6 years ago, in what seems like another lifetime, I thought I would start a blog.

I came up with a name; “Urban Ambles” -which I felt captured  the intended theme of the blog. (as defined by Webster’s , an amble is a “casual stroll, generally through a public place”). As an architect, I thought it would focus on observations  about the environment that I lived in, worked in, played in. I might share snippets of my work, comments on my profession as an Architect. (As this has largely covered the heart of the recession, I curtailed some of those diatribes !) I began walking on what I ironically called “The Grand Tour-Recession Version”, which had me circumnavigating the bay at intervals,  on foot. Since then, its been a little of everything, from observations in my neighborhood, to walks and hikes in more distant places. I’ve had but one rule for all my local ambling, everything had to be accessible by public transit.

Unlike bicycling , nothing can compare with what you can notice at a walking pace. And it has taught me much, not just details about the place I live, but really, how we interact with streets and public places, how they sometimes succeed, sometimes fail. My walks often take me to unconventional places, which is part of the point, be they industrial lands where I probably shouldn’t be walking, suburban highways where no one walks, or ghost towns where everyone who walked is dead.

I sometimes wonder (a)-what the point of this is, and (b)- how odd it might seem to some. But I decided, that (a), there doesn’t need to be a point, these walks and experiences are little creations I simply chronicle and put on my digital bulletin board, and  (b), who cares.

Going forward, I expect the blog to take on more of a design focus, though I am sure just what that means right now. In the meantime, enjoy!