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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A Canada goose stands alert on a grassy area near mature trees in Boise.

The Goose on the Greenbelt

By late April, goslings begin to take over the Boise Greenbelt. The...

View from the Boise foothills showing a dirt trail in the foreground and the city below in autumn

Why Here

Spend enough time listening to how people talk here and a pattern...

Drone view of a large multi-lane commercial intersection in the Treasure Valley surrounded by parking lots and retail buildings, illustrating suburban sprawl.

Why Sprawl Feels Like Sickness

Take a drive down Fairview Avenue or the long stretches of Eagle...

Early morning industrial building with interior lights on and a person welding inside.

The Backbone Beneath the Noise

The Misleading Picture of the City If you only looked at Boise...

Early-morning aerial view of downtown Boise with construction cranes and an unfinished building frame rising above tree-lined neighborhoods.

Boise’s Threshold Moment

There is a brief, silent period between the end of a dream...

Archival black and white photograph of early settlers working together to frame a building in the Boise foothills, illustrating the collective effort of the Pioneer archetype versus the isolation of the Lone Ranger.

The Pioneer and the Lone Ranger

The Yellow Flag Across the valley, the bright yellow flag with the...

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