An interesting quote on place.....

"Americans are woefully ignorant of geography and of place—ignorant, that is, of the natural and humanly constructed worlds that have nurtured us, inspired us, and, sad to say, too often frustrated us. It is hard to imagine concretely how we can envisage the good life (the humane life), and plan for the future, unless we have some clear idea as to the sort of places that we wish to exist."

Yi-Fu Tuan, geographer

Do you think anyone thinks about this kind of thing when a new building gets approved? I'm thinking of the zillions of high end rental apartments that are going up in NYC (although I guess some are going to stall, mid-way, due to the financial crisis). The only people who can afford these places, or would rent, rather than buy, at these prices, are those who are temporarily here to make a lot of money on Wall Street. (Though, whoops, jobs are scarce there now, too.) It makes me think that no one thinks--or cares, maybe--about what kind of place they want New York to be. All the artists, the people who give this place its reputation for creativity and uniqueness, are moving out...they can't afford to live here anymore.