A short history of Oaxaca City, Mexico — in 150(ish) words — Oaxaca City is everything Mexico City is not: restrained in ambition, gentle on the senses, forgiving to the uninitiated, human scale. Its placid plazas, attractive architecture (modern and vernacular) and brightly-coloured facades — made spirited with hand-painted advertisements, logos and typefaces — practically beg you to stay on the streets…

A short history of Seville, Spain — in 150(ish) words — For a city that receives 2898 hours of annual sunshine, it was unfortunate that it rained for almost the entire time I was in Seville. But that turned out to be a blessing in disguise: it just meant that I could spend more time in cafes, bars and bodegas. My…

A short history of Soweto, South Africa — in 150(ish) words — Before joining a half-day cycling tour of Soweto, the only thing I knew about it was that it was precisely the kind of place I would never tell my mom I was going. …

A short history of Aarhus, Denmark — in 150(ish) words — Who knew the humble cabbage could be made to taste so good? Who elevates street-cart hot dogs to new heights of culinary culture? Who creates open-faced sandwiches that double as modern art? And who does it all effortlessly and unpretentiously? The Danes, that’s who. (No surprise.) Copenhagen may take the…

“The camera makes everyone a tourist in other people’s reality, and eventually in one’s own.” — Susan Sontag, New York Review of Books, 1974 Today I roamed the streets of Paris. And Tijuana. And Manila. And Ulaanbaatar. All before lunch. No, I wasn’t breaking physical-distancing rules or travel restrictions. I…

By understanding buildings as integrated systems of dynamic layers, we open up new possibilities for shaping them in ways that can benefit more people for longer. — “A building is not something you finish. A building is something you start.” — Stewart Brand The Buddha and 18th-century Scottish philosopher David Hume might not be the first people you’d turn to for advice on building design. But a closer look at one of their central theories offers some…

To exist is to eat, and to eat is to inflict suffering — either directly or indirectly — on animals. — “I shot a deer — and I still believe it was the ethical thing to do,” proclaims environmental journalist George Monbiot. His point is that the ethics of food — e.g. plant-based vs. omnivore — is not as black-and-white as is often suggested. There is still unnecessary suffering, exploitation and…

It’s easy to be seduced by the power and precision of digital models. But they can only ever offer an approximation of reality. — “I have rivers but no water; forests but no trees; cities but no buildings. What am I?” It took a few seconds to realize that the question being asked of me was actually a riddle. I was in Hong Kong, dining at a cha chaan teng. Literally translated as “tea…

Smartphones are here to stay — so how can urban designers use their immense power for good? — We are living in a time of unprecedented visual distraction. In the modern urban environment, our attention has to battle with myriad layers of signage and communication — some useful, some not — from billboard advertisements to traffic lights. At the same time, an even more pervasive source of visual…