Field Notes – Physical

Return Visit in 2018 The wooden bleachers serve a dual function. They screen the outdoor biergarten seating area from the street. They also provide a variety of vantage points to people watch while enjoying beverages. Likewise, the planter boxes with skinny trees serve a dual purpose of helping trees to...

The incline in Pittsburgh was one of our stops on the way to Muskegon, Michigan. We rode the incline to go to the top of the hill where several generations ago the Kremer family had a house. This is near Republic Street where Peter Paul Kremer lived and that I...

  The Independence Beer Garden in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was a revelation. Literally steps away from the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, this project successfully captured the spirit of the pop-up and tactical urbanism to create a cool and fun social gathering and meeting space. The Beer Garden had formal seating...

After several neighbors fell down a path on a steep slope, a retired automotive mechanic spent $550 of his own money to building a staircase. Later the city threatened to tear the stairs down because they did not match the regulations. In comparison the city had estimated a price tag...

Jamestown will forever claim title to the oldest permanent English settlement in America. While the Spanish may point to their origins on the continent as far back as St. Augustine in 1565, and the Dutch, French, and Swedes have origin stories of their own – the Jamestown settlement factors prominently...

The area beneath the bridge where Water Street passes through, was adapted into a public space. Picnic tables run down the center. Uplighting of the masonry barrel arch give the space a presence after dark.

“Case Studies on Economic Resiliency in Rural Communities,” at Balancing Nature and Commerce in Gateway Communities, The Conservation Fund, Sheperdstown, West Virginia (January 2017) This session provided real world examples of thriving rural communities and the tools and techniques they use; highlighted the keys to success of working with diverse public,...

We had the most wonderful of surprises running across this parklet on a recent visit to Trenton, New Jersey. Situated steps from the State House there may not be a higher visibility location in all of New Jersey. This miniature public park provided a public space with seating, greenery, and other...