Assumptions can be risky because they are often informed by what has happened in the past. One of the lessons of history is that our assumptions must always be subject to change. Otherwise, events may change them for us in unwelcome ways.
Here is an example from 1929, when an engineer (trained at Massachusetts Institute of Technology) wrote this, praising Jacksonville’s founders for providing downtown streets 70 feet in width: “Those forefathers prepared for a busy important city, but unfortunately they could not anticipate the feverish speedy electro-mechanical age of this generation.”
That was how George W. Simons Jr. introduced Jacksonville’s new comprehensive city plan , the first in its 107-year existence, and the first to be adopted by any city in Florida. From his perspective, Jacksonville had blossomed into a mature, modern place and civilization propelled by technological innovations and had achieved modernity. It was time to look ahead…