Urbanist Theory

Let the Robots Write the Ordinance

Planners have a lot to wrestle with as ChatGPT comes to code drafting. “In the era of rapid urbanization and evolving urban landscapes, the development...

Ray’s Exit Interview: Don’t Let the Bastards Grind You Down

This is a quote from a book and a song, so I can use it as a title. Even with a questionable intensifier. Today is...

Terra Nil Shows How To Unbuild a City

In time for Earth Day, a beautiful new game that lets players unwind while unwinding civilization. Terra Nil shows up on the App Store as...

How a Forgotten Plaza Can Become Tacoma’s Connected Heart

Tollefson Plaza in downtown Tacoma confounds me. It’s an attractive space next to a bustling university campus and an art museum. It is adjacent...

The Urbanist Podcast: Wet Architecture with Weston Wright

In the song "Five Feet High and Rising," Johnny Cash sings "Well, the rails are washed out north of town/ We got to head...

Planes, Trains, and the Only True Thanksgiving Movie

The holiday is a Chicago kind of event It is Black Friday in America. For those of us avoiding the mall like it’s our racist...

Dubicki: ‘The Crown’s’ Claustrophobia in a Box of Its Own Creation

There is a concept in television called a bottle episode. It’s where a show puts one or a few characters into a single location...
A white t-shirt reads "I only trick or treat in 15-minute neighborhoods"

7 Last-Minute Urbanist Halloween Costumes

Organized by what you already have on hand. It's been weeks since we began celebrating Halloween. The Danny Elfman music, the pumpkin spice, and the...