Talie

“What was atrocious was the fact that, like every other building in the new towns, they were dumped almost at random; the leakage of escaping gas scented the so-called gas-house districts, and not surprisingly these districts frequently became among the most degraded sections of the city. Towering above the town, polluting its air, the gas tanks symbolized the dominance of 'practical' interests over life-needs.”
― Lewis Mumford, The City in History: Its Origins, Its Transformations, and Its Prospects

“His words fell on Sara like the first touch of sun hitting a plant after a long winter.”
― Stuart Turton, The Devil and the Dark Water

“Presently the recruiting sergeant was not able to use the children of this regime even as cannon fodder: the Boer War and the First World War, did perhaps as much as any other factor to promote better housing there.”
― Lewis Mumford, The City in History: Its Origins, Its Transformations, and Its Prospects

“Every democracy was a kind of anarchy in slow motion: any statute, any constitution could be changed, given time; any social contract, written or unwritten, could be dishonoured.”
― Greg Egan, Distress