This Is What A City Is, Bits

To Approach A City, Or Even A City Neighborhood, As If It Were A Larger Architectural Problem, Capable Of Being Given Order By Converting It Into A Disciplined Work Of Art, Is To Make The Mistake Of Attempting To Substitute Art For Life. The Results Of Such Profound Confusion Between Art And Life Are Neither Life Nor Art. They Are Taxidermy.

The Victorian House And Lots Of Other Buildings Weren't Oppressive In Themselves. They Were Often Very Airy And Gingerbready And Fancy. But They Were Associated With All This [victorian] Stuffiness.

Dull, Inert Cities, It Is True, Do Contain The Seeds Of Their Own Destruction And Little Else. But Lively, Diverse, Intense Cities Contain The Seeds Of Their Own Regeneration, With Energy Enough To Carry Over For Problems And Needs Outside Themselves.

Writing, Printing, And The Internet Give A False Sense Of Security About The Permanence Of Culture.

This Is What A City Is, Bits And Pieces That Supplement Each Other And Support Each Other.