Homecoming: The Cathartic Power Of Place

On building places worth coming back to.

I visited my old college campus last Friday. It was the first time I’d been back and really walked around since I graduated, got married, and moved to the Nashville area in 2019.

I went to the University of Missouri, which is credited with inventing the tradition of homecoming back in 1908. Longer-tenured SEC counterparts may have more storied traditions on gameday, but no one does homecoming like Mizzou.

Some skeptics may see it as more of a marketing ploy than a heralded tradition. But my first trip back made me a believer.

I didn’t think coming back would be such a cathartic experience. But it was an emotional day seeing my freshman dorm, countless old study spots where I’d pulled anxious all-nighters, and the library couch I slept on the night I was locked out of my apartment.

I still have a long way to go in my journey of self-improvement, but going back on Friday proved to be an unexpected measuring stick of the last three years. Since then, I’ve had four jobs, two spells of unemployment, and three years of marriage, bought my first house, moved to my own cellphone and health insurance plans, started this newsletter, and so much more.

American culture lacks much in the way of true coming-of-age rituals. Getting your license? Having your first beer that’s usually not actually your first beer? Your first job? But walking the Missouri campus on Friday served as mini coming of age for me. It helped me realize all the things that are true about me now that weren’t the last time I was there, and all the things that are still as true as last time (for better or worse).

When we talk about the power of place and placemaking, we tend to focus on the present, short-term benefits: places to socialize, better economic productivity, physical beauty, etc. But what often goes unmentioned is the power of places over time.

The built environment speaks to us. It forms us. When we return to a place after a time away, the sensory cues help sew chapters of our lives into a coherent story, and connect who we were to who we are. They help us measure change, unearth pain that’s been tucked away, and give color to memories that have become grainy.

Change in the environment helps us detach from the past. Continuity grounds our present in the greater narrative of our lives. And in both, it’s crucial that we get places right. Because if places are signposts, then what we build decides what the signs say.

So what should we have them say?

We want them to say “you belong here.” We do that by building things that stand the test of time and provide sources of consistency and familiarity for generations.

We want them to say “you’re growing and so are we.” We do that by allowing towns to grow up (expanding transit options, upzoning, etc.).

And we want them to say “you can always come home.” We do this by creating enough housing stock and ensuring affordable options for individuals and families of all incomes and life stages.

As Missouri and thousands of other colleges and high schools celebrate Homecoming this month, let’s take it as a challenge and opportunity to build places that are worth coming back to.

Happy homecoming, Tigers.