Blog | The Empirical City

Urban Design for Humans, Part 2 : The Private Realm

Part 2 of a presentation for Car-Free St Pete. In this presentation we talk about the design of the private realm, that is, the buildings...

Urban Design for Humans, Part 1: The Public Realm

A virtual presentation for Car-Free St Pete on September 8, 2020 by Michael Huston, host of The Empirical City blog. The presentation...

Observations from a European Road Trip

In 2019, I did a 2,000 mile road trip through western Europe. Here are a few observations about how it differs from road trips in the U.S.

What Can Downtown St. Pete Learn from European Cities?

While directed at the author's resident city, this article makes that case that there is much to learn from Europe's human-centric cities.

Exhaust-Free City Centers by 2030!

It’s time to harness technology for cleaner, healthier and safer cities.

From McMansion to McMain Street

Like the McMansion, the McMain Street attempts to mimic a more complex building form, in this case the traditional American Main Street.

Learning from Manhattan's Urban Imperfections

Manhattan thrives despite its imperfections. In this article, we examine some of those imperfections and what they can teach us.