With all of the new development happening around Greater Des Moines, particularly in my temporary COVID bureau here in suburban Ankeny, it’s interesting to see the various designs going into the many warehouses, retail centers, restaurants and multifamily complexes that are popping up faster than dandelions. So the headline and photo on this article from Marker caught my eye, as the apartments pictured from a Maryland development complex at the top of the article looks pretty much the same as what builders have been churning out for about the past decade or so in Central Iowa. Here’s an interesting read from Marker that examines some of the reasons why our urban centers around the country are beginning to look pretty homogenized. As the author sums it up: “It would be disappointing enough to fail in gracing a land as physically beautiful as the US with the built companions it deserves. But it’s downright shameful that we deprive ourselves of living in interesting, meaningful, and wonderful places, given the thousands of precedents for inspiration worldwide, and many hundreds within our borders.”