Form follows profit is the aesthetic principle of our times.
Richard RogersRead
There is no one-size-fits-all solution to the challenges facing our cities or to the housing crisis, but the two issues need to be considered together. From an urban design and planning point of view, the well-connected open city is a powerful paradigm and an engine for integration and inclusivity.
Interpretation
Different cities face unique challenges, and solutions must consider the connectivity and openness of urban spaces.
Richard Rogers emphasizes that there is no universal solution to the complex issues cities encounter, particularly regarding housing. Instead, he argues that urban design must focus on creating well-connected and open environments that promote inclusivity and integration, suggesting that tackling these challenges holistically can lead to more effective outcomes.
In practice
In a conference on urban development, this quote can be used to highlight the importance of integrated planning.
Form follows profit is the aesthetic principle of our times.
I love cities, I spend most of my life talking about cities. And the design of cities does have an effect on your life. You're lucky if you can see trees out of your window and you have a square nearby, or a bar, a cornershop, a surgery. Then you're living well.
A greater focus on design in all new homes would make the best use of land, create homes and public spaces, and reinforce the structures of urban life.
My passion and great enjoyment for architecture, and the reason the older I get the more I enjoy it, is because I believe we - architects - can effect the quality of life of the people.
The only way forward, if we are going to improve the quality of the environment, is to get everybody involved.
When I started out, nearly every architect I knew was working in public practice; that's where the radical thinking was done. But, there's always a danger of looking back as our fathers did and saying, 'Things were better then.'
Smart habitation is an integrated area of villages and a city working in harmony and where the rural and urban divide has reduced to thin line.
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.
The view of how America speaks is reflected in our laws. And one of the laws is fair housing. It very clearly prohibits discrimination in the sale and rental of housing in America. It's been a sad fact of American life that the practice in many communities has been quite the opposite.
One of the great ironies of our time is that some of the most progressive cities are among the most systemically racist in their housing policies.
I don't think that you can address poverty unless you address the lack of affordable housing in the cities.
This is a country that was founded on racism. It was built on racism. It still continues to thrive through wealth disparity, and housing disparity is all built on the backs of racism.
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