Sometimes a letter catches your eye because of one phrase, and then you realise that the writer had something interesting to say.

This is one of those letters, and the phrase is "My final advice is not to begin thinking about buildings - that is the last step. Think first about people and purposes."

Lewis Mumford wrote this letter to someone in Michigan back in 1968, but in today's post-pandemic cities where housing is at a premium while office space lies empty it would surely be useful to revisit some of his ideas.

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