The City

Everyone relies on the city and all of the public services that it contains. If we have concluded rightly, from what the philosophers say, that cities owe their origin and their existence to their enabling their inhabitants to enjoy a peaceful life, as free from any inconvenience or harm as possible, then surely the most through consideration should be given to the city’s layout, site, and outline.

-Leon Battista Alberti. On the Art of Building in Ten Books. Translated by Rykwert, Leach, and Tavernor. MIT Press, 1999.