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.
