Dispatches

Maybe Even Build a Boat

Doug Stowe

John Ruskin said, “Lay a brick level in its mortar, or take a straight shaving from a plank, and you’ll have learned a multitude of things that the words of man can never tell.”

Something Happened to Me the Other Day

Mark Edmundson

When someone so much as touches a state vehicle, the wheels of justice begin to turn, and that’s that.

Autocracy Rising

Eric B. Schnurer

Turkey presents an inversion of the usual presumptions about the current global struggle between liberalism and conservatism.

The Way Your Mind Ends

Alan Jacobs

The good cop, bad cop routine of the digital age.

Rancho Rajneesh

James Conaway

No one works in Rajneeshpuram. They “worship.” Worship includes grading roads, plowing fields, pursuing the many lawsuits brought by Bhagwan in Oregon. 

The Power of Play in the Public Square

Wendy Baucom

The renovated Place de la République shows the power of the public square.

The Pursuit to Turn Data Into Action

Stephen Assink

As most ardent supporters of data will admit, even the most sophisticated indicator needs something more: community buy-in.

Urban Thoughts in a Medieval City

Stephen Macekura

Assessing Urban Complexity: Thriving Cities Conference Recap

Stephen Assink

Last month, the Thriving Cities Project gathered together practitioners and scholars from around the country for a two day conference to recap and assess research, project goals, and current findings.

Whole Foods in Richmond

Stephen Assink

Known for its organic, fair-trade, and costly fare, Whole Foods has become a staple as well as a trend-setter in the food industry. Its impending arrival in Richmond highlights important issues and challenges facing the city.

Thriving Cities Featured Again on Milwaukee Public Radio

Stephen Assink

Thriving Cities investigator, David Flowers, gets featured again by Milwaukee Public Radio.

Snapshots of City Life: Parking Lots, Urban Farming, and Other Stories

Stephen Assink

A collection of online stories that highlight and examine different facets of city life.

Faith in the City: Part III, City Soul—An Interview with Cardus' Milton Friesen

Andrew Sharp

Religious institutions in their varied forms are to the social fabric of cities what swamps and bogs are to the ecological landscape. Cities that are serious about attending to the various social challenges in their communities cannot afford to be snobbish about a scarce resource.

Coming Together: Food and Art in the City

Stephen Assink

In an era of entrenched urban divisions and diminishing public spaces, food and art can be powerful mediums of connection and unity. A recent conference explored what that looks like.

What are the Challenges of the City today?

Andrew Sharp

The Urbanization Project recently brought together urban policy scholar Richard Florida, economist Paul Romer, and sociologist Robert Sampson for a panel on "The Challenge of the City" in which they addressed the challenges and potential for cities in the next hundred years.

Globalization and Urban Pollution

Andrew Sharp

Who is to blame when a citizen sues his own city over air pollution? According to Reuters, we will soon find out in China.

Thriving Cities on Milwaukee Public Radio

In an interview on WUWM 89.7 , researcher David Flowers explains the value of The Thriving Cities project's approach to understanding urban life.