Thomas Dougherty

Thomas Dougherty works as an architect in West Chester, Pennsylvania, where he lives with his wife Rose and three children. He holds a Master of Architecture and a Master of Architectural Design and Urbanism from the University of Notre Dame.

alley plan

The American Alley, Part 4: Rediscovering the Forgotten Human Scale

It is time that we recognize that the potential for spatially formed, human-scaled, beautiful, and prosperous urban places already lies within every urban block.

August 27, 2021

Minor street in Philadelphia

The American Alley, Part 3: The End of the American Alley

As ADUs are developed along alleys in the next few years, we are presented with an opportunity: to construct ADUs which front the street and transform the service alley into a minor street, or to construct ADUs which only look into the private lot, simply leaving the alley as it is.

August 26, 2021

Washington D.C.

The American Alley, Part 2: Origins of the American Alley

Understanding the alley’s past reveals it for what it is today: a hidden resource for making our cities stronger and more prosperous.

August 24, 2021

street and alley

The American Alley, Part 1: A Hidden Resource

It is rare to find a street in America that does not seem to be almost wholly oriented around the movement of cars from one point to another. The street understood as part of the public realm seems to be forever lost, a thing of the past.

August 20, 2021