But Look What We Have Built ...

It May Be That We Have Become So Feckless As A People That We No Longer Care How Things Do Work, But Only What Kind Of Quick, Easy Outer Impression They Give. If So, There Is Little Hope For Our Cities Or Probably For Much Else In Our Society. But I Do Not Think This Is So.

But Look What We Have Built Low-income Projects That Become Worse Centers Of Delinquency, Vandalism And General Social Hopelessness Than The Slums They Were Supposed To Replace. Cultural Centers That Are Unable To Support A Good Bookstore. Civic Centers That Are Avoided By Everyone But Bums. Promenades That Go From No Place To Nowhere And Have No Promenaders. Expressways That Eviscerate Great Cities. This Is Not The Rebuilding Of Cities. This Is The Sacking Of Cities.

Beneficent Spirals, Operating By Benign Feedback, Mean That Everything Needful Is Not Required At Once: Each Individual Improvement Is Beneficial For The Whole

Designing A Dream City Is Easy; Rebuilding A Living One Takes Imagination.

The Japanese Are Virtuosos. They Make Just The Little Accent That Makes All The Difference. So Much There Is So Beautiful - Just A Shop Window Display Is A Work Of Art. Just The Way They Make All Kinds Of Things Out Of Bamboo That Are So Ingenious. Just The Way This Little Bamboo Drain Or Latch Is So Beautiful. The Masonry Around The Streams To Hold The Bank Are Beautiful - And Not All One Kind And Not Just Cement.