observation of realities has never, to put it mildly, been one of the strengths of economic development theory.

Cities never flourish alone. They have to be trading with other cities.

Lowly, unpurposeful and random as they may appear, sidewalk contacts are the small change from which a city's wealth of public life may grow.

Whenever and wherever societies have flourished and prospered rather than stagnated and decayed, creative and workable cities have been at the core of the phenomenon. Decaying cities, declining economies, and mounting social troubles travel together. The combination is not coincidental.

Unity, like so many good things, is good only in moderation.

This is what a city is, bits and pieces that supplement each other and support each other.

That was the fear that there would be no identity anymore, for Canada. It was foolish, because there are so many examples of separatism, and nothing has disintegrated, unless they went to war.