Men come together to live.
Aristotle was right more than 2,000 years ago - and the centuries have not eroded his wisdom. The fortunes of the city have waxed and waned throughout our history, but in my view their prospects now are brighter than at any time in the recent past. This is, in part, because people are beginning to realise that it makes more sense to regenerate our existing urban areas to meet housing demand than to leave them to rot. Leaving the countryside as green as possible while regenerating the cities to provide homes and amenities is a laudable aspiration, and one which I will continue vigorously to champion. Yet if this aspiration is to be turned into reality, some things will need to change - not least the attitudes and practices within the disciplines of much orthodox planning, property management and architecture.