https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2015/05/measuring-health-of-parking-system.html
WestWords: Measuring the Health of a Parking System
Here's an odd little fact: For every dollar of parking revenue it collects from curbside meters, the Philadelphia Parking Authority collects...
the healthwestwordsmeasuringparkingsystem
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-coronavirus-caravan-trundles-along.html
WestWords: The Coronavirus Caravan Trundles Along
Would You Buy a Used Car from Mr. Sincerity? Mr. Sincerity "Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war!" Donald Trump never tweeted this. I thi...
the coronaviruswestwordscaravantrundlesalong
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2015/12/crossing-15th-street.html
WestWords: Crossing 15th Street
It is forbidden to cross 15th street on the south side of Arch. There are two little men who say so. They're stick figures, caught in the...
westwordscrossingstreet
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2020/04/make-walnut-open-street.html
WestWords: Make Walnut an Open Street
The Hamster Cage Should Come with a Wheel to Run On Walnut at 13th. Mayor Kenney recently said we may be staying at home until Labor...
westwordsmakewalnutopenstreet
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2013/07/george-zimmerman-giving-town-watch-bad.html
WestWords: George Zimmerman, Giving Town Watch a Bad Name
I served on a Town Watch in my neighborhood years ago. We were having a hooker problem. I don't wish to be overly judgmental, but I and ma...
george zimmermanwestwordsgivingtownwatch
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2016/02/why-are-european-and-american-bicycling.html
WestWords: Why Are European and American Bicycling So Different?
The breakthrough moment for bicycles came at the beginning of the 1890s, when the "safety" bicycle finally offered a viable alternative ...
european and americanwestwordsbicyclingdifferent
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2013/05/guns-without-responsibility-how-does.html
WestWords: Guns Without Responsibility. How Does That Work?
People talk a lot about the original intent of the people who wrote the Constitution. Often, though, it seems to me that we only give lip s...
how doeswestwordsgunswithoutresponsibility
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2022/01/what-cold-civil-war-feels-like.html
WestWords: What a Cold Civil War Feels Like
A War An American soldier escorts prisoners in the rain during World War II. From Bill Mauldin, Up Front (1945) p. 21. Years ago a friend ...
a coldcivil warwestwordsfeelslike
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2015/07/forging-community-one-flat-tire-at-time.html
WestWords: Forging Community -- One Flat Tire at a Time
Recently I've become a fan of the Indego bike-share program in Philly. I'm not an intensive user, but I am a member, and I enjoy occasionall...
community oneflat tirewestwordsforgingtime
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2024/08/mussolinis-personal-sex-factory.html
WestWords: Mussolini's Personal Sex Factory
Mass Production Comes to the Land of Casanova Clara Petacci in the 1930s. I knew that Benito Mussolini had a retinue of mistresses. And I h...
personal sexwestwordsmussolinifactory
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2017/02/who-are-undeserving-poor-who-are.html
WestWords: Who Are the Undeserving Poor? Who Are the Deserving Rich?
The struggle we are presently engaged in will, I think, go on for some time; personally, I look at it as simply the latest acute phase of a ...
who arewestwordsundeservingpoorrich
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2019/11/jim-crow-was-failed-state.html
WestWords: Jim Crow Was a Failed State
So Why Do We Want to Go Back? Washington, D.C, Government charwoman. Gordon Parks/FSA, 1942. For a while now I've been thinking about...
jim crowwestwordsfailedstate
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-pavements-of-asbury-park.html
WestWords: The Pavements of Asbury Park
Buried Treasure The Asbury Park boardwalk is built out of wood. This is worth mentioning because Ocean Grove, to the south, has started la...
westwordspavementsasburypark
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2013/07/what-if-romeo-and-juliet-had-baby.html
WestWords: What if Romeo and Juliet Had a Baby?
David Brooks' article on mutts in the Times (June 27) really bothers me. I have a few questions. If an Episcopalian marries a Presbyteria...
romeo and julietwhat ifwestwordsbaby
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2016/03/this-isnt-just-any-alley.html
WestWords: This Isn't Just Any Alley
Some of the finest architecture in Philadelphia stands next to this alley, which today, as you can see above, is largely devoted to the...
westwordsalley
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2020/03/travesty.html
WestWords: Travesty
Years ago I was in Charleston, South Carolina, on business, and one night a colleague and I went to the local baseball park to watch two min...
westwordstravesty
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2021/05/flexible-vanderbilt.html
WestWords: Flexible Vanderbilt
Open Streets Brooklyn-Style Yes, that's a parked car. No need for Inspector Javert. Call it Vanderbilt 2.0. On a chilly Saturday recently, I...
westwordsflexiblevanderbilt
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2020/01/those-pesky-bike-lanes.html
WestWords: Those Pesky Bike Lanes
They Just Don't Fit In Pine at Tenth, in warmer weather. Yeah, bike lanes really detract from the historic character of our neighborh...
westwordspeskybikelanes
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2018/12/how-do-we-put-this-back-together.html
WestWords: How Do We Put This Back Together?
Lilliana Mason Says It Doesn't Look Good Migrant mother, California. Dorothea Lange/FSA, 1936. I've been living with this picture for...
how dowestwordsputbacktogether
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-future-of-christ-church-park.html
WestWords: The Future of Christ Church Park
Looks Like This Billy the Goat and some friends in Rittenhouse Square. Steal Billy! No, just steal the kids. They don't have to ...
the future ofchrist churchwestwordspark
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2024/12/open-streets-west-walnut.html
WestWords: Open Streets: West Walnut
Come with Me to the Casbah Despite the best efforts of our City Council to keep Philadelphia's streets exclusively for moving and parked car...
open streetswestwordswalnut
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2021/06/a-few-deft-touches-for-back-streets.html
WestWords: A Few Deft Touches for Back Streets
And Suddenly People Want to Walk There So what do you do with a blind brick wall? Paint a few doors and windows, or maybe just rectangles. A...
a fewwestwordsdefttouchesback
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2020/03/dithering.html
WestWords: Dithering
There's something called the OODA loop. It was developed in the 1950's by John Boyd, who had served as a fighter pilot in the Korean War. It...
westwordsdithering
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2024/02/wounded-souls.html
WestWords: Wounded Souls
Albert Camus on Moral Compromise Neptune, N.J., 2023. I suppose this post is mainly for evangelical pastors and Catholic priests, especiall...
westwordswoundedsouls
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2023/01/ron-desantis-comes-to-philly.html
WestWords: Ron DeSantis Comes to Philly
And the Mighty Union League Stumbles Poor Ron DeSantis, who really wants to be Benito Mussolini, got a warm reception on January 24, during ...
ron desantiswestwordscomesphilly
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2010/07/some-things-actually-get-better.html
WestWords: Some Things Actually Get Better
Francis has been cutting my hair for several decades. He likes to talk, and I admit I keep going back for both the haircuts and the conver...
some thingswestwordsactuallygetbetter
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2017/11/getting-kids-back-on-their-bikes.html
WestWords: Getting Kids Back on Their Bikes
In 2012, Professor Peter G. Furth penned the following words: "It is this writer's opinion that the turning point will be when children ...
westwordsgettingkidsbackbikes
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2017/02/life-on-farm.html
WestWords: Life on the Farm
Grandma Moses Country, 1978. I must have been about nine or ten years old when this happened. I was standing with my grandfather, who wa...
life onwestwordsfarm
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2016/12/fascism.html
WestWords: Fascism
Looking for an Analytical Tool Underneath the Epithet Boardwalk, Asbury Park I started thinking seriously about the concept of fascism ...
