How It Works (and Why It Doesn’t)

How It Works (and Why It Doesn’t)

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August 2026

I Escaped The United States, But I Owe One American City Everything
It taught me how to build a life I eventually had to leave the country to continue.
 • Rocco Pendola
I Asked Valencia to Fix a Bench. Then It Did.
One small lesson in what it means to stop living somewhere like a visitor.
 • Rocco Pendola
Cities Don’t Just Manage Overtourism. They Help Create It.
From a €6.6 million airline tender in A Coruña to new fines in Valencia, governments promote demand before policing its consequences.
 • Rocco Pendola
Spanish Was Easier When I Couldn’t Hear What I Was Missing
The better my Spanish gets, the more clearly I understand how far I still have to go.
 • Rocco Pendola
I Want to Go Places and Ask Better Questions
My plan to independently report the stories cities reveal about how societies work—from Valencia and beyond.
 • Rocco Pendola
I Stopped Judging My New Life Against The One I Left Behind
When Spain became the baseline
 • Rocco Pendola
You Helped Build This. Here’s How You Can Help Expand It.
Your lifetime membership will always be yours. This is an entirely optional invitation to support what comes next.
 • Rocco Pendola
I'd Rather Complain About Scooters Than Parking
Why lively cities have better problems than "comfortable" suburbs.
 • Rocco Pendola

July 2026

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