• Better alternatives to Mr. Potato Head architecture

    Background buildings don't need to be ugly or use pointless variety in the “break-up-the-box” style.
    I recently criticized the architecture of multifamily buildings that too often prevails in US cities this decade. Materials and façade elements are often varied and juxtaposed in a way that is incoherent, and the buildings convey little order or sense of place. They look similar in Dallas, Denver,...Read more

  • Terminated view, the old and the new

    State Street in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, designed as part of the City Beautiful movement in the early 20th Century, was refurbished a few years back through a program called City Beautiful 2.0. The building at the end of the street is the Pennsylvania State Capitol. "I used to admire this street...Read more

  • Dragon boundary markers

    Iconic dragons, symbols of London, cannot slay the onslaught of hubristic architects and developers.
    Historically, property boundaries were generally demarcated by a physical object, either by a boundary marker or a fence to visually communicate the edges of land ownership. These were human impositions that represented a cultural, political, and social meaning upon a natural environment or within...Read more

  • Top 10 articles for 2018

    Street design topics, innovative housing types and policies, and large-scale urban planning patterns made for most-read articles on Public Square this year. Bad architecture and the impact of automated vehicles also were fodder for popular pieces. Here are the top 10 articles on Public Square for...Read more