Through Fresh Eyes

My job, as I see it, is to make San Francisco as great a city as it can be. It's a great gig - made easier my the millions who came before and contributed in their own way. It's also not an easy job. Whereas in the path to personal improvement, I've landed on a strategy that's been working (connect to your heart, let it light the way, and use the rest of the tools at your behest to serve the follow the path that's blazed), I've yet to land on a coherent philosophy around city planning. Because what's good for some is not what's good for others. And even what's good for some hearts is not good for others. And so our work is often reduced to a utilitarian calculus with lots of unknown factors. Or we are forced to cede to the power of money, which speaks with a more coherent voice.

Of my many intentions for this trip is to consider the strategies taken elsewhere, both codified and informal, that make societies. What lessons can I take home? Are there patterns that emerge as well? How can I use my fresh eyes to see things at home anew (which, by the way, I've been doing for the last week, as I entered into "traveler's mode")?

We leave for the airport in half an hour. See you on the other side.