21st January 2011, 01:18 PM
Good reply Steven.
I don't consider myself an autocrat, but I have to say that I like towns and cities with a strong archtitectural style dominating a wide area. I'm oversimplifying, but I really prefer Paris to London, Edinburgh's New Town to the bits and pieces development of Glasgow, or Saltaire to Bradford. London and Glasgow have interesting individual buildings and districts, but the overall effect of a planned settlement is something I find more appealing. The difficulty for me lies in the implications for how town planning is undertaken - at the moment, it's a balancing act that doesn't really satisfy anybody, whereas in the past their were individuals (aristocrats, landowners etc) who had the political leverage to force their vision on an entire city or town, regardless of public opinion or interest groups at the time.
I don't consider myself an autocrat, but I have to say that I like towns and cities with a strong archtitectural style dominating a wide area. I'm oversimplifying, but I really prefer Paris to London, Edinburgh's New Town to the bits and pieces development of Glasgow, or Saltaire to Bradford. London and Glasgow have interesting individual buildings and districts, but the overall effect of a planned settlement is something I find more appealing. The difficulty for me lies in the implications for how town planning is undertaken - at the moment, it's a balancing act that doesn't really satisfy anybody, whereas in the past their were individuals (aristocrats, landowners etc) who had the political leverage to force their vision on an entire city or town, regardless of public opinion or interest groups at the time.