed-village dwellers misidentify themselves as cosmopolitan adventurers

Evidence

Ironically, inhabitants of dispersed urban villages often appear to conceive of themselves as cosmopolitans; as very much city people; as brave adventurers seeking out the thrills and dangers of urban public space. “Why would anyone want to live in San Francisco?” one such self-defined “cosmopolitan” asked me in disdain. “Why here in Berkeley we can go right from home to the bookstores and record shops and little boutiques and back again, and it’s all very convenient. We hardly ever have to leave the car.” — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 811

Categorization

• XREF: This self-delusion of cosmopolitanism echoes Cole’s unreliable observing self and Simmel’s blasé urbanite who believes he engages the city while actually insulating himself.
• SEED: Essay angle: the auto-suburb as counterfeit cosmopolitanism — how car-based convenience lets dwellers believe they ‘know’ the city while actually avoiding its strangers entirely.
• CANDY: The Berkeley resident proudly claiming he ‘hardly ever has to leave the car’ as proof of cosmopolitan urbanity is a perfect light anecdote.