The earth has revolved around the sun quite a few times since I patronized a restaurant called Kokopelli’s, a little boutique burrito joint on an obscure intersection near Claiborne Avenue in New Orleans, which did not re-open after Hurricane Katrina. (Yep, that long.) Time has relegated this hapless sole proprietorship to such obscurity that there’s
The letters “OBX” adorn many a back bumper, at least among vehicles in the eastern half of the country, particularly concentrated among the states along the Eastern Seaboard. (And typically cares at the level of Volvos and Subarus…or pricier.) It’s safe for me to wager that most people in these eastern states—loosely equating to the
Many years ago, I met up with a friend in Belgium who took me to the nearby Dreiländerpunkt, where Belgium, Netherlands, and Germany converge, with boundaries lines vaguely resembling the logo for Mercedes-Benz. How appropriately German. The glories of the Schengen Agreement have, since 1995, eliminated the fortified boundaries that straitjacketed these small countries for
It’s surprisingly difficult to see along the nearby Anacostia Freeway (District Highway 295); the trees block it, and even in the winter, there’s just not a good angle. But if you’re a pedestrian jogging along either side the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail in Washington DC, it’s impossible to miss. The monstrosity really presents itself well on
My home city of Indianapolis is not, in most respects, a city of great topographic variation. This should not come as a surprise to anyone who has either spent time in Indiana or who forms conclusions about the Hoosier State from its representation in popular culture. It’s a state of primarily fertile land. Corn. Soybeans.
My latest post is available on Urban Indy, featuring a work in progress: the Gateway South Arch in Indianapolis, at the point where Madison Avenue and U.S. 31 diverge. It is the first phase of an extensive plan to improve the streetscape for a part of town that has seen considerable flight of businesses to
I’ve documented evolving retail trends with a keen eye over the past few years. Regardless of the size of the community, certain similar features have emerged that very well may augur a monumental shift in typology, akin to what transpired in the 1950s and 60s when pedestrian-scaled downtowns lost all their commerce to suburban strip
When navigating through an unfamiliar place, either urban or rural, we tend to seek visual points of reference to aid us in further wayfinding. It is as instinctual of an action as folding the corner of a book to keep our place in lieu of a bookmark. Across the countryside, visual cues assume a variety
The earth has revolved around the sun quite a few times since I patronized a restaurant called Kokopelli’s, a little boutique burrito joint on an obscure intersection near Claiborne Avenue in New Orleans,
The letters “OBX” adorn many a back bumper, at least among vehicles in the eastern half of the country, particularly concentrated among the states along the Eastern Seaboard. (And typically cares at the
Many years ago, I met up with a friend in Belgium who took me to the nearby Dreiländerpunkt, where Belgium, Netherlands, and Germany converge, with boundaries lines vaguely resembling the logo for Mercedes-Benz.
It’s surprisingly difficult to see along the nearby Anacostia Freeway (District Highway 295); the trees block it, and even in the winter, there’s just not a good angle. But if you’re a pedestrian
My home city of Indianapolis is not, in most respects, a city of great topographic variation. This should not come as a surprise to anyone who has either spent time in Indiana or
My latest post is available on Urban Indy, featuring a work in progress: the Gateway South Arch in Indianapolis, at the point where Madison Avenue and U.S. 31 diverge. It is the first
I’ve documented evolving retail trends with a keen eye over the past few years. Regardless of the size of the community, certain similar features have emerged that very well may augur a monumental
When navigating through an unfamiliar place, either urban or rural, we tend to seek visual points of reference to aid us in further wayfinding. It is as instinctual of an action as folding