Richard Kurylo

Welcome to the Website of Richard Kurylo.

I describe myself as an urban geographer, specializing in the revitalization of traditional neighborhoods. I feel strongly that cities were developed best from about 1880 to 1940. Architecture was stunning during that golden period. Buildings had large retail windows, inset entryways, transom windows, cornices, and incredible attention to detail.

The focus of neighborhoods was Main Street. Residential streets were in a rectileanear street pattern. Multi-story mixed-use buildings dominated the business district, while single-family homes or multi-family row homes were prominent in the residential areas. Streetcars connected neighborhoods with one another, and everything tied into the central business district.

Traditional Urban Geographer

Because of my fondness for this period of urban development, I call myself a traditional urban geographer. Other people call me an idealist, a dreamer, a building-hugger, old-fashioned, and stubborn. Personally, I believe these are all good traits when it comes to designing and revitalizing exciting places!

Earthquakes, Tornadoes, and Hurricanes... Oh My!

My other passions are natural disasters and intra-urban rail transit, and I enjoy traveling and photography. Needless to say, almost getting stuck on the Long Island Rail Road during the Blizzard of 1996 with camera in hand while visiting New York was one of the highlights of my life!

For someone who likes exciting weather, I have certainly lived in boring places. Long Island's weather is pretty mild. Binghamton had very little snowfall when I lived there. And no place is more boring weather-wise than San Diego. In the near future, a little tornado chasing should make up for my boring weather past.

New Adventures

After 14 years in San Diego, California, I left the city to start a new chapter of my life. From April 6 through November 15, 2007, I lived in Paris, France. Read all about it on the Paris page. Then, on November 18, 2007, I moved to San Francisco, California, my new permanent home.