It’s always humbling to see each email from Substack with a new subscriber.
To my old subscribers this post may come as a repeat offense, but to all, old and new, I thank you for being here. I know the temptation to hit the unsubscribe button is big, especially since some truths dropped here are not exactly mainstream.
I help ideas tell their stories. That’s the sum of what I do.
Whether it’s the story of a thriving, transitioning neighborhood that gets told by its residents in a long Placemaking process, the story of how the ruins of a medieval castle crafted a modern European city, or the story of how a permissionless museum without a building can grow to be one of the few museums in my entire home country to have a collection and qualify as an actual museum.
I use the word “permissionless” with intent: its meaning in crypto-jargon is a network that can be accessed by anyone without any special authorization. We actually did that with the museum, which will be a story in a future substack.
But let’s go back to the crypto thing. I believe Bitcoin is the future of money. I have read and researched a ton about it and find many reasons to believe it is the closest to an organic human-made agglomeration that lets each participant evolve and develop at will, and thrive by showing proof of work.
There is a very direct, close link between how Bitcoin is growing and how our cities grew in wealth, beauty and prosperity until we decided to bring politics into the mix.
I hate politics.
I love public spaces, markets, bookstores (my family owns an independent one back home in Quito), and finding explanations for urban issues in the most obscure places where many would rather I don’t look.
I am also a trained architect. I kind of veered away from the mainstream in the industry because searching for beauty is an odd thing, it turns out. Lots of reading of long dead philosophers and cutting edge neuroscientists have led me to believe that beauty is not in the eye of the beholder. I apply that knowledge in my business, and have applied it in the past while working as an architect, an interior and urban designer.
Small business owners, who I serve now, seem to like what I do because I help them tell their stories. About the spark that started their business. About their connections with the community and the supply chain. About how they add value to people’s lives and how they have transitioned from retail or food to experiential businesses that offer much more than the goods or services people pay for.
I wrote a book to help them make sense and design their own epic storefronts. It has been highly praised by the Congress of the New Urbanism and by leaders of the Incremental Development Alliance. Which humbles me. You can find it here.
This story has become long enough. I try to keep this shorter, usually. And more interesting. I am due a post about Bitcoin, which should come soon after I iron some tech details with people much more savvy in the tech aspects than me, so you should be getting that next.
If you are still interested, you can check out the other posts in this substack, and also proudplaces.com, where I contribute pieces about beauty (here) or economics (here), all focused on how design, human action and the built environment contribute to our wellbeing, our ability to create wealth and prosper, and feed our never-ending need to question things that don’t work.
I do that, a lot. So expect to be inconvenienced (or reaffirm some things). In any case: welcome to the neighborhood.