You know, one could say that you're not much of a looker yourself Mr de Botton - but I'm sure you're a very nice person and I'd never call you ugly. Brisbane might not be 'pretty' on the surface, but if you got to know her, I think you would come to love her as I have.
Of course it could be argued that the aesthetics of a city, as opposed to an individual, are open to critique as they are the product of the conscious choice of the city's planners, but that is not quite true. Whereas an individual's appearance is largely a product of their genetic inheritance, so a city's is a product of it's history. Founded in 1824, Brisbane is less than 200 years old and yet you seek to compare her to grand old dames, millennia in age. In that sense it could be said that she is currently going through the kind of awkward puberty that we all must endure.
Time is but one factor. A city's beauty should not just be measured by it's outward appearance, but also by the people who choose to call her home. I think I objected most to the use of the word 'ugly'. To my mind this word describes not only appearance, but also character. I appreciate that wasn't your point, but I still felt the sting of the insinuation that nobody could possibly love her because she is so ugly. I love her. She is vibrant and friendly and warm and caring and it doesn't matter to me that she's got a few, superficial, blemishes.
I thought the point of The Philosophers' Mail was to provide news with compassion, truth, justice, complexity, calm, empathy and wisdom. To that end, you could still have made the point that we need to have a discussion about design and civic beauty, but done it by focusing on the positive characteristics of a city still finding herself and urging her to consider the choices she will one day make.
Here, I'll give you a hand.
Brisbane is a city coming of age. Blighted by some poor choices in the past, which still stain her landscape, she could yet rival the great cities of Paris or Siena. This will only be possible if her leaders accept that good taste is not relative. Thankfully she is populated by committed, hard-working and forward-thinking people who are willing to leap to her defence.
* This post refers to an article published today at http://www.philosophersmail.com/280314-utopia-design.php and promoted by @alaindebotton via Twitter.
