Essays

Essays on the deeper patterns shaping cities, culture, and civic life. Written for those who know there’s more at stake than policy and planning alone.

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Wide view of a sidewalk ending abruptly in grass near Julia Davis Park in Boise, with trees, a curved road, and the park beyond.

The Sidewalk That Stopped Thinking

On the northern edge of Julia Davis Park, near the Discovery Center,...

Abraham Lincoln statue on the Capitol Mall in downtown Boise, surrounded by trees and foothills.

From Place to Parcel: How Ownership Geometry Fractured Civic Life

The Surveyor’s Line On the Capitol Mall in Boise, a bronze statue...

A wide view of downtown Boise from above, with early autumn foliage in the foreground and the Boise Foothills stretching across the horizon.

The Heavy Lift: Why We Cannot Build Our Own Cathedrals

The Impossible Private Project We stopped building cathedrals and told everyone to...

Sunlit photograph of a weathered stone archway in downtown Boise, framed by leafy tree branches and long shadows, with a bright starburst of light filtering through the canopy and nearby buildings and sidewalk visible in the background.

The First Signal

If you want to understand when a city begins to lose confidence...

Fruit trees growing in an orchard with foothills in the background, evoking Boise’s spring growth and the need to shape abundance with care.

The Wisdom of Pruning

In Boise, spring makes growth visible everywhere. The foothills turn green. Trees...

Downtown Boise street scene with wide traffic lanes, sidewalks, signals, and brick buildings near 8th Street.

The Gallery Problem

“The essential function of art … is to become personally enlightened, wise,...

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