What Makes a City Thrive

[The Lawspeaker]

What does it take for a city to thrive in our ever-changing world

[Tooting Carmen]

Commerce, law and order.

[Tooting Carmen]

And decent transportation.

[renaissance12]

Intelligence of the citizens

[The Lawspeaker]

Cities are a necessary evil. I'd rather have them small and prosperous.

[Tooting Carmen]

Cities are a necessary evil. I'd rather have them small and prosperous.

Interestingly, during the early days of the Industrial Revolution, the biggest city in Wales was actually Merthyr Tydfil, thanks mostly to its huge mining industry. Nowadays, by contrast, it is virtually the creme de la creme of poverty, decay and depopulation.

[The Lawspeaker]

Interestingly, during the early days of the Industrial Revolution, the biggest city in Wales was actually Merthyr Tydfil, thanks mostly to its huge mining industry. Nowadays, by contrast, it is virtually the creme de la creme of poverty, decay and depopulation.

That's what you get. What can be preserved should be preserved and the rest returned to the countryside, I guess. Preferably, I like to see my city with a well-built up city center (European-style- that is) and some detached housing with deep gardens just behind the on the "country side' of the city moat - leading out into the countryside. A train station and some offices and factories nearby. But most of the industry should be in the bigger cities in the West (Rotterdam and Amsterdam) . A city like The Hague would mainly be a smaller cultural and political centre. I think that it is healthier when most people live out in the country with services dispersed over larger villages/small towns that form a network of countryside community centres.

[Tooting Carmen]

That's what you get. What can be preserved should be preserved and the rest returned to the countryside, I guess. Preferably, I like to see my city with a well-built up city center (European-style- that is) and some detached housing with deep gardens just behind the on the "country side' of the city moat - leading out into the countryside. A train station and some offices and factories nearby. But most of the industry should be in the bigger cities in the West (Rotterdam and Amsterdam) . A city like The Hague would mainly be a smaller cultural and political centre. I think that it is healthier when most people live out in the country with services dispersed over larger villages/small towns that form a network of countryside community centres.

Yes, the decline in even basic services in many rural areas - be it schools, hospitals, buses, trains, shops, pubs and even in some cases churches - is a real scandal. Too many villages have just become glorified dormitory suburbs for bigger towns and cities nearby, rather than vibrant and self-contained places in their own right.

[The Lawspeaker]

Yes, the decline in even basic services in many rural areas - be it schools, hospitals, buses, trains, pubs and even in some cases churches - is a real scandal. Too many villages have just become glorified dormitory suburbs for bigger towns and cities nearby, rather than vibrant and self-contained places in their own right.

While it should be the other way around: most people live in the country - there are some government, trade and industrial centers which also supply services. They may be larger but not too large as this drives people from the natural rhythm and their own traditions.

[Tooting Carmen]

While it should be the other way around: most people live in the country - there are some government, trade and industrial centers which also supply services. They may be larger but not too large as this drives people from the natural rhythm and their own traditions.

Ironically, one of the key things which binds together both the Marxist left and the free-market libertarian right is their utter disdain towards the countryside and their belief that urbanisation and 'progress' are ends in themselves.