Edges, intersections, thresholds… They are all where one state of being meets another. We are all fascinated by sunrises and sunsets, the thresholds where night becomes day and day becomes night. It is also no surprise that this is a moment of tremendous activity for nature as flora and fauna use this time to change, hunt, and feed. As a lifelong student of systems and cities, I notice that these edges present themselves everywhere and in all their forms. It’s where things come in contact with other things. Sometimes these are clear lines, sometimes they are blurry. Edges are ultimately where definition happens, but also where some of the most interesting problems can exist and thus create the opportunity for tremendous growth, creativity and innovation.
These edges are not just temporal, but physical and metaphorical, and everything interesting happens on the edge. I still recall a spirited discussion I had while in graduate school. I was reflecting to a classmate about how the suburban village that I grew up in had “transformed” the gate to the village into a rotary (roundabout). What could have been a rather mundane piece of vehicular traffic ornamental landscape was turned into a celebration of arrival, transition, and transformation. It was the moment you came up the hill, turned in the direction of the village, and were presented with it sitting at the foot of a…