westwordsfascism
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-people-screaming-were-white.html
WestWords: The People Screaming Were White
Hall of Mirrors in South Philly Outdoor dining, Asbury Park. Professor Elijah Anderson has written a book about Center City Philadelphia ent...
the peoplewestwordsscreamingwhite
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2017/08/broad-street-cycle-track.html
WestWords: Broad Street Cycle Track
This was originally posted on the Facebook page of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia on June 4, 2014: Just to be truly radica...
broad streetwestwordscycletrack
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2024/08/no-parking-v-no-stopping.html
WestWords: No Parking v. No Stopping
Don't Follow Leaders, Watch the Parking Meters One of the demands being made by reformers, after the death of Dr. Friedes, is to make the cu...
no parkingwestwordsvstopping
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2022/01/of-planters-and-whimsy.html
WestWords: Of Planters and Whimsy
Willoughby Avenue, Brooklyn My friend and son-in-law, Chris Murtha, sent me this picture of Willoughby Avenue, an open street near Fort Gree...
westwordsplanterswhimsy
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2021/10/unnecessary-spaghetti.html
WestWords: Unnecessary Spaghetti
Getting On and Off the Ben Franklin Bridge You can actually stand next to Isamu Noguchi's 1984 Bolt of Lightning , which stands at the foot...
westwordsunnecessaryspaghetti
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2020/03/bicycling-in-new-york-city.html
WestWords: Why Did It Crash?
The Bicycle Boom of the 1890s Sunday in Central Park. Marjory Collins/FSA, 1942. There's a cloud that lurks over the current boom in b...
did itwestwordscrash
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2021/01/fitting-solution-to-problem.html
WestWords: Fitting the Solution to the Problem
Brooklyn's Fulton Street Shows Bureaucrats Being Flexible Say hello to Christopher Wallace, better known as the Notorious B.I.G. This mural...
the solutionwestwordsfittingproblem
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2014/08/off-street-parking-at-italian-market.html
WestWords: Off-Street Parking at the Italian Market - Current Conditions
In my last post (August 3) I looked at the old Moyamensing Prison site at 11th and Reed in South Philly, which is currently occupied by an A...
off street parkingthe italian marketwestwordscurrentconditions
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2020/04/void-on-center.html
WestWords: Void on Center
Ave, Caesar. Morituri te salutant. You may have noticed that Greek and Roman temples have their front doors in the middle of the facad...
westwordsvoidcenter
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2013/04/its-not-like-gunsmoke.html
WestWords: It's Not Like Gunsmoke
Dodge City, Kansas, back in the cowboy days. A tall, big-hatted man walks out into the dusty main street. In the distance, another man squ...
westwordslikegunsmoke
https://westwords-news.captivate.fm/
The WestWords Podcast
westwordspodcast
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-supreme-court-and-parking.html
WestWords: The Supreme Court and Parking
Once upon a time, in the land of Arlington, in Virginia, there was a residential neighborhood called Aurora Highlands. This little suburban ...
the supreme courtwestwordsparking
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2016/01/reimagining-our-streets-bikes-will-lead.html
WestWords: Reimagining Our Streets: Bikes Will Lead, But They Will Not Be Alone
Bikes are a disruptive force on our streets. Thank God. I've spent my life watching a frozen standoff between cars and pedestrians, and it w...
our streets
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2021/03/checking-in-with-outdoor-dining.html
WestWords: Checking in With Outdoor Dining
Will People Dine Outdoors Below 40 Degrees? The answer is yes. Shortly before the Inauguration I took a walk and had another look at the out...
checking in withwestwordsoutdoordining
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2022/02/city-of-lights.html
WestWords: City of Lights
Asbury Park's Boardwalk Circa 1980 1978. I do miss the lights. Traveling carnivals still come to Asbury Park and work their magic in Bradley...
city ofwestwordslights
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2012/01/rugged-individualism-from-daniel-boone.html
WestWords: Rugged Individualism: From Daniel Boone to Barack Obama
This story takes place on South Street in Philadelphia. It was late afternoon on a warm, pleasant day, and I was just finishing the dri...
