"Big Ideas" seduce and can lead astray

A view of the city puts it well:

Raleigh hosted a "Big Ideas" workshop last week, a brainstorm which produced the predictable golf-ball-sized hail of notions about monorails, artificial rivers, and "filling in the skyline" with lots more tall buildings.

Big ideas are seductive, and they lend themselves well to slush funds and grandstanding.  Naturally, politicians love 'em. But (by and large) they're not what makes cities livable.

Rather, city comforts -- also known as "quality of life" -- are all about small ideas: little details, multiplied many times.  It's a place to sit in just the right spot, or a colorful new coat of paint on an ordinary building; places for kids to play safely and close to home (above); a crosswalk just where it's needed.

By the same token, a little detail gotten wrong can destroy city comfort:  a roaring exhaust fan at street level, or a bus stop without a rain shelter.