Thank You, Subscribers
Another year of growth, betterment, and looking forward to 2026
Dear Subscribers,
Every so often, an email lands that reminds me why I bother to fight the fight. This week, a note from an NC State student did exactly that:
Good afternoon Mr. Lubeck,
As I get ready to graduate in about 10 days, I’ve been thinking about the people who made a real impact on me at NC State. I wanted to say thank you again for serving as a panelist at the first-ever Wolfpack Exchange — your perspective really stuck with me.
I still look back at the points you made about the future of urban design and how much we can learn from places around the world that have gotten it right. It was one of the most memorable takeaways from the event.
Thanks again for your time and insight.
This year, my little hobby-media empire grew to 20,000 subscribers and more than 24 million views. But I am a quality-over-quantity guy, and the student’s message mattered more.
Against-the-grain advocacy can be lonely. Most days, you are hacking through a thicket of irrational rules, negative stakeholder incentives, and politicization designed to prevent saner processes from ever taking root. You push forward anyway, wondering who is listening.
Across North Carolina, a new generation is embracing the work of repair—of making better buildings, better neighbourhoods, and better land use systems. That next generation is what makes the slog worthwhile.
Next year will be about building on that momentum. In 2026, I plan to continue publishing weekly and to expand this platform through partnerships with emerging writers, including Billy Cooney at FlanuerUrbanist, with the Single Stair NC team and their NCSU Pappas fellows, and more.
Last year, your financial support directly funded statewide advocacy on major housing reform bills, and paid for local editors and local art directors—keeping this work rooted in North Carolina.
To sustain and grow this work, there are two meaningful ways you can help:
How to Support This Work in 2026
1. Become a paid subscriber or a Core Supporter, or gift a subscription.
2. Underwrite a new media program.
If you or your organization wants to support this next generation of urbanist leadership, reach out about sponsoring one of these initiatives:
– Better Cities Film Fest
– NC Placemaking Podcast, Faith-Based Housing Initiative, Urbanist Book Club, North Carolina CityExchange study travel, and more, Student Fellow writing on housing and design
Thank you for reading, for sharing, and for caring about this work. The next decade of North Carolina housing will be shaped by the voices we choose to lift today.
Happy holidays—and thank you.
—Aaron
