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...

Painted river stone with the words “Be the Change” left beside a Boise trail as a small public message of encouragement.

A Few Words Beside the Path

Spend enough time walking around Boise, and you start to notice the...

Stone foundation in downtown Boise marked “A.D. 1906,” showing a durable remnant of the city’s early built inheritance.

We’ve Forgotten Who We Are

The Living Remnant Every growing city has a few old structures that...

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...

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