Alexandra Lange on Shade

An urgent civic need, too long in the shadows

Three Julys ago I was in Rome with my family. Late afternoon, exiting the Forum, trying to cross the street, I felt like I had been struck blind. Some combination of the strength of the summer sun, its low angle, and the stone surfaces around us meant that, despite my sunglasses, it felt as if my eyes were being pierced by hundreds of daggers. I stumbled over to a wall and tried to explain to my family members that I could not see. They would either have to guide me or leave me there until the sun went down. We waited until the earth rotated just a few more degrees, but I remembered that moment reading Shade: The Promise of a Forgotten Natural Resource. “In ancient Rome,” writes environmental journalist Sam Bloch, “the porticoes formed a shadow network that stretched for two miles, and a fully covered walk to the Roman Forum struck visitors with wonder. One could effectively stroll from one side of the ancient city to the other in shade.” As the world warms, many have no choice but to work or commute in the heat of the day. The ancients had us (literally) covered.

Bloch’s book, which moves through the past, present, and future of shade from a variety of angles, is filled with such invitations to see the built environment afresh. It’s a bit like a figure-ground puzzle: Are you looking at the black or the white? Shadow or sun?