Category Archives: agriculture

The buzz about America’s “bee-friendly” cities

Communities representing 37 states and the District of Columbia are listed beelow as designated “Bee City USA” members. Unfortunately, there are also 13 states without any city members including Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, agriculture, Animal rights, Animals, cities, civics, civility, climate, climate change, culture, ecosystems, education, environment, Food, government, health, insects, land use, landscape architecture, natural and organic foods, natural history, nature, planning, Science, seasons, spatial design, States, Statistics, sustainability, tourism, Travel, urban planning, water, water conservation, Wilderness, Wildlife, xeriscaping, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ten+1 planning lessons from Maharishi Vedic City

The Vedic/Vastu planned and designed community of Maharishi Vedic City in southeast Iowa offers a number of interesting and insightful lessons for planners. Here are the ten primary lessons from researching and visiting this unique sustainable city: 10/7/22 Addendum – … Continue reading

Posted in agriculture, Alternative energy, Alternative transportation, architecture, cities, civics, civility, climate change, culture, ecosystems, environment, geography, health, history, Housing, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, natural history, nature, placemaking, planning, product design, recreation, Renewable Energy, social equity, solar, spatial design, sustainability, urban design, urban planning, water conservation, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Enlightened” city planning amid rural Iowa cornfields

In the film Field of Dreams, Kevin Costner’s father asks him, “Is this heaven?” His response is, “No, it’s Iowa.” Well, to some, Iowa may just be their slice of heaven, especially those who reside in and around the City … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, agriculture, Alternative energy, architecture, art, Asia, Astronomy, cities, civics, civility, climate change, colleges, commerce, Cuisine, culture, diversity, economic development, ecosystems, entrepreneurship, environment, food systems, geography, government, health, history, Housing, humanity, inclusiveness, India, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, Maps, natural history, nature, peace, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, Religion, Renewable Energy, social equity, solar, spatial design, sustainability, topography, tourism, trails, transportation, urban design, urban planning, Wildlife, writing, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Timeless Portraits of the Oklahoma Panhandle

Some places seem to remain largely fixed in time despite the constant changes that occur in the world around them. The narrow strip of land, affectionately known as the Oklahoma Panhandle, is just one of those places. Even today, the … Continue reading

Posted in agriculture, archaeology, books, business, cities, climate change, commerce, culture, economics, energy, environment, geography, historic preservation, history, humanity, infrastructure, land use, Maps, Mining, movies, Native Americans, nature, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, poverty, rail, Railroads, Renewable Energy, scenic byways, Skies, skylines, Small business, spatial design, Statistics, topography, toponymy, tourism, Trade, transportation, Travel, weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Soaking up the sun with floating solar farms

In recent years floating solar farms have been popping up on water bodies around the globe. While typically more expensive to initially install, floating solar facilities have several notable advantages, including: Less use of productive farm land or valuable lands … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, agriculture, Alternative energy, architecture, Asia, China, climate, climate change, economic development, ecosystems, energy, engineering, environment, Europe, geography, India, infrastructure, Maps, nature, North America, pictures, planning, politics, Portugal, product design, Renewable Energy, rivers/watersheds, Science, solar, spatial design, States, Statistics, technology, topography, UK, urban planning, water | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Largest partially enclosed rodeo arenas in the USA

This post, the third in this series, contains a list of the largest partially enclosed rodeo arenas in the USA. Partially enclosed generally means the facility is roofed but without side walls. This protects the participants and attendees from the … Continue reading

Posted in agriculture, Animals, architecture, cities, civics, commerce, culture, economic development, entertainment, fun, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, placemaking, planning, sports, Statistics, third places, tourism, Travel | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Every city should have a signature hiking trail

Having hiked in numerous places around the United States and in a few other nations (Canada, England, Scotland, Ireland, and Portugal), I have found that hiking is an excellent method to become better acquainted with a new place on a … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, advertising, Advocacy, agriculture, Alternative transportation, branding, cities, civics, civility, Communications, culture, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, environment, fitness, fun, geography, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, Maps, marketing, nature, pictures, placemaking, planning, product design, recreation, rivers/watersheds, spatial design, sustainability, third places, topography, tourism, trails, transportation, Travel, urban planning, walking | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Albuquerque’s two distinctive ranchito suburbs

All of us are familiar with the enormous ranches and farming operations that are most often found flung across the Midwestern and Western United States. We are also familiar with the smaller scale ranchettes and farmettes that tend to dot … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, Advocacy, agriculture, Animals, archaeology, architecture, art, cities, civics, culture, density, diversity, economic development, economic gardening, environment, Food, food systems, geography, government, health, historic preservation, history, land use, Maps, Native Americans, nature, placemaking, planning, recreation, rivers/watersheds, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, sustainability, third places, topography, tourism, Trade, trails, Travel, urban planning, walking, Wildlife, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A whirling good time to the Mid-America Windmill Museum

Nothing evokes the history of the American Midwest and Great Plains more than the classic windmill spinning effortlessly in the breeze. Sadly, these iconic structures are becoming less and less visible on the American landscape. But, there is a wonderful … Continue reading

Posted in agriculture, Alternative energy, architecture, culture, energy, environment, geography, historic preservation, history, industry, infrastructure, land use, nature, peace, product design, technology, topography, weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Urbanized coastal lagoons in the age of climate change

A coastal lagoon is defined and described as: “A body of water separated from larger bodies of water by a natural barrier. Coastal lagoons form along gently sloping coasts. They are generally shallower than atoll lagoons and tend to be … Continue reading

Posted in Africa, agriculture, cities, climate change, culture, economic development, ecosystems, energy, environment, Europe, geography, Geology, historic preservation, history, industry, infrastructure, land use, Latin America, Maps, Mexico, nature, North America, pictures, planning, politics, pollution, rivers/watersheds, Russia, shipping, South America, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, sustainability, topography, tourism, Trade, traffic, transportation, Travel, urban planning, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment