Communication . Just as an analysis of the structure of a Gothic cathedral need not include a debate on the morality of medieval religion, so Las Vegas’s values are not questioned here. The morality of commercial advertising, gambling interests, and the competitive instinct is not at issue here, although , indeed , we believe it should be in the architect’s broader , synthetic tasks of which an analysis such as this is but one aspect . The analysis of a drive-in church in this context would match that of a drive-in restaurant, because this is a study of method, not content . Analysis of one of the architectural variables in isolation from the others is a respectable scientific and humanistic activity , so long as all are resynthesized in design . Analysis of existing American urbanism is a socially desirable activity to the extent it teaches us architects to be more understanding and less authoritarian in the plans we make for both inner-city renewal and new development . In addition , there is on reason why the methods of commercial persuasion and the skyline of signs analyzed here should not serve the purpose of civic and cultural enhancement . But this is not entirely up to the architect .