Howell, Michigan, USA

Defining Main Street: The Restaurant. It is hard for suburbs to duplicate the ambiance of Main Street restaurants. Still, in most small towns it will be hard to find more than one or two full-service eateries like this. Does "seafood" capture the essence of place in a setting surrounded by Great Lakes? [2018]

Burlington, Vermont, USA

Compare this urban tableau with the sidewalks in your city. Burlington's (at least here in the downtown) are wide enough for two double-wide strollers to be out for a morning walk side-by-side. Let's hear it for pedestrian space! [2011]

Providence, Rhode Island, USA

Can you find the power box? It amplifies the power of place by calling attention to the "Superman building," Providence's iconic (though sadly unoccupied) landmark. You know it is important by the two yellow stanchions that protect it from traffic-flow kryptonite. Are you aware of its primary function? [2021]

Beaumont, Texas, USA

So that's why there's nobody on the streets in Beaumont! The dinosaurs have returned and are patrolling the realm. What species is this? [2022]

Portsmouth, England, UK

Does America have the will to learn from the rest of the world? Every restaurant and coffee shop needs a few tables outside. If the sidewalks are not wide enough, take a few feet from the motorways! In fact, take another foot so there is space for bike racks. But, you know Americans: They are hot-house tomatoes. [2011]

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Forwards = Backwards: A palindrome reads the same forwards and backwards. That goes for numbers as well as words. Look at today's date. It's a six-digit palindrome: 12-22-21. It's not the first palindrome this month, not even the first six-digit palindrome. Remember: 12-11-21, 12-9-21, 12-8-21, 12-7-21, 12-6-21, 12-5-21, 12-4-21, 12-3-21, 12-2-21, 12-1-21? [2021]

Key West, Florida, USA

Odds and Evens, Ones and Twos, Singles and Doubles, Which one be You? Here's one performance artist who just jumped off his skateboard (barely visible). The setting: a sunny Key West sidewalk that should be wider. Do you see how crowded it is? [2018]

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Odds and Evens, Ones and Twos, Singles and Doubles, Which one be You? Here's one sales promoter trying to interest you in two meals at Big Daddy's. The setting: the sidewalks of old Downtown Atlanta. [2020]

Taipei, Taiwan

What is the function of cats in an urban ecosystem? Unless they are kept indoors all the time, cats are natural predators, which means they keep the populations of mice, rats, and rodents under control. Unfortunately, they also eat birds. Whether their predilection for foraging around outcast kitchen garbage is good or bad, you can decide. [2011] 

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Coffee Shops: Where does so much of the work of Geographically Yours get done? In coffee shops around the world (actually that was B.C., Before Covid). Criticize Starbucks if you want, but it is the reason we have seen a resurgence of café culture over the past 50 years. [2008] 

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

People of Toronto: Toronto crossed the line in 2016 when the Census proclaimed it a majority minority city. For the first time, those of European descent were found to constitute less than half the population. But even those of Euro descent come in dozens and dozens of ethnicities. [2013]

Taipei, Taiwan

People of Taipei: Holding themselves aloof from the world, mendicant monks in Buddhism depend on alms to survive. As he prays (not really an analog of Judeo-Christian prayers), passing pedestrians drop alms into his bowl. He shares the offerings with his order, but only clothing, food, shelter, and medicine are purchased. [2011]

Changhua, Taiwan

How does a city make its sidewalks fun? The sculptural arts can help. Included in that category would be the fantastical beasts that greet shoppers and pedestrians in downtown Changhua. Also included in that category are the botanicals that give the animals an ecological niche of their own. [2011]

Taipei, Taiwan

She might have a future as a bubble artist. The merriment-oriented Tamsu district of Taipei would certainly be the place for it. With her bubble wand, she's got the power to make bigger bubbles than this, however. [2011]

Miami, Florida, USA

Real Human Characters: In 1920, the land boom began, and South Beach become one of the iconic destinations of the 20th  century. Today, the Roaring 20s are recreated for celluloid and digital media as actors dress to complement the architecture. [1991]

Burlington, Vermont, USA

Here is what every town dreams about: thriving businesses on main street. What are the keys to success? (1) Easy parking, (2) nearby residents, (3) community aesthetics, (4) agglomeration economies, (5) locavore tastes, (6) escapist venues, (7) unique landscapes, and (8) history revered (even if sanitized). [2011]

Darien, Connecticut, USA

Every community needs a 'main street,' complete with storefront cafes and businesses, wide sidewalks with a hint of brick, American flags attached to designer lamp posts, shade-casting trees, prolific greenery, and, of course, a town clock. Plus, the best: outside dining with chairs that give you a lift. And, the worst: parallel parking with time limits. [2018]

Brussels, Belgium

She had her children after 'the war.' Her offspring, however, decided to have only one child or perhaps none. There were many like her, and Belgium's fertility rate dipped below replacement level in 1973. But, the economy continued to grow, and immigrants arrived to take the jobs created. Think of those immigrants as the children her offspring never had. [2015]

Savannah, Georgia, USA

Oglethorpe Street: It's fitting that Savannah has one. James Oglethorpe founded the city in 1733 and laid it out with such foresight that his plan endures today. How ironic is it that Oglethorpe staunchly opposed the importation of enslaved Africans while Georgia would later become one of the states that went to war to defend the "peculiar institution"? [2018]

Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Horsing around and providing a little bit of impromptu performance art! Did you ever think of the sidewalk as a stage? Perhaps you, too, have been an actor. Perhaps your actions, too, have been mis-characterized. [2017]