Alternative forms of transport
bySustainable development starts with the street. If a person can walk or bike to a destination, decreasing fossil fuel use and reducing daily Vehicle…
View from the Edge
by Carol StephenAt sunset drivers hide behind the last light’s reflections off glass, faceless robots at the controls, hands always at nine and three, becoming one…
Unnatural long-distance migrants
by the daily asteriskIf “where” is both subjective and physical, what do you need to know, precisely, to figure out where you are? From the moment our…
From the Samaritan’s dirt road to the Information Superhighway
by Kirstin Vander Giessen-ReitsmaThe other day, our pastor sent around a link to an article called “The problem of indifference” by Marcus Mescher, writing for the National…
Bound up with storytelling
by the daily asteriskAll maps are but representations of reality: They render the physical world in symbols and highlight important relationships—the proximity of one subway stop to…
Evening Commute
by Bethany BeachumEstelí, Nicaragua (2016) At 5:30 p.m., a woman walks home after a day of selling goods from her portable stand in the northern mountain…
Stories that root us
by the daily asteriskAs we walk our own ground, on foot or in mind, we need to be able to recite stories about hills and trees and…
Leaving the car at home
by Gwen DiPietroEditor’s note: Each Thursday, we feature a throwback piece from Topology’s predecessor, catapult magazine. In this essay, Gwen DiPietro explores the lessons her family…
Work on it together
by the daily asteriskCitizens can begin by understanding how much their environment affects—or, in fact, generates—their quality of life. Once this relationship is recognized, it become obvious…
John and I ditch the school bus and learn non-conformity
by Bill Boerman-CornellSo the first thing you have to understand is that the junior high school bus was like a playground for bullies, and the bullies,…