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From an interview with Eric Kuhne one of the plan’s authors
From an interview with Eric Kuhne one of the plan’s authors
“Let me say this bluntly,” he replies. “Democracy has a pretty poor track record of building great cities, and a terrible track record of building great civic spaces in cities. Democracy deals with the triumph of everyone within their own property line, not with generosity beyond that line. And the great cities of the world that we travel to see were built by, you know, leaders of armies, emperors, tsars, leaders of churches. They were built by benevolent despots, visionary leaders one and all, who decided that the pageantry of civil life was an essential part of sustaining the genius of their civilization.”
“Every now and then you find powerful visionaries and, even if that’s in a democracy, they just don’t act democratically. They become ruthless tyrants that are obsessed with goodwill. It’s so great when you run into someone like that.”