To the editor:
    
The Chatham Square housing development was an ill-conceived, idealistic approach to cohesive living and race is an insignificant byproduct of this failed project.
    
When people of such diversity are forced to live as neighbors, their different approaches to life become magnified. Placing upscale communities next to disadvantaged residents on housing subsidies creates a feeling of misplacement for them while investors in those high-end neighborhoods worry about property values and image. When tempers flare on both sides, the illusion of a harmonious environment is exposed, and it is unrealistic to believe police interference can mitigate the frustration created by such fundamental differences.