Erosion of cities or attrition of automobiles?

[If Quebec became sovereign] there would be one level of government that would be missing, one less level of government. The municipality would become the second level.

The primary conflict, I think, is between people whose interests are with already well-established economic activities, and those whose interests are with the emergence of new economic activities.

Cities need old buildings so badly it is probably impossible for vigorous streets and districts to grow without them.... for really new ideas of any kind--no matter how ultimately profitable or otherwise successful some of them might prove to be--there is no leeway for such chancy trial, error and experimentation in the high-overhead economy of new construction. Old ideas can sometimes use new buildings. New ideas must use old buildings.

All my life I have been hearing that the oil was going to run out. It never happens. They keep discovering new oil fields. The world is apparently floating in oil fields.

Empires want [cities] only to trade with the empire, which doesn't help them at all. It's just a way of exploiting them.

I think that intelligent people to a great extent are captives of their time or place.