Category Archives: archaeology

“Hydrograds” built by the former Soviet Union

Posted on May 25, 2020 by

  Following last week’s post on American Hydrograds, this blogpost explores the “Hydrograds“ built by the former Soviet Union. Hydrograds are cities and towns constructed specifically to house workers building the hydroelectric project, as well as the support staff to … Continue reading →

Posted in archaeology, cities, culture, energy, Europe, geography, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, rivers/watersheds, Russia, spatial design, technology, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

American “Hydrograds” – Cities built for hydroelectric projects

Posted on May 18, 2020 by

  Two recent posts I’ve written on the Atomgrads (nuclear cities) of the former Soviet Union that were developed to both construct and support both nuclear weapons and energy plants led me to explore similar government built community for hydroelectric … Continue reading →

Posted in archaeology, architecture, cities, downtown, economic development, environment, geography, Geology, Health care, Housing, infrastructure, land use, Maps, nature, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, rivers/watersheds, spatial design, theaters, third places, topography, toponymy, tourism, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Soviet-era “Atomgrads,” part 2 – Nuclear Energy Cities

Posted on May 8, 2020 by

http:// Part 2 of this series on Soviet-era “Atomgrads” focuses on those that were developed to build, service, and support nuclear power plants in the Soviet Union. Of the 12 cities listed and mapped, all but one remain active communities … Continue reading →

Posted in archaeology, architecture, Asia, atomic age, business, cities, culture, economic development, energy, environment, Europe, geography, government, health, historic preservation, history, Housing, infrastructure, land use, Maps, military, place names, placemaking, planning, pollution, Russia, Science, spatial design, Statistics, technology, toponymy, Travel, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Ten Planning Lessons from San Antonio

Posted on March 1, 2020 by

Here are my ten (10) planning lessons from one of America’s most enjoyable and dynamic large cities – San Antonio, Texas. San Antonio’s River Walk can easily be classified as one of America’s “most iconic planning efforts.” It helped set … Continue reading →

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, archaeology, architecture, bicycling, branding, cities, commerce, Cuisine, culture, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, entrepreneurship, food trucks, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, Mexico, placemaking, planning, revitalization, rivers/watersheds, skylines, spatial design, sprawl, third places, tourism, traffic, trails, transportation, Travel, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Favorite national park system sites visited

Posted on February 24, 2020 by

  Below is my list of favorite national park system sites that I have visited by state (USA), by tribal nation (Navajo), by province (Canada), and by country (elsewhere).  This list will likely change over time as these are revisited … Continue reading →

Posted in archaeology, Canada, culture, deserts, ecosystems, entertainment, environment, Europe, fun, geography, Geology, government, hiking, historic preservation, history, humanity, infrastructure, Ireland, land use, landscape architecture, Native Americans, nature, North America, placemaking, planning, Portugal, rivers/watersheds, Science, spatial design, States, Statistics, technology, third places, topography, tourism, transportation, Travel, UK, walking, Wildlife | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Ten Planning Lessons from Old West Ghost Towns

Posted on February 10, 2020 by

On a recent visit to Arizona and New Mexico, my son and I had the opportunity to visit/view three ghost towns – Fairbank, Arizona; Shakespeare, New Mexico; and Steins, New Mexico. Each had its own history to tell about the … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, Advocacy, agriculture, archaeology, architecture, art, cities, commerce, culture, economics, environment, fun, geography, Geology, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, Mining, pictures, placemaking, planning, pollution, Railroads, revitalization, spatial design, Statistics, sustainability, topography, tourism, Trade, transportation, Travel, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ten Planning Lessons from Ancient Pueblos & Cliff Dwellings

Posted on October 3, 2019 by

After visiting numerous pueblos, cliff dwellings, and ancient ruins in the Southwestern United States, it is clear to this retired urban planner that the Native Americans were the first great community planners in North America. The sites visited thus far … Continue reading →

Posted in archaeology, architecture, cities, culture, density, environment, geography, Geology, historic preservation, history, Housing, humanity, infrastructure, land use, Native Americans, nature, placemaking, planning, spatial design, sustainability, topography, tourism, Travel, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ten+ Planning Lessons from Page, Arizona

Posted on July 1, 2019 by

Some might be wondering where the heck Page, Arizona is located and secondly, how could a town founded in 1957 offer up any planning advice. Well, Page sits close to the Arizona-Utah border where the Glen Canyon Dam was constructed … Continue reading →

Posted in Active transportation, Alternative transportation, archaeology, architecture, bicycling, cities, civics, commerce, culture, deserts, diversity, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, environment, geography, Geology, government, health, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, Native Americans, nature, placemaking, planning, spatial design, sprawl, topography, tourism, transportation, Travel, zoning | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Ten Planning Lessons from Flagstaff, Arizona

Posted on June 21, 2019 by

Following our recent trip to the beautiful Southwestern United States, here are some thoughts on planning lessons one can learn from impressive and beautiful Flagstaff, Arizona. You can have a physically active and exciting city in a colder-weather, high-altitude environment. … Continue reading →

Posted in Active transportation, archaeology, branding, cities, civics, colleges, culture, deserts, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, environment, fitness, geography, Geology, health, history, infrastructure, land use, Native Americans, Nature, new urbanism, placemaking, planning, recreation, spatial design, third places, topography, tourism, transit, transportation, Travel, weather, zoning | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

America’s First Great Town Planners…

Posted on May 30, 2019 by

…were not William Penn (Philadelphia), Pierre Charles L’Enfant (Washington, DC), James Oglethorpe (Savannah), nor other post-Columbian examples. No, America’s first great town planners were the Native American Indians. Whether they were the builders of magnificent cliff dwellings and mesa-topped pueblos … Continue reading →

Posted in archaeology, architecture, art, cities, civics, culture, education, environment, geography, Geology, historic preservation, history, humanity, land use, Native Americans, placemaking, planning, spatial design, topography, tourism, Travel, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments