The battle has been the stuff of legend in South Philly for half a century. Wedged into two triangular blocks formed through an oblique intersection (East Passyunk Avenue, a beloved corridor I have covered many times on this blog) are two of Philadelphia’s most legendary cheesesteak establishments. They’re so close to one another that it
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
Public utilities are a tough nut to crack, especially in urban settings, where the population density is greater—and so, consequently, is the demand for electricity, gas, water, wastewater, fiber optics, and so forth. With higher density comes greater intricacy of the conduit; there’s more of it, and it must be more economical with its use
The photo below captures an item so banal that I don’t think it has yet entered popular conversation, and I’m not sure it ever will. It isn’t controversial to my knowledge, and it’s hardly conspicuous enough to arouse ire for visual blight. Yet. Virtually everyone understands why they exist, or if they don’t understand, it
Never afraid to rouse the ire of urban activists by challenging their orthodoxy, I’m going to give it a try in what will remain my current stomping grounds at least a little while longer: Washington DC. Yes, even amidst all the eggheads around these parts, and despite a generally commendable urban fabric (most of DC
I’m running out of days in this month, and the last few posts took more time than I expected, so I’ll conclude May with a brief hat-tip to one of the greatest unintentional memes that the City of Brotherly Love has to offer, and it gave it to the world long before the concept of
The immediate area surrounding DC’s Union Market has witnessed a remarkable surge in population, activity, and energy over the last five years. I deliberately use the word “surge” instead of “resurgence”, because the “re-“ prefix is a misnomer; it implies that the action to which it appends (the “surge”) has happened a second time. But
I generally shy from events that are hot off the presses, not only because I’m not a good journalist for breaking news, but because I like things to simmer a bit. My work is less reporting and more empirical analysis. Forming a conclusion before the dust has settled is usually unwise, since the passage of
Take a look at the eyesore there in the center-left of the photo, there with the “FOR LEASE” sign draped across the third floor. Such a humble, ugly little building…and what a contrast to everything else around it! I first explored this derelict structure over five years ago, in the terminally transitional Columbia Heights neighborhood
There was probably a point in history when virtually every American had heard of Cumberland, Maryland. Not only that, it’s reasonable to surmise that a significant proportion of Americans had passed through it. Aside from the fact that, for most of Maryland’s history, it was the state’s second largest city (its “Queen City” behind Lord/King
The battle has been the stuff of legend in South Philly for half a century. Wedged into two triangular blocks formed through an oblique intersection (East Passyunk Avenue, a beloved corridor I have
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
Public utilities are a tough nut to crack, especially in urban settings, where the population density is greater—and so, consequently, is the demand for electricity, gas, water, wastewater, fiber optics, and so forth.
The photo below captures an item so banal that I don’t think it has yet entered popular conversation, and I’m not sure it ever will. It isn’t controversial to my knowledge, and it’s
Never afraid to rouse the ire of urban activists by challenging their orthodoxy, I’m going to give it a try in what will remain my current stomping grounds at least a little while
I’m running out of days in this month, and the last few posts took more time than I expected, so I’ll conclude May with a brief hat-tip to one of the greatest unintentional
The immediate area surrounding DC’s Union Market has witnessed a remarkable surge in population, activity, and energy over the last five years. I deliberately use the word “surge” instead of “resurgence”, because the
I generally shy from events that are hot off the presses, not only because I’m not a good journalist for breaking news, but because I like things to simmer a bit. My work
Take a look at the eyesore there in the center-left of the photo, there with the “FOR LEASE” sign draped across the third floor. Such a humble, ugly little building…and what a contrast
There was probably a point in history when virtually every American had heard of Cumberland, Maryland. Not only that, it’s reasonable to surmise that a significant proportion of Americans had passed through it.
