Dare to be great #3

Some people from Centreville wonder why we don't build DC as junky as some suburb, such as Centreville Virginia or other suburbs, writing to John Kelly of the Washington Post:

"Driving into the District, we noted a curious phenomenon. Road repairmen were pouring concrete as they fixed sidewalks and curbs in Chevy Chase. As we crossed the border into the District of Columbia, a crew was also replacing some lengths of curbing, but with a significant difference. Instead of mundane concrete, they were installing granite segments, cut to size! We realized that all the curbs throughout D.C. are granite. As we had recently upgraded our own kitchen surfaces with granite, at a cost of several thousand dollars, we wondered how the use of such an expensive material can be justified by the city."

-- Tom and Marilyn Marcy, Centreville

Kelly goes on to explain how this works, and the longer lasting nature of the curbs, in "Answer Man Favors Accessorizing the Streets."

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When I read this I was thinking about how someone complained to Olmsted about the higher quality of "finishings" in Central Park, compared to his own backyard. Olmsted commented that since many times more people would be using Central Park, didn't it make sense to fit it accordingly?

Not to mention that DC is the Capitol of the United States, not some subdivision hastily built.

Why is it that people expect our public spaces to be built cheaply and meanly, rather than as grand and glorious spaces, "outdoor living rooms," for the people?