Steve Martin Quotes

Design does matter. And not necessarily in a way that people realize. A lot of what you do, people take for granted - that a park has always been here, that a bicycle lane has always been there, that the street is safe or clean.

Everyone has the right to walk from one end of the city to the other in secure and beautiful spaces. Everybody has the right to go by public transport. Everybody has the right to an unhampered view down their street, not full of railings, signs and rubbish.

Urban design as a discipline barely exists in most American and Canadian cities. In Singapore, there are innovative transportation strategies at work.

It is nothing short of baffling to me how a city like Melbourne, where I struggle to find accessible facilities on a very regular basis, could be considered the most livable city in the world. I suppose it all depends on what makes a city 'livable' for you.

Places matter. Their rules, their scale, their design include or exclude civil society, pedestrianism, equality, diversity (economic and otherwise), understanding of where water comes from and garbage goes, consumption or conservation. They map our lives.

Bel Air, I am convinced, was laid out by some diabolic sadist who deliberately decided not to use a compass or a surveyor.

London is one of the most civilised places in the world for the procedure of making architecture and urban design.

Personally, I like a generous side of wheelchair access with my cities.

I'm completely taken and impressed by the planning authority of Singapore and its Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). It's the most cutting-edge agency in the world. They have very effective guidelines for development, and they review design as it evolves.

Cities perform most functions in a very Industrial Age model.

We will primarily focus on affordable housing, water supply and transport infrastructure, as these are critical for Mumbai. Infrastructure deficit is an issue in all urban areas.

What Paris has done right is to make it awful to get around by car and awfully easy to get around by public transportation or by bike.

A greater focus on design in all new homes would make the best use of land, create homes and public spaces, and reinforce the structures of urban life.

It seemed sensible to move to a market town where I could walk everywhere.

This rapid transit underground road is necessary for the accommodation and comfort of new York City residents.

The Garden Bridge has not found its right moment, but I hope one day it will and that London continues to be open to ideas that make life here better.

Our decisions about transportation determine much more than where roads or bridges or tunnels or rail lines will be built. They determine the connections and barriers that people will encounter in their daily lives - and thus how hard or easy it will be for people to get where they need and want to go.

I don't think all the cycle lanes in London have been designed as well as they should have been.

I don't know if it's genetic or just because I was surrounded by it, but I was always fascinated with building and construction and development.

There are so many more people in Tokyo than in New York, but it's pristine. It's so organized, and yet the address system is in complete chaos.

The Huashan project is a clear example of how an urban element, key to the successful growth of the city, can at the same time improve the quality of life for its citizens, thanks to an integration of all three bridges and the creation of boulevards on the banks of the canal.

I've always been fascinated with how transportation systems work and how cities are designed.

Cities are complex and contain just about any thing or concept ever invented by humans. How the city is built, its topography, and how close you live to your work and a grocery store affects your mobility.

Every few decades, we have an opportunity to make a drastic change to the way we live our lives. We get a chance to design the building blocks of our daily routines, the infrastructure that will support and accompany us for the years to come - from the trains and trams we ride, the offices we work in, to the energy that powers our homes.

I was following my dad around from a young age. I don't know if it's genetic or just because I was surrounded by it, but I was always fascinated with building and construction and development.