Don't Separate Planning From Architecture

"The design process got off on the wrong foot when the development corporation tried to separate planning from architecture, thereby relegating the latter discipline to the status of an afterthought...In theory, the designs do not include specific plans for a memorial to those who died when the Twin Towers were destroyed. A separate competition has been scheduled for that part of the redevelopment project. But how could you reasonably expect architects to keep their minds off the project's architectural heart?...All cities are memorials. Civilization is mostly a history of rebuilding them after catastrophes, not planning them from scratch... Many people are naturally offended by the perception of ground zero as a potential site for great contemporary architecture. Wouldn't that be tantamount to dancing on a mass grave?...The whole thing is the memorial: the designs; the debates they provoke; the self-awareness that emerges in the course of the debate; and the shifting shape of the city in the light of that awareness."

Thanks to The Practice of New Urbanism