The current trend in moving zoning away from shaping big buildings toward how buildings and places are used and perform can already be seen at the recently opened East River Esplanade, where a balustrade as wide as a lunch counter and bar stools are mandated.
To reach for the salad bar rather than the hamburger counter, or to turn away from merchandise in a shop window something difficult for most of us to change.
With some guests gathered on throw pillows around a low table, and others on bar stools at the kitchen counter, we talked of food and travel, photography and arranged marriages (a few glasses of wine among strangers often leads conversations in unexpected directions).