Architect Bjarke Ingels on Quality of Life

From The Dirt:

"The whole discussion about sustainability isn't popular because it's always presented as a downgrade. The position has been there's a limit to how good a time we can have. We have to downgrade our current lifestyle to achieve something that is sustainable. That makes it essentially undesirable. People can be to the left and maybe shop a little bit green, but they're not going to drop their car if they have to pick up their kids from football and go to the movies. It becomes an impossible mission."

Ingels uses the city of Copenhagen as an example: "Our port has become so clean you can swim in it. You don't have to commute to the Hamptons to have clean water. You can actually jump in the port downtown. So these are basic examples where sustainability actually starts becoming an upgrade rather than a downgrade."