The priority of circulation is another of those modern, convenience-mindset things. We run freeways through cities, carving up existing communities – structure-destroying transformations, per the Alexandrian coinage. We think about car access before thinking about making beautiful public spaces.
With this alternative process, it’s not that you ignore pathways and hallways altogether, just that you focus on the existing centers and the life in them first, rather than the other way around. The spaces we inhabit should not come as an afterthought, should not be a byproduct of our movements. We want to make places that are worth being in – that are so beautiful that you wouldn’t mind going a little out of your way to get to.
Strengthen the centers and you can strengthen circulation.
This whole post is magnificent, a look into a great design process.