Where's Imagination?

I sat through a presentation given by the city administrator in the town where I live. My city has undertaken a downtown renewal project. The first architect's drawings are available for public viewing. The presenter showed the drawings as he talked of green spaces, renewed retail space and improvements for the culture and civic center venues. I am often more interested in reading the reactions of those around me in such circustamces. Those in the room paid respectful attention to the presentation but the reactive energy was low. A few polite questions about plan details ("Where's building so-and-so"?) were the sum of interaction. Then, it dawned on me. Words like "imagination", "creativity" and "vision" were missing. The speaker spoke with neither passion nor joy. The presentation had no power. It was uninspired and uninspiring. Certainly there is tremendous worry, anxiety and stress associated with such a project.
As anxiety goes up, creativity and imagination decline. If project stress trumps imagination, this project might not get very far.