Category Archives: agriculture

Ten Planning Lessons from Detroit’s Eastern Market

Posted on November 8, 2018 by problogic

Anyone fortunate enough to visit engaging Detroit’s Eastern Market knows exactly what I am talking about in this post. Enjoy the list below! Great third places like Detroit’s Eastern Market can and will survive and thrive through both good and … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, agriculture, business, cities, commerce, consumerism, culture, economic gardening, economics, entertainment, entrepreneurship, Food, food systems, fun, geography, health, history, infrastructure, land use, placemaking, planning, revitalization, shopping, Small business, social equity, spatial design, sustainability, third places, tourism, Travel, urban planning, walking | Tagged city markets, Detroit Eastern Market, farm markets | Leave a comment

Fracking sprawl across West Texas

Posted on March 8, 2018 by problogic

Many places across America lament the urban sprawl taking place in their midst. Meanwhile, parts of Texas have a different kind of sprawl to contend with – fracking sprawl. As can be seen in the photos taken as I flew … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, air travel, Alternative energy, aviation, Cities, Climate Change, economics, energy, geography, Geology, health, Housing, infrastructure, land use, pictures, planning, politics, pollution, spatial design, sprawl, topography, Travel, Uncategorized, visual pollution | Tagged fracking, oil drilling, pollution | Leave a comment

Stitching together a “Quilt Barn Trail”

Posted on May 1, 2016 by problogic

On Michigan’s historic Old Mission Peninsula, the community has banded together to stitch a Quilt Barn Trail. One may ask, as I first did, what is a Quilt Barn Trail? Essentially, it is an effort to celebrate and recognize the … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, agriculture, architecture, art, branding, civics, Communications, culture, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, environment, family, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, land use, Maps, placemaking, planning, revitalization, signs, tourism, trails, Travel | Tagged Adams County, agriculture, architecture, art, community, countryside, culture, family, Farming, fun, historic preservation, history, Old Mission Peninsula, quilt barns, tourism, trails, travel | Leave a comment

Down the drain – our use and abuse of water

Posted on January 20, 2014 by problogic

A map entitled “World of Rivers” included as an insert within the April 2010 issue of National Geographic magazine provides an analysis of how much water is actually consumed (hidden water usage) to produce common everyday goods. It is an … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, agriculture, Animals, beer, civics, climate change, coffee shops/cafes, commerce, consumerism, culture, education, environment, Food, food systems, geography, globalization, health, humanity, land use, nature, planning, product design, Science, spatial design, Statistics, sustainability, weather | Tagged agriculture, climate, consumption, environment, food, nature, water, weather | Leave a comment

A devilish and delicate delight to see

Posted on May 28, 2013 by problogic

The first time I recall seeing a dust devil was in the Palouse Region of Washington State back in 2003. They were quite common on the arid rolling landscape and captivated all of our attention and intrigue. This past Saturday … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, climate change, environment, geography, land use, nature, Outer Space, seasons, weather | Tagged climate, dust deviles, environment, Mars, nature, outer space, Palouse, snow devils, weather, whirlwinds, wind | Leave a comment

The places in-between

Posted on April 29, 2013 by problogic

As the world continues to become more urbanized, the places in-between these pulsating urban areas are often overlooked as just blips along the expressway or dots 30,000 feet below us. While some of these places are hanging on with some … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, air travel, Cars, cities, civics, commerce, Communications, culture, density, economic development, family, geography, globalization, historic preservation, history, humanity, inclusiveness, land use, placemaking, planning, psychology, revitalization, spatial design, sustainability, tourism, Trade, transportation, Travel | Tagged cities, land use, places, planning, rural, rural planning, small towns, towns, urban planning, villages | 9 Comments

Super pooper power producer

Posted on March 12, 2013 by problogic

Last week I had the opportunity to hear an interesting presentation on Michigan State University’s (MSU) new anaerobic digester power system that is under construction on the south end of its campus in East Lansing. The first phase will be … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, Alternative energy, Animals, climate change, consumerism, education, entrepreneurship, environment, Food, government, infrastructure, land use, nature, planning, pollution, product design, recycling, Renewable Energy, schools, sustainability, technology | Tagged alternative energy, anaerobic digester, animal waste, environment, food waste, Michigan State, MSU, pollution, recycling, schools | Leave a comment

When Ford didn’t have a better idea

Posted on February 19, 2013 by problogic

I finished reading the book entitled Fordlandia: the Rise and Fall of Henry Ford’s Forgotten Jungle City by Greg Grandin last night. This fine publication was released in 2009 and was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award that … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, Animals, architecture, book reviews, books, Cars, cities, civics, civility, climate change, commerce, culture, diversity, economic development, economics, entrepreneurship, environment, geography, globalization, health, historic preservation, history, Housing, immigration, infrastructure, land use, nature, planning, politics, Science, South America, spatial design, sustainability, tourism, Trade, transportation, Travel, urban planning, weather, Wildlife, writing | Tagged agriculture, Amazon, automobiles, Belterra, book reviews, books, Brazil, cars, cities, Ford, Fordlandia, Henry Ford, history, rubber | Leave a comment

Collegiate cuisine entrepreneurship

Posted on November 24, 2012 by problogic

There is probably no better way to try out a new restaurant concept than to test it in a college town. For some reason, college students are interested exploring a wide variety of cuisines and are willing to try new … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, cities, coffee shops/cafes, consumerism, Cuisine, culture, diversity, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, entrepreneurship, Food, food systems, fun, geography, globalization, placemaking, product design, Small business, third places | Tagged College towns, cuisine, dining, food, restaurants, universities | 3 Comments

“Dust in the Wind” – Cities prone to dust storms

Posted on November 17, 2012 by problogic

In conjunction with Ken Burns new documentary film entitled “The Dust Bowl” which is premiering November 18th and 19th on PBS, I thought a post about those urban areas around the world that are subject to dust storms, sand storms, and haboobs on a fairly regular … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, agriculture, Asia, Canada, China, cities, climate change, density, economic development, environment, Europe, Food, food systems, geography, health, history, humanity, India, land use, nature, North America, Oceania, planning, pollution, poverty, Science, seasons, South America, spatial design, sprawl, States, sustainability, Television, Travel, urban planning, weather, Wildlife | Tagged desertification, Dust Bowl, dust storms, environment, geography, haboobs, history, Ken Burns, news, PBS, sand storms, television, weather | 21 Comments