Editorial

摘要

There has been a long-held tradition in this country that the public can't be trusted with anything nice in their cities. Give them something fancy and they'll kick seven bells out of it. Or rather certain elements of society with Visigoth tendencies will. The result has often been a utilitarian approach to street furnishings, including lighting columns. There is also a further practical side, of course, as longevity and robustness are clearly important if councils are not to be shelling out for new ones every five minutes. But in recent years, we have seen a change in our cities, with an increased emphasis on art and aesthetics.