The Possible City

The Possible City

Home
Notes
Shorts
Essays
Bomunsan Forest Protocols
Archive
About

Korea

Maybe We Should Start Building the Cities We Want — 1: Every Path is Possible
"Any path is possible," Suhee said. I believed her. I still do. But after losing two homes and two shops, I had to ask myself: were we moving forward…
 • 
Patrick M. Lydon
2
Maybe You and I Should Just Start Building the Cities We Want — Prologue: The Search for Home
At dawn we rolled our suitcases down the alley, trying to be as quiet as possible. We were leaving our life in Japan and we didn’t know where we were…
 • 
Patrick M. Lydon
4
A New Space, Part VI: Celebrating Small Wins in Up-Cycling
As we work to transform an old mountainside space into a studio and shop, we’ve faced some challenges—but the small wins keep us going.
 • 
Patrick M. Lydon
2
A Line, Between the Ocean and the Stars
We take the train to Busan in the afternoon and board an overnight ferry bound for the Japanese port city of Shimonoseki.
 • 
Patrick M. Lydon
2
The City of Dangsan Namu: A Photo Essay
The City of Dangsan Namu is not a place, but a mindset and a state of being.
 • 
Patrick M. Lydon
The City of Dangsan Namu: An Introduction
There is a link between how we see a tree, and how sustainable a city can be
 • 
Patrick M. Lydon
The Benefits of Loving a Typhoon
Last year Suhee and I were invited to the Suncheon Visual Media Center in Korea for a talk.
 • 
Patrick M. Lydon
2
SHORT #40: Bikes, Parks, Kids, and the Slow Tide of a Political Movement
A true story of a politician and his 'crazy' idea for making cities more livable
 • 
Patrick M. Lydon
A New Space, Part V: A Tea Bar Materializes (kind of)
This week, a few photos of the progress on our studio and herb tea bar.
 • 
Patrick M. Lydon
A New Space, Part IV: Pallet to Wood Floor!
I am going to spoil the surprise by saying that we have a new wood floor, made almost entirely from lovingly-restored wood shipping pallets!
 • 
Patrick M. Lydon
A New Space, Part III: On Smallness and Moving Slow (with guest writing from Suhee)
If you just joined, we are continuing The Beginnings of a New Space, a series charting our progress, as we remodel a building for our planned studio in…
 • 
Patrick M. Lydon
The Beginnings of a New Space: Part II
links between upcycling pallets, modularity, and Japanese architecture
 • 
Patrick M. Lydon
6
© 2025 Patrick M. Lydon, The Possible City
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start WritingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture