The Reflective Urbanist

What does a missed train, a cold beer, and a bureaucratic form have in common? The lost decade of I-676.

This episode of The Reflective Urbanist unpacks how a simple lapse in judgment—and the inflexible gears of Weberian bureaucracy—delayed a major highway project for ten years. From Philadelphia to South Jersey and from sociology to spiral-bound proposal fails, it's a story about process, power, and the very human limits of...

Why aren’t those greedy developers building more affordable housing? Well, what if the problem isn’t them—it’s us? In this episode, I unpack why pointing fingers at the private sector misses the mark, and how local politics, zoning drama, and good old-fashioned NIMBYism are quietly sabotaging housing solutions. If you've ever said “I support affordable housing, just not there,” this one’s for you.

Episode music: A Charming Day by Al...

When a developer balked at the price of a consultant’s time, he nearly lost a $300,000 grant. In this episode, Peter unpacks a real-life story about urgency, expertise, and the often-misunderstood difference between price and value. It’s a sharp, short take on why what something costs isn’t always what it’s worth—especially when the stakes are high and the deadline’s tonight.

Episode Music: Guitars de France by Jonny Boyle

License c...

Why are Minneapolis signal poles painted green and yellow—Packers colors—in Vikings territory?

It started with a simple design question on a downtown street project... and ended with a new city policy, a Cold War case study, and maybe—just maybe—two lifelong Packers fans in the public works department pulling off the ultimate prank.

This episode, we peel back the layers of city decision-making through a Cold War lens, explore why bur...

What do a rogue HVAC technician, a zipline, and a suspiciously hostile Form 27B/6 have in common? Welcome to Brazil—Terry Gilliam’s bureaucratic fever dream where paperwork is power and mechanical engineers are the real heroes.

We revisit a memorable sequence from the 1985 cult classic to explore what it says about bureaucracy gone haywire—and why Robert K. Merton’s 1940 study of bureaucratic personality still hits uncomfortably clo...

Hi everybody and welcome back to The Reflective Urbanist!  This week’s episode is in honor of Signalgate!  I know, I know, that was so last week and it has already been replaced by Venmo-gate but still, I wanted to move this episode to the front of the que.  I wrote it months ago, recorded it three weeks ago, and hadn’t intended to release it for a few more weeks but alas, recent news has made it relevant right now.  This episode i...

Public meetings about development projects often feel like a stage for well-rehearsed arguments: developers promise economic growth, while community members worry about what they stand to lose. But few presentations capture this dynamic as perfectly—or as hilariously—as an old Saturday Night Live sketch featuring Keyrock, the Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer. Despite claiming to be baffled by modern life, Keyrock has no trouble making a sli...

Architects are trained to follow a logical, step-by-step process—big decisions first, small refinements later, all leading smoothly from concept to completion. But in the world of real estate development, decisions don’t always happen on schedule. Sometimes, they happen at the last possible second—like the night before a grand opening, when a developer insisted a window be moved three inches to the left. To the team scrambling to m...

When it comes to development approvals, the rules aren’t always as clear-cut as they seem. This essay dives into a real-life planning commission meeting where two similar projects—just a block apart—got very different treatment. One developer was required to add costly brick to match the neighborhood, while the other was waved through with a sleek, modern design. What gives? The answer lies in how individual planners and commission...

San Francisco’s longshoremen and historic preservationists formed an unlikely alliance to block waterfront redevelopment. As shipping jobs disappeared and piers sat empty, longshoremen held out hope for cargo’s return, while preservationists fought to save the area’s historic warehouses. Despite different motivations, they found common ground in opposing new development, stalling projects for decades—proof that politics truly makes...

In "He Fired My Daughter," a senior partner attempts to impress a nonprofit CEO by name-dropping a mutual acquaintance, Bob, during a high-stakes interview for a development contract. Unbeknownst to him, Bob had previously fired the CEO's daughter, making the tactic backfire and contributing to the firm's loss of the project. The essay underscores the risks of name-dropping, highlighting research that shows it often leads to negati...

Peter shares a compelling tale of a city manager who, frustrated by bureaucratic delays, snaps a photo of a mother and child dangerously navigating a busy road without a sidewalk. This simple act jolts county officials into action, leading to the rapid construction of the much-needed sidewalk. The essay uses this story to illustrate John Kingdon's framework on policy change, emphasizing how problems, solutions, and political circum...

Why does the same development process feel straightforward in one city and like a bureaucratic maze in another? In Who do I have to pay?, Peter unpacks this mystery through a Chicago developer’s blunt question about Minneapolis red tape. Drawing on Daniel Elazar’s political subcultures—moralistic, traditionalistic, and individualistic—Peter explores why different cities play by different rules and how those unwritten norms shape ur...

The Reflective Urbanist is a series of essays that bridge the gap between theory and practice in city-building. Drawing from a career that has spanned architecture, government, real estate development, and academia, I explore how big ideas shape—and are shaped by—the realities of urban development. Each essay follows a simple structure: a story, a theory, and a lesson, offering insights for architects, planners, developers, officia...