"But in practice master plans fail - because they create totalitarian order, not organic order. They are too rigid; they cannot easily adapt to the natural and unpredictable changes that inevitably arise in the life of a community"
- Christopher Alexander
About this Quote
This quote by Christopher Alexander speaks to the concept that master plans, or plans that are created to manage the advancement of a community, are often not successful. Alexander suggests that this is since they produce a totalitarian order, rather than a natural order. This suggests that the plans are too stiff and inflexible to be able to get used to the natural and unpredictable changes that take place in a community. Alexander's quote implies that master plans are not able to account for the complexities of a neighborhood, and that they are not able to keep up with the ever-changing needs of the people living in it. He suggests that a more organic approach to planning is required in order to create a successful and sustainable community.
"Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday"