ABSTRACT
FINDING A NEW FORM FOR GROUND ZERO DEMANDS THAT TWO DIVERGENT APPROACHES BE PURSUED SIMULTANEOUSLY. The first is the messy, disputative process of building public consensus about the future meaning and use of the site. From this discussion must come answers about the sacrality of the site — its aura and dimensions — about the mix of program, and about the extent and character of transportation infrastructure. This deliberation must also engage the prospects of reconstruction for neighborhoods beyond the immediate site, indeed, for the city as a whole. The second major process, in contrast, is artistic and visionary. This relies on individual acts of imagination to produce ideas that broaden the range of possibilities before the public and to provide the basis for genuinely informed choice.
