I have an on-going correspondence with a particular city planner who recently asked, “What pushes a neighborhood down vs. what lifts it up?” In the end I suspect this is going to be like the old joke. Ask three rabbis a question and you’ll get five answers. Perhaps I should provide a few examples of popular … Continue reading The Urban Planner’s Dilemma
I’m a longtime advocate of walkable, mixed-use, mixed-income, transit-served neighborhoods. But lately I’ve been having impure thoughts about suburbia. Let me explain. What often passes for a neighborhood in America is a low grade assemblage of chain convenience stores, big box outlets, franchise muffler shops, multi-lane highways, and isolated cul-de-sacs. Even when it’s physically … Continue reading Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love Sprawl (Sort of)
No, my millionaire heroes aren’t computer whiz kids or international hedge fund managers. These are my friends Cali and Lou. They’re my heroes and I model much of my life after them. Aside from being endlessly charming, patient, kind, and generous they’re also smart and industrious. Here’s a little back-story that helps explain why … Continue reading My Millionaire Heroes: Not Who You Think
There’s an established image in the collective imagination of the kinds of places artsy types tend to live: the painter in a Paris garret, the actor in a Brooklyn brownstone, the musician in a San Francisco Victorian, or the playwright in a fisherman’s shack on Cape Cod. It’s all very romantic. We currently associate these … Continue reading The New Bohemia: Not Where You Expect
Gracen Johnson of Another Place For Me recently sent out a request for examples of adaptive reuses for outdated buildings. This is part of her exploration of what’s likely to happen to all the cheap, ugly, poorly constructed, disposable structures that currently litter the landscape all across North America. First, here’s an example of a completely … Continue reading Adaptive Reuse: Old Stuff, New Life
This video was edited by my friend Kirsten Dirksen of faircompanies.com This is a tale of how a hard core liberal achieved her goals by adopting a seriously conservative economic approach once she realized the usual government bureaucracies weren’t getting the job done. In 1980 Lois Arkin began her quest to build permanently affordable housing … Continue reading The Hippie Guide to Conservative Economics
I’m in the process of filming a story about a woman who is opening a new business she’s calling the Locastore. Her goal is to provide a high quality alternative to corporate chain convenience stores that can be replicated and scaled up in many other rural communities. She will only be selling items … Continue reading The $100,000 roadside produce stand
I started keeping honey bees on my roof here in San Francisco five years ago. I wanted chickens but my neighbors put the kibosh on that one. It was probably for the best. We have no actual soil – just a small patch of concrete between buildings which only gets partial sun. I decided that … Continue reading Urban Beekeeping
I recently posted a video about the Plaza Mayor in Segovia, Spain where I showed how a space in an ancient town served many functions for a variety of different kinds of people throughout the day. This next post is about how more mundane locations can implement the same activities with little more than paint, … Continue reading Sunset Triangle Plaza: Los Angeles
Most of the built environment in North America has been constructed since the end of World War II, and almost all of it has been low density horizontal suburban development. As we run into trouble with the economy and various external constraints we’re not going to be able to rebuild our towns and cities … Continue reading Suburban permaculture, Diamond Bar, California
Granola Shotgun 