When I was about ten years old, I used to design cities. It was very easy, and I was surprised that everyone before me had made such a hash of it. I could conclude only that the world had hitherto been populated by fools. 

That's the opening of "Brutal Blueprints,"  an interesting piece by Theodore Dalrymple in which he discusses the city of Brasilia, which was designed and built from nothing in the space of four years or so.