Klaus Hart Brasilientexte

 Only a few houses built before 1930 are still standing in Brazilian cities as most were knocked down by real estate speculation and our insensitivity to preserving historical memory.

Older houses have their front doors right on the sidewalk. There was a time when some had small front gardens and people would place chairs on the sidewalk for a chat at sundown. The living room and even the bedrooms opened onto the road, since there was hardly any outside noise.

Little by little houses began to be set back from sidewalks. The back garden became smaller and the front garden expanded. The noise of trams, buses and trucks meant that the living room and bedrooms had to be in the back.

My home was on a corner in the middle of a garden. The low front wall was only for show.  As a child I preferred jumping over the wall rather than using the gate.

http://www.hart-brasilientexte.de/2008/02/13/amazonia-an-ecocide-foreseen/

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