There was no golden age

Community is one of the most overused and misused words in the English language and Jon Rouse presents a rather flimsy view of what could be built on and the expectations that might emerge.

There has never been a "golden age" of community living that could be imitated to advance human society. But when people do refer to past periods that can be identified as examples of living together with the potential to be advanced, they often fail to understand the strands of development in society that have contributed to their destruction.

There is no doubt that the built environment can contribute to a feeling of belonging in an area of common identity, but witness the way development takes place and the desecration of huge areas of our geography by road building and crass redevelopment, and it does not give one very much optimism as to what is being created for the future.