Archive - The Possible City

How to Walk Barefoot in a City

There is a small forest tucked between a Korean river and the city, where people take off their shoes, and let nature loosen the grip of modern life.

8 hrs ago •

Patrick M. Lydon

The Importance of Being a Beautiful Idiot

Three more illustrations Japan's Kansai region, exploring the meaning of 'division' and what happens when we dance like beautiful idiots.

Aug 17 •

Patrick M. Lydon

Defining 'Value' Like a Japanese Kissaten

Some things are untouchable. In Japan, the local coffee shop seems to be one of those things. It all might have to do with a thing called value.

Aug 10 •

Patrick M. Lydon

July 2025

Two Kinds of Urban Air-Conditioning

There is air conditioning and then, there are the 'other ways'. A short visual story about cooling down in a warming city.

Jul 27 •

Patrick M. Lydon

Catch a Fish, Sip Some Wine, Be Wild — How to Use an Urban River at 5pm

One heron, two otters, and three humans mozy into a river. One of them asks: are we allowed to sit here together?

Jul 20 •

Patrick M. Lydon

A Highway, A Beautiful Rush Hour

Well over 2,000 years old, this might be one of the oldest highways in the world. It is definitely one of the most beautiful.

Jul 13 •

Patrick M. Lydon

June 2025

Cities, Dads, and Stars: A Neighborhood in the Cosmos

My dad taught me how to find the Big Dipper.

Jun 15 •

Patrick M. Lydon

The Golden Poop and the Sacred Fly — An Adventure in Japanese Printmaking

What can a pile of poop teach us about art, beauty, and the cycles of life? Probably more than we think. An illustrated dive into ancient printmaking…

Jun 9 •

Patrick M. Lydon

May 2025

How to Use an Urban River #5 – A Heron Yogi

Along the river in Daejeon, Korea, a heron teaches us a thing or two about life ... and yoga.

May 25 •

Patrick M. Lydon

How to Use an Urban River #4 — The Art of a Riverside Nap

In between the traffic-clogged streets and shopping districts, a woman and a tree team up for my favorite urban life hack.

May 11 •

Patrick M. Lydon

April 2025

How To Use an Urban River #3 — Mugwort Flows Through Generations

At a hidden riverside spring in Korea, a grandmother and granddaughter pass down an ancient tradition — and transform it into something new.

Apr 27 •

Patrick M. Lydon

How To Use an Urban River #2 — Exercise with Your Mom

In Korea, 5:30am is rush hour—not for traffic, but for riverside dance parties, intergenerational workouts, and a national culture that wakes up with…

Apr 21 •

Patrick M. Lydon

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