Categories
Design Engagement Suburbia

How to Spot Ecosystem Collapse, Three Signs

A few weeks ago, my husband and I pulled away from our driveway in Waco, Texas, and pointed the car north, toward I-35. It was around 10:00 a.m. and we had several hours of driving ahead of us. My final destination was Huntsville, Alabama, where I’d spend the week with a childhood best friend. After […]

Categories
Design Mobility Suburbia Walkability

3 Takeaways From Ivan Illich’s Critique of Cars

For three weeks out of the month of July, my husband and I worked as dog sitters in West Lake Hills, a small suburban city six miles from downtown Austin, Texas. Established in 1953, it’s a small city (four square miles) with fewer than 5,000 residents; 40 miles of city roads; and its own school […]

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Design Mobility Neighborliness Regulation Suburbia Transit

Designing for Resilience: Policies Are Great, but Design Is What Will Change Your Life

I recently married my boyfriend Rob and moved ten minutes from my home in Sanger Heights into a garage flat belonging to a couple from our church. Rob had been living here for a few months already and as we headed home from our honeymoon in Santa Fe, I began thinking about what our new […]

Categories
Design Suburbia

Why proximity matters

The events of 2020 have made it obvious the role that proximity plays in how we experience our cities. The lockdowns of COVID-19 trapped many Americans in their suburban neighborhoods. The rallies and marches surrounding George Floyd’s death made clear the relationship between easily-accessible public space and democracy. The shift to remote work has anchored […]