During class the other day we went into a card shop, as one does. In said card shop, I found the poster below. As a Parisian native who also lived in NYC, and an urban planner to boot, I have feelings about this poster. OK, really my first thought was a whole-body shudder. And once … Read moreParis/NYC
I posted semi-recently about the convergence of my nerdery and work interests with the Urban Design Alignment Chart. That was a fun little project, but last fall I joined those two interests more seamlessly. So seamlessly, in fact, that I didn’t even think twice about it until just now. Last semester, I taught HISP471VV: Urban … Read moreIt’s all fun and games (until you build a city)
Since the Notre Dame fire, I’ve had lots of interesting conversations and fielded many pertinent questions. I thought instead of endlessly repeating myself, I should write some of this stuff down. Here goes: What exactly was lost? How do we fix it? The cathedral itself took the brunt of the damage: most of the artwork … Read moreNotre Dame: Follow-up Thoughts
As I write this, Notre Dame is on fire. I’m not going to show photos of the blaze. It feels like looking at a crime, looking at a corpse. I should be grading right now – sorry students – but I can’t focus on anything except this loss. So I’m going to write, because right … Read moreNotre Dame
Friends, family, and heck, random strangers at this point know that our neighbor’s tree fell on our house last March. I’ve blogged a little about it, but I haven’t written up too much yet. This is because (1) I didn’t want to jinx our rebuild as it was happening and (2) it’s still a bit … Read moreThat %^&#% Window
Since I’m an urban planner and a preservationist, people ask me about random urban stuff all the time. Why is this street like that? What does this kind of roof mean? When was this built? This can be a really fun game. But to be good at it, I constantly try to make sure I … Read moreWrong Assumptions
The tree fell on my house three months ago. Work started a few weeks back. The time in between has been challenging to say the least. I know I said I’d write “lots of posts” about this experience but turns out it’s easier said than done. The process feels like a maelstrom. My emotions, on … Read moreHome away from home
The title says it all, really: a big honkin’ tree fell on our house. The tree was in our neighbor’s yard: a 60′ tall 3-4′ wide BIG FELLA. It fell across our kitchen and even pierced through our other neighbor’s living room. The important facts: No one was hurt. Thankfully, no one was in the … Read moreA tree fell on our house
In November I had a whirlwind visit to Chicago for the National Trust conference and the NCPE annual meeting. I spent a great deal of time in conference rooms and classrooms, but I did get to walk around the city a little bit. I had the pleasure of catching up with a few UMWHISP alum … Read moreBuildings & Feelings (Fall Trips Part II)
I’m a bit old for “what I did on my summer vacation” but I went on two fun trips this fall and I wanna talk about them. This is my blog, so without further ado: Musings from a couple action-packed trips to fantastic cities: Part 1 – BKLYN (<- that’s the fancy pants spelling of … Read moreMusings on Gentrification (Fall Trips Part I)