I have written before about how Lisbon’s kiosks both anchor and beautify the city’s public spaces. I have also written about how Toronto should have something similar — #KioskTO anyone?

Some of you might remember an expanded street food program that the city piloted many years ago. It was a complete and utter failure. In my opinion (and from what I can remember), it was too heavily regulated. The food ended up being far too expensive and, frankly, none of it was very good.

That’s not how this should work. The entire point of things like food trucks and street kiosks is that they are cheaper alternatives to a conventional physical location. You can also more easily place them in locations where demand is being underserved.

The one pictured here is in Catania, Sicily. I carried my beer over from a panini shop down the street and then we ordered three espressos for a total of 2€. I tried to sit on a crate they had lying on the ground but I ended up breaking it. Sorry, guys. So we stood instead. It was all rather civilized.

Let entrepreneurs figure out what to sell and where. It will be a boon for both small business and for our public spaces.

P.S. I tweeted this photo out earlier today and it elicited a good discussion on Twitter. Toronto wants this.

This happened earlier in the week:

And it got me thinking about how much I love Lisbon:

But the important story here is that these tweets made it abundantly clear to me that (1) people from all over want far more from their parks and public spaces and that (2) Lisbon's kiosks are a truly beloved urban feature.

I'm putting this all out there because I received a ton of inbounds following these tweets, and I would love to find a way to execute on the kiosk idea that I outlined in the above twitter thread. So if you'd like to help, please continue to get in touch.

The Addresses is a new hospitality brand that offers up beautifully designed custom houses for rent in the Algarve region of Portugal. Designed by Lisbon-based architects, atelier RUA, the company's initial houses include a former fish warehouse that was renovated with both modern and traditional Portuguese touches.

Alongside these retreats, the company (by way of a partnership with Studio Stories) also offers its guests curated "experiences." This is all part of the company's focus on culture, architecture, and hospitality.

I am a big fan of these design-forward hospitality companies, which offer experiences that you could probably describe as existing somewhere between a traditional hotel and an Airbnb. Similar to the latter, they are decentralized and they are focused on authentic and local experiences.

But they also come with a particular set of sensibilities -- and perhaps some consistency -- that you could argue starts to reflect your favorite hotel. Another more local example is Canadian-based Hinter, which I discovered and blogged about last fall.

When I checked this past winter, Hinter's houses were booked up several months in advance. This tells me that there's more than a few people who are hungry for these sorts of travel experiences. At the same time, I think it speaks to the tremendous value that you can create with beautiful architecture and design.