rugged individualismdaniel boonewestwordsbarackobama
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2017/02/senator-toomey-called-my-son-burnt-down.html
WestWords: Senator Toomey Called My Son a Burnt-Down House
Zipperhead, South Street, Philadelphia, 1985. A few days ago, U.S. Senator Patrick Toomey (R, Pa.) compared my son to a burnt-down...
my sonwestwordssenatortoomeycalled
https://www.westwordsbestwords.com/westwords-home/tournament-information
Westwords | June 14 | Bay Area & Online - Tournament Information
Tournament Information
bay areaonline tournamentwestwordsjuneinformation
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2015/04/alleys.html
WestWords: Alleys
In Philly we have big streets, like Market Street; we have regular streets, like Walnut Street; and we have little streets, like Addison in,...
westwordsalleys
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2015/11/richardson-dilworth-urbanist-for-ages.html
WestWords: Richardson Dilworth, an Urbanist for the Ages
I was born and grew up in New York City. I didn't move to Philadelphia until I was in my thirties. Aside from Benjamin Franklin and Grace Ke...
for thewestwordsrichardsondilworthurbanist
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2017/10/running-of-bulls-on-lombard-street.html
WestWords: Running of the Bulls on Lombard Street
Lombard Street in the morning. A few days ago a stop sign appeared on Lombard Street at Taney, which is a little street sitting betwee...
running of the bullswestwordslombardstreet
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2019/08/transit-memories.html
WestWords: Transit Memories
Poor Marcel Proust Only Had a Madeleine Entrance to the New York Transit Museum. I remember the Third Avenue El in Manhattan. It stop...
westwordstransitmemories
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2024/08/how-surfboards-get-around.html
WestWords: How Surfboards Get Around
They Are Everywhere in Asbury Park Sometimes they pretend they're zebras. Surfing is probably not a good way to commute to work, but it is a...
westwordssurfboardsgetaround
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2018/05/its-road-design-stupid.html
WestWords: It's the Road Design, Stupid
Fiddling While Rome Burns Emily Fredricks memorial, 11th and Spruce. Death on our streets. Where does it come from? One school mutt...
the roadwestwordsdesignstupid
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2023/04/rebecca-rhynhart-for-mayor.html
WestWords: Rebecca Rhynhart for Mayor
She's Up to the Job The Others Aren't I've volunteered on a bunch of political campaigns, and many of the stories on my blog are political, ...
westwordsrebeccamayor
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2017/11/focus-on-short-trips.html
WestWords: Focus on the Short Trips
Bus stop, Rittenhouse Square. I'm hearing that the commute from Center City out to King of Prussia is becoming increasingly excruciati...
focus onwestwordsshorttrips
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2020/11/philly-plein-air.html
WestWords: Philly Plein Air
Dejeuner sur le Tarmac Rittenhouse Square, east side. There is in fact a revolution taking place on Philadelphia's streets, and it has to do...
westwordsphillypleinair
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2021/04/is-it-park-or-is-it-traffic-sewer.html
WestWords: Is It a Park, or Is It a Traffic Sewer?
Arm-Wrestling Over MLK Drive The Philadelphia Art Commission had a hearing yesterday on the planned reconstruction of the MLK Drive bridge, ...
a parkwestwordstrafficsewer
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-roots-of-republic.html
WestWords: The Roots of the Republic
Unearthing the Reality Annin Flag Co., Verona, N.J. Marjory Collins/OWI, March 1943. I recall two parts of American history that I didn't le...
the rootswestwordsrepublic
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2018/02/what-should-we-do-with-humble-dumpster.html
WestWords: What Should We Do With the Humble Dumpster?
