On a recent impromptu trip, I stumbled across a mild technological innovation I had not seen before in the United States: a green glow, right at the edge of a sidewalk where I was about to cross a street—basically a feature within illuminated crosswalks. Apparently illuminated crosswalks are nothing new; the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
It’s Flag Day! And it’s kind of remarkable how, given my blog’s fixation with flags over the years (including some very creative flag reimagining), I’ve never really covered this 75-year-old holiday, commemorating the 247th anniversary of a distinct American flag. Yes, it was June 14th in 1777 that the Second Continental Congress adopted an official
I don’t think this article will strike too many people as a revelation, and I might be late to the party in making the observation. At the very least, I’ll try to weave in the broader social/cultural implications of this new (or “new-ish”) device, because it tethers itself to something most people have to do
“Signage” has long been the most prominently used keyword here at this blog. Within its respective jurisdiction, a municipal planning community fixates more than the average person—more even than me—on signs: their placement, size, color, luminosity, content, what can exist. The American Planning Association (APA) routinely devotes webinars like this on the subject, and, at
Many years ago—before I even had conceived of this blog—I was an intern for a university semester at WalkBoston, which was (and remains) the signature pedestrian advocacy organization for Bean Town. Founded in 1990, it was the first of its kind in the country. Since then (and since my internship), WalkBoston’s scope and ambitions have
In 2024, a rail-trail conversion is hardly a novel concept. The likelihood that most Americans have never walked or jogged on one says more about our sedentary lifestyles than the trails’ scarcity. In fact, rail-trail conversions exist in all 50 states and continue to grow in both quantity and total mileage. Initially a tactic for
After over 800 articles penned, I have consistently asserted that the point of this blog is to put forward empirical arguments. I try to extract greater meaning from what I observe. Data and second-party research supplements or substantiates the arguments I try to make. Not every blog post uses outside articles, legal documentation, and/or statistics.
Glenwood Springs, Colorado is a fun town. That’s its brand. It aspires to be one of America’s most recreationally-minded small municipalities—really more of a tiny city—and it routinely makes the top 10 lists among various outdoor-centric periodicals, as I covered once before. Sometimes it reaches a bit further, placing on lists of all-around best and
The expansive, oddly shaped downtown district of Arlington, Virginia (it’s a county, even though it feels like a city) features some unusual intersections, which no doubt confuse motorists and pedestrians who are unfamiliar with the area. These intersections were nowhere near as precarious back in the day, when most of the area consisted of low-slung
It’s been a mere two weeks since I explored the sacrifice of on-street parking spaces for transportation enhancements in a Washington DC neighborhood. And here I go at it again. Why should I delve into the subject so soon? Well, this time around, it’s not quite identical: instead of bike lanes, the enhancement is more
On a recent impromptu trip, I stumbled across a mild technological innovation I had not seen before in the United States: a green glow, right at the edge of a sidewalk where I
It’s Flag Day! And it’s kind of remarkable how, given my blog’s fixation with flags over the years (including some very creative flag reimagining), I’ve never really covered this 75-year-old holiday, commemorating the
I don’t think this article will strike too many people as a revelation, and I might be late to the party in making the observation. At the very least, I’ll try to weave
“Signage” has long been the most prominently used keyword here at this blog. Within its respective jurisdiction, a municipal planning community fixates more than the average person—more even than me—on signs: their placement,
Many years ago—before I even had conceived of this blog—I was an intern for a university semester at WalkBoston, which was (and remains) the signature pedestrian advocacy organization for Bean Town. Founded in
In 2024, a rail-trail conversion is hardly a novel concept. The likelihood that most Americans have never walked or jogged on one says more about our sedentary lifestyles than the trails’ scarcity. In
After over 800 articles penned, I have consistently asserted that the point of this blog is to put forward empirical arguments. I try to extract greater meaning from what I observe. Data and
Glenwood Springs, Colorado is a fun town. That’s its brand. It aspires to be one of America’s most recreationally-minded small municipalities—really more of a tiny city—and it routinely makes the top 10 lists
The expansive, oddly shaped downtown district of Arlington, Virginia (it’s a county, even though it feels like a city) features some unusual intersections, which no doubt confuse motorists and pedestrians who are unfamiliar
It’s been a mere two weeks since I explored the sacrifice of on-street parking spaces for transportation enhancements in a Washington DC neighborhood. And here I go at it again. Why should I