Category Archives: Alternative energy

Ten planning lessons from LA’s South Bay beach cities

We had the pleasure of visiting the three South Bay beach cities of Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Hermosa Beach over the Christmas holiday weekend. Below are ten planning lessons learned from these charming and beautiful communities. Peace! Esplanade nearest … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, Alternative energy, Alternative transportation, architecture, bicycling, Biking, branding, business, cities, civics, climate, climate change, commerce, culture, demographics, density, economic development, Economy, ecosystems, electric vehicles, entertainment, environment, fun, geography, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, Housing, humanity, industry, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, nature, pictures, placemaking, planning, pollution, recreation, Renewable Energy, revitalization, spatial design, Statistics, sustainability, third places, topography, tourism, trails, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, visual pollution, walking, water, 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

15 years after the tornado – Planning lessons from Greensburg, Kansas

May 4, 2007, will always remain a pivotal day in the history of Greensburg, Kansas. On that day, much of the city of Greensburg was obliterated by a EF5 category tornado. Thankfully, most residents survived the tragedy due early and … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, Advocacy, Alternative energy, Alternative transportation, architecture, art, bicycling, bike sharing, Biking, book reviews, books, branding, business, charities, cities, civics, civility, climate, commerce, culture, downtown, economic development, Economy, ecosystems, education, energy, environment, geography, government, health, Health care, history, Housing, humanity, infrastructure, land use, literature, nature, pictures, placemaking, planning, politics, recycling, Renewable Energy, revitalization, Small business, solar, spatial design, Statistics, sustainability, technology, topography, tourism, Trade, transportation, Travel, Uncategorized, urban planning, volunteerism, walking, water, water conservation, weather, writing, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Is Burning Man making a mistake at Fly Ranch?

I’m torn. A part of me wants to travel this very minute to Fly Ranch and experience the scenic landscapes on this lovely site, while also visualizing the various art/sustainability projects taking place there. On the other hand, the site … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, Alternative energy, architecture, art, branding, charities, civics, climate, climate change, Communications, culture, deserts, diversity, economic development, ecosystems, education, environment, food systems, futurism, geography, health, historic preservation, history, humanity, land use, Maps, Native Americans, natural history, nature, opinion, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, pollution, recreation, Renewable Energy, social equity, spatial design, sustainability, technology, topography, tourism, Travel, visual pollution, water conservation, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A comparison between Burning Man’s Black Rock City and the Greater World Earthship Community

The American West is blessed with two modern utopian communities — Burning Man’s Black Rock City on a high desert playa in northwestern Nevada and the Greater World Earthship Community located west of Taos, New Mexico. As Burning Man/Black Rock … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, Advocacy, Alternative energy, architecture, art, branding, cities, civics, Civil Rights, civility, climate change, Communications, culture, deregulation, deserts, diversity, economic development, energy, entertainment, entrepreneurship, environment, food systems, fun, futurism, geography, government, health, history, Housing, human rights, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, literature, Maps, marketing, minimalism, nature, peace, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, politics, product design, recycling, Renewable Energy, social equity, spatial design, sustainability, technology, third places, tourism, Trade, Travel, urban design, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Solar energy production in the USA on former surface mines

The following list identifies those solar farms that have been commissioned and/or proposed to be located on a former mining site. Since many of these places have been severely impacted by mine operations, installing a solar array allows the impacted … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, Alternative energy, climate, economic development, energy, engineering, environment, geography, Geology, infrastructure, land use, Mining, natural history, nature, planning, product design, Renewable Energy, Science, solar, Statistics, sustainability, technology | 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

Airport solar energy production in the United States

The list provided below identifies those airports in the United States that have installed a minimum of 0.5 megawatt (0.5 MW = to 500 kW) of solar arrays/farms on their property. While the list may seem long, it is but … Continue reading

Posted in air travel, airport planning, airports, Alternative energy, architecture, aviation, Cars, cities, civics, climate, climate change, economic development, energy, engineering, environment, geography, government, infrastructure, land use, Maps, nature, pictures, planning, product design, Renewable Energy, solar, spatial design, States, Statistics, technology, transportation, Travel, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Largest solar farm in each state, territory, and province

As the solar industry booms, it’s challenging to identify the largest solar farm in each U.S. state, Canadian province, and their territories. This is due to the near constant announcements of upcoming new facilities, as well as the headwinds that … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, Alternative energy, Canada, civics, climate, climate change, economic development, energy, engineering, environment, geography, history, industry, infrastructure, land use, nature, North America, planning, Renewable Energy, spatial design, States, Statistics, technology, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment