Imagine if you had a song, novel, or any piece of art for that matter that was already well liked by a majority of people.  Now imagine if everyone was free to modify this piece of work to improve it in their eyes.  What if people in turn were able to rank these derivative works of art?  What are the odds that the most popular spin-off from this ranking process would be a work of art better than the original?   If you believe, like I do, that we all benefit from a world where art is able to capture humanity’s true essence, than why, if this process does truly improve the end product, are we not embracing it as viable way to produce and refine art?   Now imagine, instead of a song, novel, or piece or art being the centerpiece of this process, you have the design and evolution of an entire city as the central focus.  Could we actually harness this collaborative filtering process to improve our built environment, perhaps even making it more sustainable?