[butwhywhyoh]

What if the things that were built were built right the first time and take a long time to decay? If you walk around a correctly built city where nothing is falling apart, by this logic, you'd naively think this place was dead and dying.

[b112]

Everything need maintenance, and often. Everything.

[DoneWithAllThat]

I feel like this definitely something younger people don’t understand. The extent to which everything human-made needs constant effort to keep it from decaying. They see a world already built up and functioning and don’t realize the monumental effort that requires.

[jnwatson]

The first time I built anything to survive outside (a ramp to a shed), I learned this the hard way.

Even with a decent amount of planning for the elements, it lasted 3 years. It really makes one appreciate how special it is that this lump of flesh might survive 70 or 80 years.

[huffmsa]

Your lump of flesh is constantly replacing and repairing it's components

[choonway]

and why can’t civil structures do the same?

[huffmsa]

They can and should. That's the sign of a happening place. When reconstruction and replacement stops, it's a sign of decline

[baby]

That is true as well for democracy.