David Byrne’s Perfect City

Maybe I’d take the nightlife of New York in a setting like Sydney’s with bars like those in Barcelona and cuisine from Singapore served in outdoor restaurants like those in Mexico City. Or I could layer the sense of humor in Spain over the civic accommodation and elegance of Kyoto. Of course, it’s not really possible to cherry pick like this—mainly because a city’s qualities cannot thrive out of context. A place’s cuisine and architecture and language are all somehow interwoven. But one can dream.

via online.wsj.com

The trick is to find a place that gives you the most of what you like, and the least of what you don’t. In the linked article, David Byrne builds his perfect city from bits and pieces he finds laying around.