When the Last Corner Store Went Dark Maria’s Corner Market closed on a Thursday in March, but the decision that killed it happened on a Tuesday night six months earlier when exactly four people showed up to city council. The agenda item read “Zoning Amendment 2023-47: Commercial Parking Requirements,” which sounds about as exciting as…
Your City Just Got a New Toolkit (Thanks to That Right to Repair Law You Probably Missed)
What Actually Changed When Biden Signed This Thing While most of us were deep in holiday planning last December, President Biden quietly signed the Federal Right to Repair Act into law. I know, I know — another federal regulation that sounds like it affects someone else’s job. But here’s the thing: this one actually changes…
The Real Story Behind Those New 15-Minute City Proposals (Spoiler: It’s Not What Facebook Says)
What Actually Happened When Cities Started Testing This Idea Last month I sat through another three-hour city council meeting where exactly two people showed up to talk about our proposed neighborhood improvements, while forty-seven people signed up to oppose something they called “15-minute cities” that bore no resemblance to what was actually on the agenda….
What I Learned When Our Petition Drive Fell Apart (And How We Built Something Better)
Three months ago, I stood in my kitchen staring at a stack of petition sheets we’d spent weeks collecting, watching coffee slowly seep through the cardboard box they were stored in. My dog had knocked over my mug during what was supposed to be our final count before submission. As I peeled soggy signatures apart,…
The Psychology Behind Gacha Games: How Modern Design Keeps Players Coming Back
Before diving into the specifics, it’s worth establishing why this particular development sits at an intersection that community audiences — more than most — are positioned to understand. The Psychology Behind Gacha Games: How Modern Design Keeps Players Coming Back A Fresh Perspective on Gacha Design I came to gacha gaming later than most, which…