As the day falls asleep.

There’s something profoundly beautiful about big city skylines at night, and that beauty, for me, comes partly from defiance. We defy the night by building cities that can survive in darkness. We defy gravity by building skyscrapers that go hundreds of meters into the sky. We defy nature by building structures that are not only functional, but also attractive in that completely different, man-made way. And we even defy our former selves, living in huge congregations we were never meant to form.

Steven Johnson in his fascinating book The ghost map writes how just 150 years ago the then-frequent outbreaks of cholera, overwhelming stench, and other problems of London were, to some, an indication that the very concept of living in something bigger than a town might actually never truly work out, and big cities will inevitably collapse under their own size.

But we helped them survive, they are the best, the most convenient, and, amazingly enough, the most ecologically friendly way to live, and yes, there are times cities look simply, breathtakingly beautiful.

It’s nice to meet you, Chicago.

The entire photoset from 2010 »

The entire photoset from 2008 »

— On Route 66, September 2008.