Pope Francis has begun to comment on cities – as a terrain for moral and social responsibility – speaking directly to urban planners. It is interesting to see this perspective emerge, after nearly 2,000 years of the Papacy being intrinsic to one of the world’s greatest cities – Rome – and its refocusing from one of pomp, pagentry, statues and cathedrals to clean air, natural spaces, and compassion.
“We were not meant to be inundated by cement, asphalt, glass and metal, and deprived of physical contact with nature,” – from Laudato Si – subtitled “Our Care for Our Common Home.” https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/pope-message-urban-planners-cities-encyclical
“Although the post-industrial period may well be remembered as one of the most irresponsible in history, nonetheless there is reason to hope that humanity at the dawn of the twenty-first century will be remembered for having generously shouldered its grave responsibilities.” https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/pope-visit-philadelphia-no-cars
Meeting our economic realities while providing human and ecological responsibilities lies almost solely in our creativity – and commitment to incrementally make our world better project by project, decision by decision and bylaw by bylaw.