Red space is exciting (Figure 16.2). As blood is red, the colour symbolizes excitement in every country. One of the most awesome sights I have seen in a public open space was on a frosty November's night. A travelling fair had come to Blackheath and put on a prismatic light show with fairy lights and strobe beams illuminating a ghost train, a wall of death, roller coasters and dodgem cars. The fairground, in swirling mist, was almost deserted. We booked two seats on a rickety old Ferris wheel. As it cranked into the icy dark, an opening salvo of rockets exploded from Blackheath to reveal thousands of spectators, pressing forward to see the start of a Guy Fawkes firework display. It was the closet I have come to Flanders in 1916. Times Square, in New York City, can also be a red space. Theme parks are merely pink: there is no uncertainty. After dark, red light districts proclaim their character. Cities should have permanent and temporary fairgrounds.
16.2 Red by night
Red by day
