Summary
YOU'VE GOT to hand it to those Londoners. They refused to be cowed by the July 7 terrorist attacks. And when new explosions in the underground earlier this month threatened to paralyze the city again, they carried on with characteristic British stiff upper lipness. But admirable as their urbanite resilience has been, it shouldn't blind us to the reality that the bombings in the British capital underscored: that the great challenge facing the world's major cities today is finding a way to make life safe for their citizens.
Though current fashion is to blame causes such as energy, food and water shortages for urban decline through the centuries, the truth is that far more cities have fallen due to a breakdown in security. Whether the menace is internal disorder or external threat, history has shown repeatedly that once a city can no longer protect its inhabitants, they inevitably flee, and the city slides into decline and even extinction.See the full content of this document
Extract
From Mesopotamia to New York City
While modern cities are a long way from extinction, it's only by acknowledging the primacy of security - and addressing it in the most aggressive manner - that they will be able to survive and thrive in this new century, in which they already face the challenge of a telecommunications revolution that is undermining their traditional monopoly on information and culture, and draining their populations.
As businesses and industries escape the urban core to operate in small towns and even the countryside...See the full content of this document
Sponsored links
