> So when they started tearing down some of the dilapidated houses in our neighborhood, he said “Boy, they’re tearing down neighborhoods and building buildings.

> So when they started tearing down some of the dilapidated houses in our neighborhood, he said “Boy, they’re tearing down neighborhoods and building buildings.” That phrase has just stuck in my mind. There’s a difference between a neighborhood and a building. And it may be a subtle difference, particularly when you’re young, that you miss. But as life goes on, you see that a building and a neighborhood are two entirely different things. You can have really nice buildings and a horrible neighborhood, and you can have awful buildings and a wonderful neighborhood. I know he's talking about the inner cities, but if you examine endless suburban developments and cul de sacs, you get the same result. The same social isolation exists there, too.