For the second time in almost as many months, I’ve found a quirk in subdivision design, nestled deep within a metro that, for the last few decades, has been cranking out subdivisions the way Henry Ford was rolling out the Model T a century ago. But Las Vegas, which has doubled its population multiple times
On an otherwise run-of-the-mill middle-class street, in the altogether run-of-the-mill and middle-class Washington DC suburb of Springfield, Virginia, a tiny sign indicates an on-street parking restriction, under certain terms that need a textual explanation. The notion isn’t strange that a sign can order drivers not park on this side of a quiet, residential, local road;
Visitors to the US—particularly those from Europe—have long criticized the Stars and Stripes for the dearth of public restrooms in tourist-rich urban districts: only about 8 per 100,000 people. This ratio places this US on par with Botswana, but also Netherlands, Georgia, and Poland (so it’s not a uniquely American program, to all those Eurocritics).
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
I had visited this little shopping center just south of Alexandria, Virginia more than a few times before I ever noticed this bizarre little sign about flying projectiles. It didn’t occur to me during any previous visit, since I normally sat indoors to avoid the scorching summer sun, but apparently some people opt to eat
Coming on the heels of an article where I unexpectedly concluded that the best decision might be to save a strip mall in College Park, Maryland, I now view more or less the same subject through a different lens. Leaping across the Potomac River to Virginia, the state might change but the metro area is
I don’t have a reason to visit College Park, Maryland all that often, even though it’s only a handful of miles away from my current home and hosts a major academic institution. But when I do visit, the small city reminds me what an outlier it is: a freestanding municipality encompassing a major flagship university,
Several weeks ago I featured the borough of Wilson, Pennsylvania—a small municipality in the Lehigh Valley region, where Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton are the most prominent cities. Wilson is adjacent to Easton and in most respects is culturally indistinct: at a certain point it incorporated as a separate municipality, but it shares Easton’s street grid,
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
Far be it from me to turn into a crotchety old killjoy who lambastes every pocket park I find, but I already did it once a few years ago, for a tidy but neglected little mini-playground in Alexandria, Virginia. Since a bigger, higher-profile, and splashier (literally) play area stands just a few blocks away, my
For the second time in almost as many months, I’ve found a quirk in subdivision design, nestled deep within a metro that, for the last few decades, has been cranking out subdivisions the
On an otherwise run-of-the-mill middle-class street, in the altogether run-of-the-mill and middle-class Washington DC suburb of Springfield, Virginia, a tiny sign indicates an on-street parking restriction, under certain terms that need a textual
Visitors to the US—particularly those from Europe—have long criticized the Stars and Stripes for the dearth of public restrooms in tourist-rich urban districts: only about 8 per 100,000 people. This ratio places this
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
I had visited this little shopping center just south of Alexandria, Virginia more than a few times before I ever noticed this bizarre little sign about flying projectiles. It didn’t occur to me
Coming on the heels of an article where I unexpectedly concluded that the best decision might be to save a strip mall in College Park, Maryland, I now view more or less the
I don’t have a reason to visit College Park, Maryland all that often, even though it’s only a handful of miles away from my current home and hosts a major academic institution. But
Several weeks ago I featured the borough of Wilson, Pennsylvania—a small municipality in the Lehigh Valley region, where Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton are the most prominent cities. Wilson is adjacent to Easton and
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
Far be it from me to turn into a crotchety old killjoy who lambastes every pocket park I find, but I already did it once a few years ago, for a tidy but