Architects can learn from each other?

Today I took part on the SOA Days 2011 . Although the event has been organized since 14 years, I am for the first time there. More or less interesting presentations, as in any event, the mix makes it. The presentations are different, regarding the quality and interest for me.

The last presentation today was amazing! The topic was "urban breeding grounds, urban culture media" . This keynote speech was hold by Prof. Ir. Kees Christiaanse argued. A world-renowned architect who deals with urban planning.
The talk was really excellent, although the issue with the software architecture and software development has got nothing to do with each other. Or do they ...?

There's definitely a lot of parallels that could/should be taken into account in the software architecture.
There are many points that I took from the lecture. I would like to mention one aspect as an example.

Prof. Ir. Kees Christiaanse has mentioned that a draft of a city does not contain a complete design, because there are many aspects in such long-term projects (eg 10 years) that can be changed in that time. An impact on the project can be exercised over the years by politicians, communities, companies or even the citizens.
The draft specifies only the conditions, such as the design of the building lots, the maximum allowed height of buildings and other features. It considers how to develop the cities over time and is also readjusted.

Actually, it's the same in the software architecture. I'm not that old, but how many "IT revolutions" I've seen? From the object-oriented development, component-based development, Enterprise Architectures, Service-oriented architectures, we have come to a "cloud". That is not wrong in principle. But we should plan the projects and sustainable development of our IT landscape, regardless of the technologies / principles?
Mr. Christiaanse has made a very true statement. If a district is to be built and still quite empty, the complexity and heterogeneity is extremely high. With each new road, buildings, public facilities, etc., becomes the environment more homogeneous.
Is the IT industry ratio so different?

It is a pity that such lectures and discussions do not occur often. Sometimes you are so deep in the specific subject that the other alternatives are not seen, or it is no longer looking for other solutions.