No parking sign spotted in Alexandria by thisisbossi licensed under Creative Commons.

This question posted by Twitter user Mu got thousands of responses, including from urbanists: “What's the most On Brand™️ story you have from your early childhood?”

We asked contributors about their early experiences as budding urbanists. Here's what they said:

Future city planner? by Fairfax County.

Joanne Tang recalls walks with her grandmother:

Grandma and I would jaywalk across Fairfax County Parkway all the time, and that’s the story of how I became a consistent (but safe!) jaywalker. Grandma taught me in her own way that sometimes you just have to go for it because the street doesn’t make sense.

Canaan Merchant says,

I was (and am) a big map drawer.

While Nick Finio had a particular affinity for towns and transit in miniature:

My favorite place to go as a child was this bizarre little piece of Pennsylvania weirdness

What about you — do you have any similar stories to share? If you weren't into cities as a kid, what changed later to bring you to where you are now?

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Tagged: architecture, bicycling, pedestrians, planning, public spaces, roads, transit, zoning

Julie Strupp was Greater Greater Washington's Managing Editor from 2017 to 2019. Previously, she had written for DCist, Washingtonian, the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, and others. You can usually find her sparring with her judo club, pedaling around the city, or hanging out on her Columbia Heights stoop.