Wednesday, March 24, 2004

Why snuggery matters

Today's Guardian reports:

"Twitchy local authorities, obsessed with safety and frightened of compensation claims, are turning urban areas into 'fun-free, soulless' spaces, says a campaign launched today.

Cabe, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, says local councils are scared of litigation and fearful of hidden dangers lurking in old trees, boating lakes, adventure playgrounds, markets, water features and public art."

You can read more about the campaign in Cabe's press release and their Manifesto for Better Public Space.

The Guardian also covers a report from the Campaign to Protect Rural England, which claims that "choking traffic, new superstores and bland new buildings are threatening England's market towns".

The juxtaposition of these two stories highlights the way that the professional left and corporate right both act to erode the richness and variety of public space and, it might be added, our private lives. Together they foster a homogeneity that is the natural enemy of all good Liberals.

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