Peanuts Urbanism: Charles Schulz’s Subtle Critique of Suburbia
Last Christmas, I came upon a Peanuts cartoon that has stuck with me ever since. The episode, from December 1963, depicts Charlie Brown searching for a place or item in his home on which to hang his...
View ArticlePractical Principles for Places Recovering From Disinvestment
Of the four types of recovery facing America cities and towns—disaster, sprawl, disinvestment, and the recovery of community for those fleeing climate change—the recovery of places from serious...
View ArticleIn His Plans for New York, Vornado’s Steven Roth Is Channeling Robert Moses
It is Robert Moses 101. Vornado’s plans for its “PENN District” development includes the demolition of 55 buildings (more than 40 of which are landmark eligible), the removal of 1296 businesses with...
View ArticleOur Top 10 Posts for 2022
Common Edge had its second best year in 2022, reaching nearly 250,000 readers. Thank you to everyone who visited the site, whether for the first time or the hundredth. And thank you to all of our...
View ArticleThe 15-Minute City, Deconstructed
What is the 15-Minute City? It’s every city ever built by humans on this planet until a century ago, but with a catchy new name. If a city’s old parts haven’t been destroyed in the past century, it’s...
View ArticleThe Washington, D.C., Drawings of Dhiru Thadani
Every city needs someone to observe it, sketch it, master its history, and insist that its strengths be defended and reinforced. Sometimes the person who plays this role comes from the other side of...
View ArticleBraids by Jade: L.A. Street Art Through Two Lenses
Since the early 1990s, I have been photographing hand-painted murals and signs throughout South Central Los Angeles. My ongoing concern is to record these street images, reflections of the local...
View ArticleEncounters With Damian: Columbia University’s Homeless Neighbor
In the 1970s, I spent five years as a graduate student at Columbia University. The school has always meant a great deal to me, and in a speech at a graduate school award ceremony in 2022, I found...
View ArticleThe Uneven—but Important—Legacy of Prince Charles, Architecture Critic
Hanging on my office wall is a framed letter from then-Prince Charles thanking me for attending his International Symposium on Traditional Urbanism in 2000. With it is a photograph of me presenting to...
View ArticleArchitecture Always Reflects the Values of Its Current Culture
What we build can be metaphoric—often intentionally, sometimes subliminally. But architecture is seldom the intentional commentary of architects, crafting symbolism; more often it is a direct...
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