Welcome to
My Urban Curious Blog:
Authoritative, Affectionate, and Occasionally Absurd
I have been writing about cities, urban design, and the quirks of how people live together for more than twenty-five years. Some of that writing has been technical, or professional. Some has been quirky, or heartfelt. Some has been—let’s be honest here—slightly absurd, usually after an unusually strong espresso.
An Urban Curious Packing List
It’s that time of year again—the season when many of us are gearing up for winter travel. Maybe you’re off to Europe to wander Germany’s legendary Christmas markets, warmed by spiced wine and the glow of a thousand tiny lights (or perhaps a few steins of beer). Maybe you’re staying closer to home, revisiting a beloved main street or discovering a new one.
Either way, the Urban Curious among us share one instinct: we pack for the journey with our senses switched on.
A City-Building Superhero: Spotlight on Alice Cabaret
Alice Cabaret is, in every sense, a city-building superhero—one who teaches us to look again, look closer, and look with feeling.
Giving Cities the Shape of Justice
If Cities Were Produce, Mine Would Be Wilted Kale.
Urban planners buy metaphorical produce every day. We convince ourselves that with enough optimism (and maybe a new zoning bylaw), we can fix… everything.
But cities are messy. People are messy. Public spaces are very messy.
And honestly? That’s where the magic is.
Climbing that ladder again: The Planner and the Pen
Brevity Blog, November 19, 2025
Being a successful professional and toddling writer together in the same body is hard. Having seen career successes, I’m now learning to embrace—or at least accept—a string of rejections that fall like the first rain drops on a cloudy day: not entirely unexpected, but disappointing all the same.