Stories About Urbanism, Adaptation, and Resilience
Danny Thomas Boulevard is technically State Highway One which runs the full breadth of Tennessee and cuts a deep north/south trench through Memphis. Highways are important. They connect towns and cities and facilitate commerce and all the rest. We need them. But in the center of a city they can be designed well or poorly. … Continue reading Danny Thomas Almost Killed Me
I just returned from a week long confab with a group that’s trying to revitalize a long neglected neighborhood in Memphis, Tennessee. I go to these gatherings because I love the people. They’re smart, charming, and passionate. We hang out, talk late into the night, eat well, and bounce ideas off each other. The people … Continue reading Memphis: Setting the Scene
Blogsplaining. Is that a thing? I think it is. It’s a close cousin to Rebecca Solnit’s mansplaining. Blogsplaining is the use of logic to solve an obvious problem, but without acknowledging the cultural imperatives that make the solution impossible to implement. In other words, blogsplaining is the thankless task of solving a problem no one wants … Continue reading Blogsplaining Good Urbanism
Here’s the ubiquitous American landscape with a dash of central New Jersey local color. It’s not the rain and dark skies that make it look so bleak. No amount of sunshine can brighten this much asphalt, synthetic stucco, and vinyl siding. There’s no point in complaining about any of it. It exists and will continue … Continue reading Methodist Urbanism: Ocean Grove
I was recently invited to give a talk at a housing conference down in Los Angeles. Once again my fellow speakers engaged in the usual arguments. Aging Baby Boomers asserted that we need to keep building more 1957 style suburban homes on the edge of the metroplex because that’s what people want and can afford, … Continue reading Beginnings, Middles, and Ends
On Sunday we gathered at the home of our friends Sara and Andre for a summer barbecue. They live in a 600 square foot one bedroom apartment here in San Francisco. We talked about their housing situation and their long term trajectory. Sara has lived in this building since she first arrived in the city … Continue reading The Squeeze and Wiggle
Yesterday I enjoyed a Sunday breakfast with friends at Wat Mongkolratanaram, a Buddhist Thai Temple in Berkeley. The Temple has been serving food in their courtyard as a community event and fund raising mechanism every Sunday for years. This is the Thai version of Lutheran church basement hot dish. (I recommend the green papaya salad … Continue reading Church and Plate
