Mar 18, 202210 Instant Cures for High Gas PricesAlso effective for traffic, climate change, and sedentary lifestyles! 1) Use cones or Jersey barriers to create a bike/walk lane along road shoulder or shoulder+right lane. 5' is a good minimum width. 10' is better. 2) Use marking paint to create walk paths in mowed lawn next to road, esp…Gas2 min readGas2 min read
Nov 4, 2021Vacant Land for Recreation/FitnessHow can an urban wild provide recreation or fitness use to the community? Start by asking the right questions: What is the recreation or fitness need of the adjacent community? Obesity, diabetes rates? What parks or other public recreation amenities are available nearby — are they adequate and does the…Cities3 min readCities3 min read
Nov 4, 2021People Matter, So Behavior MattersA city without people would be wild, surely, but perhaps not a city at all. People are central to the neglected city’s design by deficit. City residents are key, particularly people in the neighborhoods thick with signs of neglect. …Cities3 min readCities3 min read
Oct 14, 2021Things Fall Apart (Book Excerpt)Every city has a shadow. It’s the things we don’t see, that we choose not to see or teach ourselves not to see. What we don’t see still exists, though. It works out of sight, behind our backs, and it’s all the more powerful because it’s unobserved. We underestimate what…Cities7 min readCities7 min read
Oct 14, 2021Invisible (Working) Infrastructure: Book ExcerptMost of us have the luxury of ignoring the infrastructure that serves us. That’s because it’s working. Infrastructure that’s working is made more invisible to the general public by our tendency to view the entire built environment as naturally occurring and therefore neutral. We don’t see it as changeable or…Infrastructure2 min readInfrastructure2 min read
Jul 27, 2020Outdoor School Spaces: Flexibility for the ImpossibleMy sister is a teacher, so my messages are filled with the latest last newest update on her school’s ever-changing plan to reopen in a few weeks, or not, or sort of, or maybe not. It’s in flux, it’s maddening, and it’s very high stakes. …Schools4 min readSchools4 min read
Jul 2, 2020Health Boosts from Nature: Quick Reference for PractitionersThere’s never been a better time to keep nature-health benefits at your fingertips if you’re in the business of shaping outdoor spaces or activities for people. Health is on people’s minds like never before as we fight COVID-19. You know all about nature-health benefits because you took my class, right…2 min read2 min read
Jun 11, 2020How to (Not) Speak in Stone: Monuments and Erasing HistoryIndianapolis has a Confederate monument? Has anyone told Indy they’re in the north? The story gets weirder when you look into it, and ultimately worse. Yes, Indiana was on the side of the Union during the Civil War, despite snark about it being the northernmost southern state today. It was…Confederate Monuments3 min readConfederate Monuments3 min read
Apr 20, 2020Fast Garden: Homegrown Produce. Right. Now.Weeks-long delays, everything out of stock, bizarre substitutions — supermarket deliveries are not meeting this moment. Time to plant a garden. But growing your own takes time: 85 days for a tomato from seed, 66 days for green beans, 60 days for zucchini. Who has that kind of time? You…Pandemic3 min readPandemic3 min read
Apr 7, 2020Silence on the Highway: Pandemic as PreviewStop. Listen. Wherever you are right now, can you hear traffic noise? While we wait for science to save us from COVID-19, I’m killing some time walking (alone) on a quiet street. …Bikes4 min readBikes4 min read
