It should go without saying that a clear indicator of an effective sign is its ability to communicate its intended message. Whether the sign’s intent is to advertise, to inform, or to admonish, it loses most of its power if its capacity to denote doesn’t come easily or quickly (and quickly nearly always translates to
Scattered throughout various locations throughout the City of Detroit, one is likely to run into this unusual sign. It may be unusual in almost any other urban area, but not the Motor City. In due time, the city could end up removing this traffic light at the intersection of Peterboro Street and Second Avenue altogether.
While traveling one of the main thoroughfares in metro Detroit, I came along this modest little billboard. I call it modest because the one behind it and above it—of Detroit’s omnipresent powerhouse litigator Joumana Kayrouz—is a little bit bigger. In fact, from a moderate distance, Ms. Kayrouz not only dwarfs the Target Corporation, but the
My latest appeared at Huffington Post a few days ago, but thanks to persistent wifi problems, only today have I been able to link it. Sorry about that. It focuses on the Dequindre Cut, a high-profile rail-trail conversion in Detroit, whose Phase I (extending about 1.2 miles, from Gratiot Avenue to the Riverfront) has been
In certain subcultures, it’s become a meme. But it took me a little while to catch on. Only after driving past this curiosity for three consecutive days did I realize what it was. It’s not exactly showy, but that’s the point. Look slightly to the left of the center of this photo, and it should
Even if it’s not a commissioned piece like the mural from my previous post, the landscape of artistic expression in Detroit is rich. Since such a huge portion of it comes in the form of graffiti—which is almost always by definition an act of vandalism—it’s understandable that my opening sentence might carry a whiff of
Urban murals, once a rarity outside of a few pioneering cities such as Philadelphia, have emerged in the last decade or so as a sine qua non for any big-city civic art initiative. Philadelphia might still be the national (or even global) leader through its Mural Arts Program, but many other cities are trying to
With scores of urban advocacy blogs out there, I find it hard to imagine that I have much to add to the conversation on the defining characteristics of Mackinac Island, Michigan. Even if the northerly island in Lake Huron—a former Jesuit mission, Ojibwa sacred site, and strategic military encampment—elicits little more than a head-scratching among
My latest post is up at Urban Indy. It scrutinizes a small park on the near northside of Indianapolis–a park so unremarkable that most of the city’s residents have probably never heard of it. Wedged between the Fall Creek Place neighborhood and its namesake Fall Creek, Kessler Park is hardly an unattractive park. Clean, easily
Forgive the hiatus. I just relocated to the city featured in this article. Set in metro Detroit (the first, no doubt, among many), it’s straightforward enough that it doesn’t really demand a long introduction or exposition. From the outside, this unusual shopping center looks like it’s on the fritz: No signs above any of
It should go without saying that a clear indicator of an effective sign is its ability to communicate its intended message. Whether the sign’s intent is to advertise, to inform, or to admonish,
Scattered throughout various locations throughout the City of Detroit, one is likely to run into this unusual sign. It may be unusual in almost any other urban area, but not the Motor City.
While traveling one of the main thoroughfares in metro Detroit, I came along this modest little billboard. I call it modest because the one behind it and above it—of Detroit’s omnipresent powerhouse litigator
My latest appeared at Huffington Post a few days ago, but thanks to persistent wifi problems, only today have I been able to link it. Sorry about that. It focuses on the Dequindre
In certain subcultures, it’s become a meme. But it took me a little while to catch on. Only after driving past this curiosity for three consecutive days did I realize what it was.
Even if it’s not a commissioned piece like the mural from my previous post, the landscape of artistic expression in Detroit is rich. Since such a huge portion of it comes in the
Urban murals, once a rarity outside of a few pioneering cities such as Philadelphia, have emerged in the last decade or so as a sine qua non for any big-city civic art initiative.
With scores of urban advocacy blogs out there, I find it hard to imagine that I have much to add to the conversation on the defining characteristics of Mackinac Island, Michigan. Even if
My latest post is up at Urban Indy. It scrutinizes a small park on the near northside of Indianapolis–a park so unremarkable that most of the city’s residents have probably never heard of
Forgive the hiatus. I just relocated to the city featured in this article. Set in metro Detroit (the first, no doubt, among many), it’s straightforward enough that it doesn’t really demand a long
