Category Archives for "Architecture"

Send them to Porto, an industrial city of 1.8 million in northern Portugal to see how it works (well): More images of Porto… Note how they reach amazing densities and create animated, walkable communities with a careful integration of woonerf (living) streets): Bruce M Firestone, B Eng (civil), M Eng-Sci, PhD Real Estate Investment and […]

It’s probably not where you think it is. Most observers would assume it’s downtown where all the office skyscrapers live. That may be where the highest price per square foot or square meter of land is traded but is it the most valuable? I would argue not. Huh?

Fifteen minutes outside of Olhão, Portugal, you will find a 30-hectare olive oil plantation that combines sustainable farming practices with agritainment. Most mornings around 10 or 10:30 am, a Monterosa (favorably reviewed on TripAdvisor–62 reviews, five stars) staffer will take a group of around 30 (made up of locals on holiday and tourists) around the […]

You don’t have to be a genius to become an accomplished urban designer; you only have to have a tape measure and a camera and come to Europe to learn how. Visit the Algarve (southern Portugal–we are in the small town of Olhão, west of Faro) and you will see thriving, wealthy, walkable, animated, livable, […]

I actually don’t like going away but, when I do, I find that things which were complicated suddenly aren’t. Here’s what I do to gain perspective: -exercise 4-6 times per week (20 minutes after I finish, problems miraculously “solve themselves”) -“move the furniture,” which means getting up from your desk and walking around—for example, when […]

I have to admit to feeling a teeny stab of jealousy as I watched “I own Australia’s best home” season 1 on Netflix. After all, I lived in Oz for seven wonderful years and their weather is certainly better than my current abode (Ottawa, Canada), which is the 2nd coldest capital city (after Mongolia’s Ulan […]