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Grasshoppers and jumping high

When grasshoppers are put in to a jar, they hop high, hitting their heads on the jar-top. After a while they jump just the right height to avoid hitting their heads. If the jar lid is removed, they still jump low. We do that in our cities too. When grasshoppers are put in to a jar, they hop high, hitting their heads on the jar-top. After a while they jump just the right height to avoid hitting their heads. If the jar lid is removed, they still jump low to avoid hitting their heads on the non-existant jar top.

In how many ways do we do things to avoid hitting our heads on non-existant jar tops in today's cities?

In areas that once were crime ridden, it takes a long time before people are willing to go there again. We still have contracting rules from old-school corruption practices, where modern corruption has changed shape. Our transportation infrastructure is still based on old commuting patterns.

What would happen if we could change these practices? What ceilings are still holding us back that no longer are in place? What if we listed all the systems that are still in place because 'once-upon-a-time' there was a reason to do it that way, and systematically designed ways to do those things that fit our current needs and how they are evolving?

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