Urban Planner's Photo Test Makes Cities People Love

Urban planner Andy Boenau stumbled onto a powerful truth while flipping through old family photos: the places worth photographing are the places worth building.

Growing up with Saturday slide shows, Boenau noticed his dad never captured highway overpasses or parking lots. He photographed faces, gestures, and moments that mattered. Years later, as a transportation planner, Boenau brought his camera to work sites and discovered something troubling.

He found himself photographing two types of scenes: charming local features like historic train stations, and oppressive infrastructure like wide arterials with turn lanes. Getting those second shots often felt dangerous, requiring him to dodge traffic just to document the "improvements" his industry was building.

That contrast sparked a question most planners weren't asking: What makes people reach for their cameras, hang out, spend money, and return to a place?

The answer wasn't in engineering manuals or traffic studies. People photograph benches in the shade, fountains, plazas perfect for people-watching. They capture moments with friends and family, not highway exits.

Boenau realized his industry was measuring success all wrong. Highly educated professionals were creating infrastructure that prevented the very experiences people valued most: comfortable walks around town, chance encounters with neighbors, spaces that build bonds between friends and strangers.

The Ripple Effect

The photo album standard offers cities a simple litmus test. Before approving a project, ask: Would residents photograph themselves here? Would visitors want to capture this moment?

When planners prioritize memorable human experiences over motor vehicle traffic, downtowns transform from resistible to irresistible. The shift creates places people choose to visit, not just drive through.

Towns anchored to car-oriented regulations end up with communities that feel exactly like that: weighed down. But those willing to design for photo-worthy moments create spaces that strengthen community bonds and economic vitality.

The best infrastructure projects become recipes for places that are loveable, enticing, and yes, camera-ready.