Back in September 2006 I made what was for me a momentous decision. Sailing upon the crest of an unexpected bounty from a property transaction I decided to take the opportunity of having a year off - or a sabbatical as I have since dubbed it. I wasn't ill or burned out I just decided to give myself time to think for a while. My work as a consultant urban planner had made me realise that it takes time to reconstruct a city - more time than any consultant is normally given. For example in Montpellier Mayor George Fraiche has been in power since the 70’s and in Chicago Mayor Richard M Daley learned the art of civic leadership at his father's knee - Mayor Richard J Daley...more
