As I strive to meet my January quota of five articles (having only achieved two so far for the month), I hesitate to focus on this subject—artifacts along the PA Turnpike—mostly because these contemplations seem to drip with condescension toward smaller towns. Anyone who has read a half-dozen of my articles knows that is not
Rarely a day goes by without a collective crie de coeur regarding the housing affordability crisis. Less visible, perhaps in some respects because it is in some respects a niche subset, is the lodging crisis—a shortage of temporary, leased, overnight accommodations with varying amenities attached to the lodging purchase. This shortfall, no doubt, in part
I try to avoid articles that are exclusively internationally driven, or even primarily international, as this one is. But it’s hard not to wonder why, after so many years of flying, the overwhelming majority of airports are such massive, closed-off vaults. Given that this is the final port of departure before passengers enter a hermetically
I can’t claim I relish gruesome subjects, but when they’re as salacious as last month’s Exorcist steps, it was hard to resist. (And, I’ll admit, I needed an easy topic right before Halloween as I scrambled to meet my quota of articles before an extended trip overseas.) Most of the time, though, when I approach
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
It’s been less than a year since my article on the The Block, a small food hall in Annandale, Virginia (part of the affluent Fairfax County suburbs of Washington DC) generated a fair amount of buzz—at least by my blog’s modest standards. At that time I pointed out that The Block had bucked the trends
For being a licensed city planner, I’ve avoided using one particular term in this blog common within my profession’s jargon: urban sprawl. Applying the search tool, it has only appeared as content within 72 articles—pretty rare considering that at this point in September 2025, I have produced 956 blog posts. Keep in mind, many of
“Calm on the surface, paddling furiously underneath.” Back in 2009, when I wrote my first article on wildlife tunnels in an outer suburb of Boston, I figured this might be the first of many features about animal accommodations—slight modifications to the infrastructure that better integrate the human-built environment with the natural world so that animals
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
In a move that was probably a huge shock to about four dozen people, World of Beer (WoB), the craft beer aficionado’s dream chain, closed its Indianapolis location shortly after New Year’s Day 2024. Due in no small part to the devastating effect of COVID-19 lockdowns on the restaurant industry, World of Beer is one
As I strive to meet my January quota of five articles (having only achieved two so far for the month), I hesitate to focus on this subject—artifacts along the PA Turnpike—mostly because these
Rarely a day goes by without a collective crie de coeur regarding the housing affordability crisis. Less visible, perhaps in some respects because it is in some respects a niche subset, is the
I try to avoid articles that are exclusively internationally driven, or even primarily international, as this one is. But it’s hard not to wonder why, after so many years of flying, the overwhelming
I can’t claim I relish gruesome subjects, but when they’re as salacious as last month’s Exorcist steps, it was hard to resist. (And, I’ll admit, I needed an easy topic right before Halloween
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
It’s been less than a year since my article on the The Block, a small food hall in Annandale, Virginia (part of the affluent Fairfax County suburbs of Washington DC) generated a fair
For being a licensed city planner, I’ve avoided using one particular term in this blog common within my profession’s jargon: urban sprawl. Applying the search tool, it has only appeared as content within
“Calm on the surface, paddling furiously underneath.” Back in 2009, when I wrote my first article on wildlife tunnels in an outer suburb of Boston, I figured this might be the first of
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
In a move that was probably a huge shock to about four dozen people, World of Beer (WoB), the craft beer aficionado’s dream chain, closed its Indianapolis location shortly after New Year’s Day