Daniel Libeskind is still optimistic about ground zero. Or, you know, not entirely bitter. "That site will come back to life in a way that is not banal," he explained during a House & Garden panel discussion at Hunter College last week. It will have "as much public space as I could have possibly put in it," he added. The topic of the H&G panel was "The Future Face of New York" and focused mostly on sustainable building and expansion. "It doesn't happen by miracle, it happens by enlightened social policy," Libeskind explained. It seems like he learned at least one thing about his ground-zero experience: "Democracy is about garnering consensus," he mused. That's helpful — but is it a real solution to the fact that there will be a million more people in New York in 2030? We're not sure. Then again, we read H&G for the pictures of rich people's window treatments. —Darrell Hartman

Related: The Liberation of Daniel Libeskind [NYM]