I just came across a great talk on the TED website by James Howard Kunstler called The Tragedy of Suburbia. The talk is based on the idea of creating public spaces that promote the ideal of democracy, where the design for these spaces originates from a need to improve society and not on the desire to provide parking for consumers.
There is some very appropriate cussing within this talk so consider yourself warned (it’s not really a lot).
And definitely check out some of the other talks given on the TED website. No matter your passion there is a talk on here that will surely move you to do great things.
Blue Architecture 