City Building

needs to break out of its echo chamber. We believe that loving something and being proud of it - a city, for example - doesn’t mean that you can’t criticize it. It means that you should. When you’re deeply involved in something, it’s easy to see its flaws. It also means that you are in the best situation to do something about it.

Progress cannot occur without criticism. And the best criticism comes from an invested person's realization that something needs to change. That investment brings insight, which propels criticism, which starts a dialogue, which ignites actions, which bring change. It’s a cyclical loop that needs to be repeated if we are to continue to move forward.

Those who resist and ignore change are always the first to fight back against criticism because they know it is an agent of progress. You can often judge the value of your criticism by the degree of resistance it receives from these people.

All that being said, criticism without action and criticism without dialogue - screaming your complaints into the wind and then walking away - are ugly things that get us nowhere. It’s selfish to think that only your opinions count. It’s foolish to think that you know better than everyone else. And it’s wrong to think that your solution is the only one that works.

Criticism is the first step, but it must be followed up with action if we are to make a positive change in our environment.