“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary…” Edgar Allen Poe, “The Raven,” 1845 Here, during London’s lockdown, we’ve seen many ravens. My wife, Fiona, recently reminded me of Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven,” the much-adored lamentation for the lost and unknown. Repeatedly, a raven tells Poe’s […]
In the latest issue of The Journal of Public Space, I had the fortunate opportunity to summarize Fulbright work in Australia almost two years ago and reflect on my soon-to-be trilogy of books on how to understand and improve urban environments. I’m grateful to the Editors for the chance to […]
In March 2010, when urbanist bloggers were few and twitter was in its infancy, I wandered my then-neighborhood in Seattle and wrote about some easy fixes that would help bring the city out of the recession. Ten years later, amid post-pandemic prophecies about how cities might address public safety, transportation, […]
As quarantines relax, many urban residents show behavior that belongs to a stage of reopening not yet formally announced by government. In short, flouters adopt “Phase 2” activities in “Phase 1.” Is this a mostly harmless and realistic “cutting edge,” or impatience in the form of reckless abandon? What does […]
In my initial post last week, I suggested five operational themes available for any photographer interested in documenting emergence from urban life in quarantine. The first thematic question asked: “How are transitional messages (such as the move from “Stay Home, Save Lives” to “Stay Alert, Control the Virus” in England) […]
Let’s face it. Although lacking the physical realities of human proximity, Zoom interactions approximate those that otherwise occur in public streets and squares. Scholars of place such as Edward Relph have maintained that physical placemaking is but one of many ways to “ground” the intangibles of human association and community. […]
