Category Archives: Alternative transportation

Walkable placemaking with outdoor public stairways

Note: – For purposes of this blogpost, stairways, stairs, and stair-steps are used interchangeably. Post updated 2/16/23 _______ The first time it occurred to me that outdoor stairways could be an important walkability tool for cities was while visiting Edinburgh, … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, Advocacy, Alternative transportation, archaeology, architecture, art, book reviews, books, branding, brewpubs, business, cities, civics, coffee shops/cafes, commerce, culture, demographics, diversity, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, Economy, engineering, entertainment, environment, fitness, fun, geography, government, health, Health care, hiking, historic preservation, history, Housing, humanity, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, literature, logistics, Maps, Mining, mountains, natural history, nature, new urbanism, pictures, placemaking, planning, product design, recreation, revitalization, shopping, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, Stairway networks, Statistics, sustainability, third places, topography, tourism, traffic, trails, transit, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, walking, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cities/suburbs should replan street networks for low-speed electric vehicles

As the electric vehicle revolution expands around the globe, one factor that cities and suburbs need to start accounting for is the increased adoption of low-speed electric vehicles for personal and transit use. Whether you refer to them as low-speed … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, Alternative transportation, Bus transportation, Cars, cities, civics, climate change, commerce, consumerism, density, downtown, electric vehicles, engineering, environment, EVs and hybrids, fun, geography, health, highways, history, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, logistics, new urbanism, parking, pictures, placemaking, planning, politics, pollution, product design, revitalization, shopping, solar, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, technology, Trade, traffic, transit, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, walking, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Finding “Los Angeles” amid the aura of “LA”

Downtown Los Angeles with the San Gabriel Mountains in the background – Source: unsplash.com Every city is unique unto itself. Just like human beings, cities have their own character, appearance, identity, flaws, attributes, and aesthetics. As a result, no single … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, Alternative transportation, architecture, art, bicycling, Biking, books, branding, business, Cars, cities, civics, commerce, culture, diversity, downtown, economic development, engineering, entertainment, entrepreneurship, environment, film, fun, geography, highways, hiking, historic preservation, history, homelessness, Housing, humanity, inclusiveness, land use, literature, Love, mountains, movies, Music, nature, new urbanism, Passenger rail, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, politics, rail, Railroads, recreation, skylines, skyscrapers, songs, spatial design, sprawl, technology, Television, theaters, third places, topography, toponymy, tourism, Trade, traffic, trails, transit, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, walking, writing, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Confessions of a recovering freeway nerd

Source: wired.com I’ll admit it. In my younger days, I was a certified freeway nerd. Growing up in Indianapolis, I was in awe of the Interstate Highway System. Lucky for me, Indy had plenty of them, including my teenage and … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, Advocacy, Alternative transportation, bicycling, bike sharing, Biking, bridges, Bus transportation, Cars, cities, civics, climate change, commerce, culture, density, distribution, downtown, economic development, electric vehicles, energy, engineering, environment, EVs and hybrids, fun, futurism, geography, health, Highway displacement, highways, historic preservation, history, humanity, infrastructure, land use, nature, new urbanism, Passenger rail, pictures, placemaking, planning, politics, pollution, poverty, product design, racism, rail, Railroads, recreation, Renewable Energy, revitalization, scenic byways, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, sustainability, technology, topography, tourism, Trade, traffic, trails, transit, transportation, Travel, trucking, tunnels, urban design, urban planning, visual pollution, walking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

America’s most charming walkable neighborhood is in…

Los Angeles! Yes, you read that correctly. The city known for miles of freeways and lengthy traffic jams is also home to what this retired urban planner feels is the most charming walkable neighborhood in the United States. In fact, … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, Alternative transportation, architecture, art, books, Cars, cities, civics, culture, density, engineering, entertainment, environment, fitness, fun, geography, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, Housing, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, Maps, mountains, nature, new urbanism, parking, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, product design, recreation, skylines, spatial design, technology, third places, topography, tourism, traffic, trails, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, walking, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

“All aboard”: Ten planning lessons from riding USA railways

Moonlight over Fort Madison, Iowa After completing a long-distance trip across much of the United States this week, it seemed appropriate to list those planning lessons learned from this and previous rail travel experiences. While much of my ridership has … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, advertising, air travel, Alternative transportation, art, books, Canada, Cars, cities, commerce, downtown, economic development, engineering, entertainment, environment, Europe, fun, geography, government, highways, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, Passenger rail, pictures, placemaking, planning, product design, rail, Railroads, spatial design, technology, topography, tourism, Trade, traffic, trails, transit, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, visual pollution | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ten planning lessons from Daniel Burnham’s Chicago

The following are ten planning lessons from multiples visits to the dynamic City of Chicago. Source: onlyinyourstate.com ________ If Chicago intrigues you too, here are several books about the city that are available via Amazon.com.* ……….Link – The Third Coast……………………………………………Link … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, air travel, airport planning, airports, Alternative transportation, architecture, bicycling, Biking, Bus transportation, Cities, civics, commerce, culture, downtown, engineering, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, land use, Passenger rail, pictures, placemaking, planning, rail, Railroads, rivers/watersheds, skylines, skyscrapers, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, third places, tourism, traffic, transit, Transportation, Travel, Uncategorized, urban design, urban planning, weather, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

From sea to shining sea of wasteful surface parking lots

The images below depict the extent of wasteful surface parking lots that can be found across the United States at many major sports venues, especially those dedicated to football, baseball, and soccer. Much of the land currently set aside for … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, Alternative transportation, Cars, cities, downtown, economic development, engineering, geography, history, Housing, infrastructure, land use, Maps, parking, Passenger rail, placemaking, planning, Portugal, product design, rail, Railroads, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, technology, third places, tourism, traffic, transit, transportation, Travel, UK, urban design, urban planning, visual pollution, walking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Ten planning lessons from mighty Los Angeles

Despite its detractors, every time I’m in Los Angeles, the city impresses me more. From the first time in 1970 to just recently, the changes are palpable, especially the move(s) away from being so car-centric and increased densification. Below, is … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, Alternative transportation, architecture, art, bicycling, branding, business, cities, civics, commerce, culture, density, distribution, downtown, economic development, Economy, entertainment, entrepreneurship, environment, fun, geography, Highway displacement, highways, historic preservation, history, humanity, immigration, industry, infrastructure, land use, logistics, Maps, mountains, movies, music, nature, Passenger rail, peace, pictures, placemaking, planning, pollution, rail, Railroads, recreation, skylines, skyscrapers, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, Television, topography, tourism, Trade, traffic, transit, transportation, Travel, trucking, urban design, urban planning, walking, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment