Category Archives: architecture

Ten favorite and least favorite state capital cities

Provided below are lists of favorite and least favorite state capital cities across the country. These are based on impressions obtained from visiting and in some cases, living in those cities (Indianapolis, Columbus, and Lansing). The list is not based … Continue reading

Posted in architecture, art, branding, business, cities, civics, civility, colleges, commerce, culture, demographics, diversity, downtown, economic development, Economy, education, entertainment, geography, government, health, historic preservation, history, Housing, humanity, inclusiveness, industry, infrastructure, land use, marketing, mountains, natural history, new urbanism, place names, placemaking, planning, politics, pollution, racism, recreation, revitalization, rivers/watersheds, schools, skylines, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, States, sustainability, third places, topography, toponymy, tourism, Trade, traffic, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, visual pollution | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ten dreamy planning lessons from cruising Michigan’s Woodward Corridor

The following are ten planning lessons from the quartet of amazing Detroit area suburban cities situated along the famous Woodward Corridor, home of the annual Dream Cruise each August. Those four Southeast Michigan cities are Birmingham, Ferndale, Pontiac, and Royal … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, advertising, Alternative transportation, architecture, art, bicycling, Biking, branding, Bus transportation, business, Cars, cities, civics, commerce, Cuisine, culture, density, diversity, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, engineering, entertainment, fun, geography, government, health, highways, historic preservation, history, Housing, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, Maps, marketing, new urbanism, parking, Passenger rail, pictures, placemaking, planning, rail, recreation, revitalization, skylines, social equity, Statistics, theaters, third places, tourism, traffic, transit, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, walking, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Twelve planning lessons from Durango, Colorado

There are few cities in this country that can grasp your heart and soul as quickly as Durango, Colorado. From the moment of arrival, the city quickly absorbs you into its charming aura. It may be the snow-capped mountains drenched … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, Advocacy, Alternative transportation, Animal rights, Animals, archaeology, architecture, art, bicycling, bike sharing, Biking, branding, business, charities, cities, civics, civility, climate, climate change, colleges, commerce, Cuisine, culture, diversity, downtown, economic development, Economy, ecosystems, education, entertainment, entrepreneurship, environment, fitness, fun, geography, Geology, government, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, homelessness, Housing, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, Maps, marketing, Mining, mountains, Native Americans, natural history, nature, Passenger rail, peace, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, politics, pollution, psychology, rail, Railroads, recreation, revitalization, rivers/watersheds, schools, Science, social equity, spatial design, Stairway networks, Statistics, sustainability, third places, topography, toponymy, tourism, Trade, traffic, trails, transit, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, walking, water conservation, water trails, Wildlife, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ten planning lessons from our national parks

Provided below are ten planning lessons garnered from having the honor and pleasure of visiting countless national parks, monuments, historic sites, battlefields, lakeshores, seashores, trails, and preserves across our nation. The lessons are not necessarily presented in order of importance, … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, Alternative energy, Alternative transportation, Animals, archaeology, architecture, art, Astronomy, bicycling, bike sharing, Biking, branding, Bus transportation, Cars, charities, Cities, civics, climate, culture, deserts, diversity, economic development, ecosystems, education, electric vehicles, energy, entertainment, Environment, EVs and hybrids, family, fitness, geography, Geology, government, Green roofs, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, land use, mountains, natural history, Nature, parking, placemaking, planning, politics, recreation, rivers/watersheds, solar, spatial design, sprawl, sustainability, third places, topography, tourism, traffic, transit, Transportation, Travel, Uncategorized, urban planning, walking, water, water conservation, water trails, waterfalls, Wilderness, Wildlife, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tallest of the tall by state, province, territory or country in North America

The following list identifies the tallest building in each state, province, and territory in descending order. For nations other than the United States, Canada and Mexico, the tallest building for the entire country is listed. The minimum height for inclusion … Continue reading

Posted in architecture, business, Canada, Caribbean, cities, culture, downtown, economic development, engineering, fun, geography, history, Housing, infrastructure, land use, Latin America, Mexico, North America, pictures, placemaking, planning, product design, skylines, skyscrapers, spatial design, States, Statistics, tourism, Travel, urban design, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ten planning lessons from astronomical research sites

The following are ten planning lessons learned from visiting multiple astronomical research sites including the Kitt Peak National Observatory, the Very Large Array, Griffith Observatory, and similar facilities across the country. It also includes information learned from the International Dark-Sky … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, aerospace, architecture, Astronomy, books, Cars, cities, climate change, colleges, culture, digital communications, engineering, environment, fun, futurism, geography, government, historic preservation, history, humanity, infrastructure, land use, light pollution, literature, Maps, mountains, natural history, nature, Outer Space, pictures, placemaking, planning, pollution, revitalization, Science, Skies, solar, Statistics, technology, Television, third places, tourism, traffic, Travel, urban design, urban planning, video, visual pollution, weather, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

An out-of-this-world visit to the Very Large Array (VLA)

This past Thursday afternoon several of us had an exciting opportunity to visit the Very Large Array (VLA) in west-central New Mexico. Anyone who has watched the 1997 movie Contact starring Jodie Foster should be familiar with the VLA. More … Continue reading

Posted in aerospace, architecture, Astronomy, Communications, deserts, education, engineering, film, fun, geography, infrastructure, lakes, land use, Maps, mountains, movies, Outer Space, pictures, planning, product design, Science, Skies, spatial design, Statistics, technology, tourism, Travel, video, Wilderness | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tallest buildings of Greater Washington, DC

As many know, there are building height limitations in Washington, DC. Beyond the Washington Monument, most structures in the District of Columbia are limited to a maximum of 130 feet. Meanwhile, the suburbs in Maryland and Virginia do not have … Continue reading

Posted in architecture, cities, commerce, downtown, economic development, engineering, geography, government, history, infrastructure, land use, new urbanism, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, product design, skylines, skyscrapers, spatial design, Statistics, urban design, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

America’s longest freeway capping parks

Below are freeway capping projects that incorporate park land or greenspace atop the deck that have taken place or which are proposed in the United States. They are listed by their known or approximate length (~) using maps.google.com. Unfortunately, there … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, architecture, art, bridges, Cars, cities, civics, culture, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, engineering, entertainment, fun, geography, Highway displacement, highways, historic preservation, history, inclusiveness, infrastructure, injustice, land use, landscape architecture, Maps, nature, pictures, placemaking, planning, pollution, product design, racism, recreation, revitalization, social equity, spatial design, Statistics, third places, topography, tourism, trails, transportation, Travel, tunnels, urban design, urban planning, visual pollution, walking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

India’s tallest bridge towers and pylons

The following list identifies the tallest bridge towers and pylons in India. Such support structures are principally found on cable-stayed and suspension bridges and the height is measured from ground or water level to the top of the tower/pylon. The … Continue reading

Posted in architecture, Asia, Cars, cities, commerce, economic development, engineering, geography, highways, history, India, infrastructure, land use, Maps, pictures, placemaking, planning, product design, rail, Railroads, rivers/watersheds, skylines, spatial design, Statistics, technology, tourism, Trade, traffic, trails, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment