By I wanted to discuss a comment about cities that came up in the debate/ town hall last night. Note, this is not a post endorsing one or the other, although I’ll say that I’m with her. But the issue brought up is one that trips up a lot of people
The Urban Hierarchy Was Never Dead
Nearly four years ago I declared that the urban hierarchy is dead. I was already refuting The Urbanophile, Aaron Renn, but I thought I had a good case. After all, this was before I graduated from my MPA program, before I rented an apartment that almost bankrupted me, before I moved
Six Ways to Lead Your Cities Anyway
What do you do to make sure you can create your city, as it is? Last post, I wanted people who I’d worked with or tried to work with in the past to listen and allow me the space to be myself and work in improving my home city. While that
Let People Lead in Your Cities
What if the real reason people aren’t staying in your city is that they can’t lead? Can’t they be themselves? They can’t make the money that they need or even the money that they want? Won’t you listen to their complaints and make changes? Won’t you treat them like adults?
My Placemaking Wishes for 2016
It’s that time again, where I rub my lamp and hope that several things in the world of placemaking come true. I’ve made a set of wishes in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 and I’m honored to share another set of dreams for 2016. And without further ado, this year’s
Place in A Time of Terror and Inequality
This post took so long to write. I wrote about two versions of it. Maybe you’ll see them in the next volume of essays. Maybe they’ll be here. Ultimately, it gets down to how place and motion matter in a time of heightened instances of tragedy, terror and oppressive power
The Lost Corners of Suburbia
Belk at Four Seasons Mall IHOP on Hillsborough Street Two Guys Pizza on Hillsborough Street Wachovia at Spring Valley Plaza All these things used to be on the corner of something. All these places are places I made memories in. All of these places are gone or soon to be
Five Ways to Do Urban Stadiums and Arenas Right
A major battle going on in placemaking circles is that of sports teams and sports venues. How should they be financed? Should they be in open fields or should they take up blocks of downtown districts? What happens to the displaced homeowners and renters? What happens when they fall
Highlights from Transportation Camp DC 2015 (#transpo15)
Bask at our written session board. (Full digital list here) Four-hundred people attended all or part of the day, the largest DC Transportation Camp ever. (Image via TransitScreen) We voted in a poll using Easy Buttons. (Image via Nicola Ivanov) These are the results of that poll. Transit rockstars shared
