Good Cities (By C. W. Höjer)

Letters on Dwelling and Displacement

A Dialogue in Letters

Aug 21 • Good Cities

1

What Socrates Saw in the Public Square

The agora, the gospel, and a 1339 fresco of good government: the sacred roots of shared city life.

Aug 15 • Good Cities

The City That Emptied

A dispatch from Ephesus, where the greatest commons of the ancient world stands open to the sky and where a riot in a theatre still teaches how cities…

Aug 9 • Good Cities

How Cities Die

Suburbs, parking lots, and transit deserts: the slow dismantling of shared public life

Aug 2 • Good Cities

2

1

July 2026

A City Is Made of Space, Not Buildings

Why we recognize Rome in its streets, not its monuments—and what “the urban commons” really means.

Jul 11 • Good Cities

2

3

1

June 2026

Letters on Dwelling and Displacement A Dialogue in Letters

Once a month this year, a letter reflecting on moving.

Jun 22 • Good Cities

3

The Food School and the Walled Town

A dispatch from East Cork, where Youghal still remembers its walls and Ballymaloe still remembers its fields—two forms of the same idea

Jun 9 • Good Cities

2

May 2026

A Day on Piazza Santo Spirito: What Florence Teaches About the Rhythm of Urban Life

Florence has often been hailed as the most beautiful city in the world and blessed are those tourists or residents who can judge this claim for…

May 5 • Good Cities

5

2

April 2026

Letters on Dwelling and Displacement

Once a month this year, a letter—written from Kansas City as I prepare to leave, and from New Zealand where my friend has recently arrived.

Apr 19 • Good Cities

5

3

Beyond Euclidean Geometry: How Siena Teaches Us to Find Our Way Home

Part 4 of a series on good and bad government in place and time

Apr 9 • Good Cities

4

March 2026

The City as Living Organism: Lessons from Rome and Istanbul

Part 3 of a series on good and bad government in place and time

Mar 27 • Good Cities

1

Cities Within Cities: The Nested Reality of Urban Life

Part 2 of a series on good and bad government in place and time

Mar 22 • Good Cities

1