ACX had some good commentary on this in recent posts:

- https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/whither-tartaria

- https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/highlights-from-the-co...

Lots of potential discussions on why we're stuck with "ugly" modern architecture (is it due to materials/construction costs, environmental/safety regulation, architect's desires to be different...), and generally a more enjoyable piece than this one.

Plus there's a brief discussion on a hilarious conspiracy theory.