Sustaining Place

Place Parts, Episode 10: Choreographing Place, with Sherry Dobbin

As we emerge from the pandemic, why center only on architectural compatibility or placemaking listicles? Why not admit the common adage, that the city–and its…

Place Parts, Episode 8: About the Lady Well and a Cure

Today, in Episode 8, I depart from recent episodes built around interviews. Rather, I offer a contemplative walk to a local setting that seems even…

Sustaining Community in Pandemica

Let’s talk about the hyperlocal places of Pandemica, where the successes of sustaining community may live or die. They are on my mind this New…

Photo of the Year: We Are Still Open

I took a photo yesterday that explains the year. It’s about adaptation, and, ultimately, survival. It also addresses another dilemma: depending on the context of…

‘Place-Healing’ Revisited

Just for a moment, return with me to just a few months ago. Most everywhere, the need for urban retrofits and recalibration to avoid disease…

Watering Can as Symbol: Sustenance in a Sustainable Place

In these times, is it an outright elitist thing to run around with a Leica M-10P waxing poetic about how how to sustain the culture…

Modified Dystopia, I Salute You

With apologies to Julius Caesar, all pandemic rail transport behavior is divided into three parts.

Today in an English Place

Observing Pandemic Patterns

If anyone doubted how concerns for public safety and associated protective rules guide human behavior, take a look at the seating configurations depicted above. In…

A Pandemic Escape to a West Berkshire Field

After months inside, the outside certainly beckons, an invitation to explore from an old and treasured friend. Where better than where the Romans walked, across…