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Short-sighted articles are a bore. The author didn't do his homework on building permit approvals for towers in other parts of the United States - namely Chicago, which currently has underway (under construction, approved by the city plan commission, or otherwise slated for development) dozens --- and I mean dozens --- of 50-, 60-, 70-, 80-, 90-, and 100-story towers in the pipeline. The 94-story Trump Tower is nearing completion (and with decent reviews from the city's acclaimed architectural critics), and the 150-story Calatrava-designed Chicago Spire is well underway. The city's skyline is defined largely by construction cranes at the moment. But cities are more than the sum of their towers, as many others have already said. All buildings have a proper place and should be designed for humans and nature, which is best determined by a city visionaries, a municipal comprehensive plan to reflect that vision, an up-to-date zoning code to carry it out, and a democratic urban planning process so citizens can take ownership and pride in their city. The architects come later.
