FUTURE SHOCK

“Urban Design: Remaking L.A.” (by Aaron Betsky, Style, Dec. 13) frightened the hell out of me. The ideas presented are fragmented, individualistic pursuits that do not relate to a cohesive concept of Los Angeles as a city. This lack of cohesion has created our current need to address the architectural and planning problems of the city.

Betsky praised the architects and their ideas as “visionary.” The word visionary usually implies progressive thinking, but the ideas presented merely rehash old proposals from 19th-Century England, the 1970s and Irvine.

We all need to work together to develop a coherent concept for the future of our city. Once an overall concept is developed, the designers and shapers can apply their creativity and offer solutions that relate to the collective social interests.

JOHN CLOUSE

Pasadena