For the most part, I am loathe to chronicle institutional decline because it captures the livelihoods and aspirations of so many affiliated with the institution (both currently and previously). It feels not just that I am exploiting the decline but, by drawing attention to it, that I’m exacerbating it. But the institutions in my crosshairs
Unlike most cities in the eastern half of the US, the major metros of the West routinely offer suburbs that exceed 100,000 people—sometimes double or triple that amount. (A few of the suburbs of Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Houston, Dallas, and even Denver are bigger than the core cities of Cincinnati, Buffalo, St. Louis, or
The predictability of a post-1950s subdivision in most of suburban America almost renders it impervious to analysis. After all, there’s nothing exotic about a middle-class home with 3-4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and a two-car garage. Most Americans encounter such houses on a daily basis, if they don’t already live in one. And the prevalence of
Most American cities, large and small, have experienced such a revitalization of their downtowns since the year 1990 that they’re basically unrecognizable. Districts formerly presented one carless corridor after another, with panoplies of edifices groaning from varying levels of neglect and decay. Most of them today have considerably more going on than they did 35
As a metro area urbanizes, the old country homes built off of major highways become less appealing as residences and more appealing as commercial entities. This isn’t surprising; the quiet metamorphosis has taken place for decades. A subtle commercial conversion. People don’t want to live directly alongside throngs of fast-moving vehicles if they can help
All the contextual evidence suggests that Hagerman, Idaho is a minor city of at least a few thousand people. Viewing a map or aerial, the street grid shows at least forty blocks. People in the metropolis of Boise (almost 100 miles to the northwest) seem to know about the place, at least from my passing
Just a little over a mile from downtown Boise and a whole lot less than a mile from the city’s flagship public university campus, a micro-subdivision sits wedged between two busy arterial roads. It’s barely noticeable, and I would have driven right past it if it weren’t for the unusual aesthetic: something between tiny homes
Vienna, an incorporated town in northern Virginia, doesn’t have much in the way of a conspicuous downtown—or at least it didn’t until recently. Little by little, it’s getting one, through higher-density infill development. Until recently, the main drag, Maple Avenue (State Route 123), consisted of a mix of small strip malls, repurposed auto-oriented outparcel buildings,
My previous visit to the Peace Garden State lasted no more than five hours, yet it yielded two separate blog articles, both in Bowman (the only town of any size where I stepped out of my car). I didn’t visit Bowman this time around, but I lingered in a different region, gathering some interesting finds
The term “stub street” rarely comes up in conversation, yet enough people have a mental image of what it entails that it would be almost patronizing to explain what it means. However, those cognitive apparitions vary so greatly that I’m going to go right ahead and patronize. After all, a consistent definition of a stub
For the most part, I am loathe to chronicle institutional decline because it captures the livelihoods and aspirations of so many affiliated with the institution (both currently and previously). It feels not just
Unlike most cities in the eastern half of the US, the major metros of the West routinely offer suburbs that exceed 100,000 people—sometimes double or triple that amount. (A few of the suburbs
The predictability of a post-1950s subdivision in most of suburban America almost renders it impervious to analysis. After all, there’s nothing exotic about a middle-class home with 3-4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and a
Most American cities, large and small, have experienced such a revitalization of their downtowns since the year 1990 that they’re basically unrecognizable. Districts formerly presented one carless corridor after another, with panoplies of
As a metro area urbanizes, the old country homes built off of major highways become less appealing as residences and more appealing as commercial entities. This isn’t surprising; the quiet metamorphosis has taken
All the contextual evidence suggests that Hagerman, Idaho is a minor city of at least a few thousand people. Viewing a map or aerial, the street grid shows at least forty blocks. People
Just a little over a mile from downtown Boise and a whole lot less than a mile from the city’s flagship public university campus, a micro-subdivision sits wedged between two busy arterial roads.
Vienna, an incorporated town in northern Virginia, doesn’t have much in the way of a conspicuous downtown—or at least it didn’t until recently. Little by little, it’s getting one, through higher-density infill development.
My previous visit to the Peace Garden State lasted no more than five hours, yet it yielded two separate blog articles, both in Bowman (the only town of any size where I stepped
The term “stub street” rarely comes up in conversation, yet enough people have a mental image of what it entails that it would be almost patronizing to explain what it means. However, those