Making sense of the systems, decisions, and designs that shape city life
Cities shape our daily lives in ways we often take for granted. A sidewalk that suddenly feels too narrow. A commute that changes without explanation. A neighborhood that evolves faster than anyone expected. These moments are rarely accidental. They are the result of policies, planning decisions, infrastructure investments, and increasingly, digital systems guiding how cities operate.
The Essays take a closer look at those forces. They combine firsthand observation from cities with policy and systems analysis to explore how places grow, adapt, and sometimes get it wrong. Topics range from urban design and transportation to governance, infrastructure, and the emerging role of artificial intelligence and digital twins in city decision-making.
This writing is meant for curious readers, not specialists. You do not need a planning background to follow along. The goal is to make the systems behind urban life more legible, to ask better questions about how cities are built, and to understand how today’s decisions quietly shape the places we will live in tomorrow.
Fun Fact: Microsoft's move to AI has pushed it's CO2 emissions 30% higher than 2020 creating a big wrinkle in its ambitious climate action goals.
We are all learning many things in the AI race, including it's impact on the environment. While this stat may raise some eyebrows we can't let it hold us back. We will keep learning and iterating to bring AI's carbon footprint down.
In honor of Taylor Swift Week, I decided to delve into how the buzz on Taylor Swift's and Travis Kelce's romance is influencing city life in Kelce's backyard. Sightings of the dynamic duo are not unique to Kansas City, there's plenty of them in LA or on vacation, the difference is that Los Angeles and the Bahamas are no strangers to celebrities and paparazzies, and now Kansas City is getting it's own taste of the "Swifties" and is becoming the place to catch the latest "Tayvis" or "Traylor" (Taylor + Travis) dates.
The Taylor and Travis show has the whole town doing a double-take. So, what exactly does that mean for Kansas City? Buckle up, because we're about to take a whirlwind tour of Swift City's transformation.
1. Traffic Jams in "Swift-Lane": If you've noticed traffic has gotten heavier, it's because the Swifties have taken over the roads turning the fast lanes into "Swift-lanes."
2. Hotels: No Vacancy, but Plenty of Heartbreak: Taylor boosts hotel occupancy rates during her Eras Tour and increased Chiefs ticket sales. It's like every Swiftie is hoping to catch a glimpse of their idol in the hotel lobby, guitar in hand, singing about their latest ex. Fingers crossed that Kansas City won't become the backdrop for the next big break-up ballad.
3. Coffee Shops and Cupcakes: Local businesses are cashing in on the hype. Every coffee shop is offering Taylor-themed drinks. "Love Story Latte," anyone? And let's not forget the cupcakes—if there's one thing Swifties love more than Taylor, it's sugar.
4. Real Estate: Swift Investments: Looking to buy a house in Kansas City? Good luck! Real estate agents are using Taylor Swift lyrics to sell homes. "This house is your 'Blank Space'—write your name!" Property values are skyrocketing, afterall who needs a beach house when you've got a city where Taylor Swift might just buy the house next door?
5. Infrastructure: New Bridges and an Airport Terminal: With all the hype, the city has had to step up its game. New bridges, new roads—everything's getting a Swift upgrade. Just in time for over 12 million Swifties to get their fix on the romance tour a new $1.5 billion airport terminal opened up last year after 4 years of construction and a few more in the planning.
The dynamic duo has brought a fresh wave of excitement and attention to the city, boosting business for hotels and real estate while driving infrastructure developments like new bridges and a cutting-edge airport terminal. Kansas City has become more than just a Midwest stopover—it’s a destination buzzing with star power. And with Taylor Swift's new album drop, "Tortured Poet's Department," the city is bound to keep its newfound spotlight as fans eagerly await the next chapter in this unfolding pop culture love story. Get ready, Kansas City: the Swift effect is just beginning.
I always have my ears perked up to learn something new, it's a habit I leaned into as I explored New York neighborhoods in college. Every corner offered something new. I learned not to underestimate the potential of learning something from wherever or whomever. The City has a way of teaching you things you never knew you wanted to know, but are good to know.
I recently stumbled across a bit of New York architecture and women's history noir while watching the HBO hit series, The Gilded Age that was not on my radar. In Season 2, episode 5, the young Larry Russell learns and lets the viewers in on the secret that the Chief Engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge is actually the wife of the commissioned Chief Engineer and not who the bridge's board thought was the person in charge.
Knowing that the series is a mixture of historical facts and fictional twists I was not sure if what I heard about the Brooklyn Bridge was actually true, or if it was just the writers retelling oral histories with partial truths that couldn't actually be verified with a few Google searches. So of course I went to Google to see if what they mentioned about the Brooklyn Bridge indeed happened or not. While I didn't want to get my hopes up, I was hoping it was true even though I was a little surprised it was new information about New York architecture and women's history that I didn't know already. It turns out it was TRUE.
Both the New-York Historical Society and Wikipedia acknowledge Emily Roebling as one of the Chief Engineers of the Brooklyn Bridge. Regrettably, New York City's Department of Transportation only mentions the designer of the bridge, her father-in-law. They make no mention of the chief engineer even though when it comes to bridges, engineers are kinda of a big deal. I'm not sure what to make of it, NYC is usually good about giving credit where credit is due, perhaps the updates are backlogged in some bureaucratic purgatory stalemate.
In my opinion what makes the +1.1 mile long bridge so special is it's ability to handle various transportation forms. More than 4,000 pedestrians, 3,100 bicyclists and 120,000 vehicles cross the Brooklyn Bridge every day.
The other thing that makes it extra special is that pedestrian access is a focal point of the design. After all its popularity among pedestrians has contributed to the Brooklyn Bridge's notoriety and put it in a class of its own. No other bridge in NYC has as many people visit it to simply walk across it and take pictures commemorating their visit to one of New York's crown jewels. And if you've ever walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, you know exactly what I'm talking about. It's grandeur is exhilarating and breathtaking, it has always one of my favorite places to visit.
Interestingly, according to the show, when the bridge was completed they didn't want to give credit to Emily because they feared people would think the bridge would not be safe to cross, yet 140 years later the bridge's engineering has stood the test of time and then some. In the show Larry calls it the 8th wonder of the world and today it has become a UNESCO World Heritage site. Historian David McCullough has even famously called it the "Eiffel Tower of America," and earlier this month, on January 11th, the City of New York unveiled a new LED light system to light up the bridge's iconic towers, and so its story continues.
If you've never walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, think about it, you'll see what what the hype is all about.
