From the category archives:

Philosophy

The Persuasive Power of Fun

October 19, 2009

This post is a version of a column I wrote for our local neighborhood paper the Fishtown Star. I thought I would share it with the blog because all you readers out there always seem able to spin my half baked thoughts and ideas into something more interesting and useful. Spin away. The majority of [...]

1 comment Read the full article →

Suburban Sprawl to Smart Growth – Shifting the American Dream

October 8, 2009

Yvette is interning with us this fall and will be writing regularly on planning issues. We ask our regular readers to reward her with their expertise and opinions in the comments. A McMansion, three cars, and spacious back yard in the suburbs, is this the American Dream or the American suburban sprawl nightmare? Suburban sprawl [...]

17 comments Read the full article →

Isolation and the Deterioration of Socialization . . . Oh My

September 23, 2009

We have talked before about how the home (particularly a large, suburban one) can become a tool of isolation, but since I can’t get enough of a good thing . . . As we continue to fill our homes with amenities previously only available in public spaces, we increase our separation from our community. Movie [...]

13 comments Read the full article →

Wish List Item: Backyard Geothermal Beer Keg System

September 15, 2009

I will begin by admitting that someone has undoubtedly come up with this idea or something very much like it. There is also a pretty good chance I could have discovered the original thinker behind it if I did a little investigative Google searching. By doing this I might have reduced this blog post to [...]

12 comments Read the full article →

Cars and the City – Safety

May 4, 2009

I was reading a report from the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) this morning. The goal of this report was to identify the causes of pedestrian roadway fatalities in hopes of reducing their number. This is not the best way to stay awake in the morning, particularly during an office-wide shortage of hot coffee, [...]

7 comments Read the full article →

Where Oh Where Has the Starter Home Gone?

March 26, 2009

Sometimes I just want to ask a question like the one in the title and resist the temptation to immediately bury the query with my own ideas. I want to simply let the question hang out here in the magical interweb and gather the varied thoughts and opinions for which our readers are known. But, [...]

20 comments Read the full article →

Safe in the City

February 9, 2009

I have said before that urban living is not the only solution to our energy and environmental problems, but it is a very important factor. The increased density available in cities limits automobile transportation, lessens commodity distribution impact and frees up arable land that is currently slated for sprawling development. It leads us to a [...]

12 comments Read the full article →

Save the Homo sapiens

February 3, 2009

“What are you trying to do, save the planet all by yourselves?” asks Joe Cynic (pardon the leftover “Joe” joke from the campaign), and the answer, of course, is “No.” In fact, we aren’t trying to save the planet at all. This beautiful planet, which we are undoubtedly screwing with in new and unpleasant ways, [...]

8 comments Read the full article →

Premature Solarization – Solar Power Before Reducing Consumption

January 22, 2009

Disclaimer: I am aware that solarization is used incorrectly in the title of this post, but I use it in an attempt to make a joke that is both juvenile and trite. Forgive me. We are planning on attending a solar happy hour this evening, and that got me thinking about that most recognizable of [...]

21 comments Read the full article →

Why Modern?

January 6, 2009

When writing posts here I often try to address those questions that arise regularly. I do this in hopes that it will lessen the frequency of a question or give me a complete, pre-composed answer to which I can direct a questioner. Unfortunately, it never seems to work out quite that way. Those asking the [...]

32 comments Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →