Study the images of cities Answer the following questions:
- Do you think the concept of the city ought to be saved? Why not just spread out, without the centralized functions of the city? What advantages does the city alone have? What still gives glamour to such cities as Florence, Venice, Rome, Paris, Vienna, and London?
Suppose you are a planner for New York City, and assume that funds are available to implement your plans. What would you propose? For example, would you destroy all the old buildings? Joseph Hudnut (1949) has written, "There is in buildings that have withstood the siege of centuries a magic which is irrespective of form and technical experience . . . the wreckage of distant worlds are radioactive with a long-gathered energy." Do you agree?
Would you allow factories within the city limits? How would you handle transportation to, and within, the city? For instance, would you allow expressways to slice through the city, as in Detroit and Los Angeles? If you banned private cars from the city, what you do with the streets? Would you concentrate on an effective subway system? Could the streets become a unifier of the city?