1600 block of Moravian. I've been thinking we should worry about making an alley neat and clean as a first step, and then we can dream...
we dothe humblewestwordsdumpster
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2021/04/on-demagogues.html
WestWords: On Demagogues
Francis Bacon and Max Weber Weigh In Lewis C. Levin, by Rembrandt Peale (1834). Demagogues have been around for quite a while. We owe the wo...
westwordsdemagogues
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2021/08/a-shortage-of-serviceable-ducks.html
WestWords: A Shortage of Serviceable Ducks
Is the Right Running Out of Decent Canards? Not a duck. The word canard means duck in French. It also means a false or misleading story. In ...
westwordsshortageducks
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-parking-dream.html
WestWords: The Parking Dream
My daddy told me this story. He was a young doctor. It was the 1930's, the Depression, but he was doing okay, and he'd recently bought a c...
the parkingwestwordsdream
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2019/09/did-carpet-bombing-inspire-urban-renewal.html
WestWords: Did Carpet Bombing Inspire Urban Renewal?
Sifting the Rubble for Facts Pablo Picasso, Guernica , 1937. "Guernica is a small town of the Basque province of Vizcaya, lying in a ...
carpet bombingwestwordsinspireurbanrenewal
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2021/10/rousseau-and-filibuster.html
WestWords: Rousseau and the Filibuster
Remember the Partitions of Poland Turkey Vultures, Joe Palaia Park, Oakhurst, N.J. I've gotten to a point in life where I'm not entirely sur...
and thewestwordsrousseaufilibuster
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2024/09/surf-school-asbury-park.html
WestWords: Surf School, Asbury Park
Can 4-Year-Olds Learn to Surf? Yes. One of my hangouts is on the beach near the jetty that separates the surfing beach - the northernmost be...
surf schoolwestwordsasburypark
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2024/10/campaign-poster-number-five.html
WestWords: Campaign Poster Number Five
This 1984 photo is from Asbury Park. My son kindly agreed to put a blanket over his head, creating (at least for me) both erasure and a blan...
westwordscampaignposternumberfive
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2013/08/lidice-and-power-of-nothing.html
WestWords: Lidice and the Power of Nothing
Lidice Lois and I and our friends Greg and Martha Cukor just spent a fabulous two weeks in St. Petersburg (the one in Russia) and in Pra...
the power ofwestwordslidicenothing
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2024/12/mayor-parker-signs-no-stopping-bill.html
WestWords: Mayor Parker Signs No Stopping Bill
Also Changes Taney Street to LeCount Mayor Parker signs the no stopping bill. Philadelphia, Dec. 4: Mayor Cherelle Parker had a busy lunch h...
no stoppingwestwordsmayorparkersigns
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2017/10/at-least-it-makes-people-laugh.html
WestWords: At Least It Makes People Laugh
Philadelphia Parking Policy Sunset Avenue Pavilion, Asbury Park. I was at a meeting of the Asbury Park parking committee, and I ...
at leastwestwordsmakespeoplelaugh
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2020/04/placebo.html
WestWords: Placebo
A placebo is a pill that a doctor gives to a patient, knowing that it will do nothing to heal the patient's body, but hoping that the gestur...
westwordsplacebo
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2016/06/intraday-biking.html
WestWords: Intraday Biking
The things I carried. The history of bicycling in the United States has been overwhelmingly recreational. (See Why Are European and Am...
westwordsintradaybiking
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2017/10/looking-three-ways-at-chestnut-street.html
WestWords: Looking Three Ways at Chestnut Street
Driving, Walking, Biking Graffito, Chestnut bike lane. The new parking-protected bike lane on Chestnut Street in West Philadelphia h...
three wayswestwordslookingchestnutstreet
https://westwordsphilly.blogspot.com/2016/03/what-streets-can-learn-from-boardwalks.html
WestWords: What Streets Can Learn From Boardwalks
The Asbury Park Boardwalk and the Teacup What would our streets look like if we gave them back to the people? In my opinion, they'd loo...
learn fromwestwordsstreetsboardwalks