 It's important for politicians to have an understanding of the built environment because we have the power to shape it. And if we shape it beautifully and inspirationally, we have given something of value to the current and future generations. And if we don't, if we've harmed it, then we've created an obstacle to community achievement or to citizens to enjoy it. Human beings now occupy metropolitan areas for the most part. That's where they live. 200 years ago, human beings lived in the wilderness. So their environment was a natural environment and their little built environment for the most part. And now human beings' daily experiences are shaped by what has been constructed. So a politician whose responsibility is to care for his or her people and to plan for future generations should be very interested in what is going to influence human beings in the area they have responsibility for. So the built environment should be very important to every politician. Well, there are many ways that politicians can influence because we have a role in most of what is done. If it's a transportation or highway or road construction or bridge construction, then making sure that everyone is considered. You know, we spent a whole lot of time in America and a huge fortune building highways just for the automobile or trucks without thought of the bicycle or of the pedestrian or of the neighborhoods or of connectedness. So whether it's highways or public buildings, you know, and you used to could be, you go into a city and you'd kind of read that this was an important public building by its design. The schools, they were handsome structures that resonated the value of what they are. And then we went through a period of time where schools were ugly, you know, it was whatever the sheep is saying. Or the sighting of schools, not the most convenient place in town for the children or for the parents. It was the cheapest land, so you had to drive a lot farther and you needed a lot more school buses and you waste a lot of energy and you wasted kids time. And so it's, you know, the whole range of decisions that politicians make oftentimes should be put through a filter of thoughtful planning, thoughtful design. That's our responsibility. What makes up a livable city is a place where the resident, the occupant feels in charge. That is, it's for them. So for a child in a neighborhood that's child-friendly, for citizens, a place that is physically beautiful and handsome and nourishing and inspirational of a place where there is substantial amounts of public realm. That is, things that you own and celebrate together, which can be a healthy downtown in a big city or a restored and lively main street in a little town. That's public realm. You own it. Obviously the parks and playgrounds and squares and public buildings, you know, a livable city is a place where the citizen has been thought of in the planning, design, and development of the city. There are many reasons why affordable housing is important. But one that is often not understood is that you make a better place when it's clear that it is a place that all parts of society have a role in and have an interest in and have a stake in and use. And it's important that people have affordable places to live. And you don't want all the people who can afford very much rent to be sequestered in one part of the city or region. And as things develop and gentrify, if there isn't an affirmative affordable housing program, then eventually you force people farther and farther away from the public realm, farther and farther away from the jobs. There are lots of reasons why affordable housing is important, in addition to basic justice. Well, the purpose of the Mayor's Institute for City Design was based on this, that I recognize that mayors have enormous power to influence the built design of their city, that they're usually smart and they're quick studies or they wouldn't get elected, but they don't have much training in urban city design. But they care. And that will be their legacy. The built environment is usually the legacy of the Mayor. So if they were brought together and had a chance to be immersed into the principles and challenges of urban design, then they would go back to their city much more capable of successfully influencing the more handsome, more sustainable, more beautiful, more inspirational development of their city. And it has worked every time. It is amazing the Mayor has come because, I'd have said, they're quick studies, they soak up information, but they've never had the time to focus on that capacity. And I could take you to cities across the country to mayors who have been to the Mayor's Institute of City Design. They will tell you, first of all, I guarantee you, first of all, to say, the best two and a half days I spent as mayor was going to the Mayor's Institute of City Design. They will say, I changed the way I thought about my city, and let me take you around my city and show you things that we've done because of the Mayor's Institute.