Category Archives: Asia

A global map of active solar observatories

The map provided below identifies the currently active solar observatories on Earth. While other observatories may include some facets of research related to the Sun, this map identifies those optical and radio observatories whose primary purpose is the study and … Continue reading

Posted in aerospace, Africa, Asia, Astronomy, China, civics, Communications, digital communications, education, engineering, environment, Europe, geography, government, history, humanity, India, infrastructure, land use, Latin America, light pollution, Maps, military, mountains, nature, North America, Oceania, Outer Space, pictures, place names, planning, politics, pollution, Radio, Russia, Science, Skies, solar, South America, space, spatial design, technology, tourism, Transportation, Travel, urban planning, visual pollution, weather | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A sobering trip to the Trinity Site

It’s hard to encapsulate all the thoughts that come to mind when visiting the Trinity Site in south-central New Mexico. One cannot help but be impressed by the science and ingenuity that created the atomic bomb, but that is greatly … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, Asia, atomic age, cities, Europe, historic preservation, history, injustice, Maps, military, opinion, peace, pictures, politics, product design, Science, technology, tourism, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Living amid an “Ecology of Fear”

I recently read Ecology of Fear: Los Angeles and the Imagination of Disaster by the late Mike Davis. It is an intriguing book that switches from whimsical to dark and foreboding at the turn of a page. In fact, the … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, Africa, Animals, archaeology, art, Asia, book reviews, books, branding, business, Canada, Cars, cities, civics, Civil Rights, civility, climate, climate change, commerce, Communications, culture, demographics, density, diversity, economic development, economics, ecosystems, education, entertainment, entrepreneurship, environment, film, fun, futurism, geography, Geology, government, Guns, Handguns, health, highways, hiking, historic preservation, history, homelessness, Housing, human rights, humanity, immigration, inclusiveness, India, industry, infrastructure, injustice, land use, Latin America, literature, marketing, money, movies, music, natural history, nature, opinion, planning, politics, pollution, poverty, psychology, racism, reading, Religion, revitalization, schools, Science, Science fiction, Sexism, Small business, social equity, Social media, spatial design, Statistics, sustainability, technology, Television, theaters, topography, tourism, Trade, traffic, transportation, Travel, unemployment, urban design, urban planning, visual pollution, weather, Wilderness, Wildlife, Women, writing, zoning | 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

Cricket grounds with the largest capacity in South Asia

Below are the largest active cricket grounds, listed by capacity, in South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Afghanistan, Bhutan, and the Maldives). A minimum seating capacity of 20,000 was required for inclusion in the list. It is actually … Continue reading

Posted in architecture, Asia, cities, civics, culture, entertainment, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, India, infrastructure, land use, pictures, placemaking, recreation, spatial design, sports, Statistics, tourism, Travel, urban design | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Humorous nicknames for complicated freeway interchanges

“The Beast,” “The Octopus,” or “East Delay” just east of downtown LA – Source: maps.google.com Below are the humorous names given to complicated freeway interchanges. The most common terms tend to be “Spaghetti Junction” (20), “Spaghetti Bowl” (6), “Malfunction Junction” … Continue reading

Posted in Africa, Asia, branding, Canada, Cars, cities, commerce, distribution, engineering, Europe, geography, highways, history, infrastructure, land use, Maps, North America, Oceania, pictures, place names, planning, spatial design, sprawl, topography, traffic, transportation, Travel, urban planning | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Top ten (10) tallest airport control towers by continent

Cairo’s Airport Control Tower design – Source: acams.com Below are lists of the ten tallest airport control towers in each continent (other than Antarctica), as well as a comparison of the average height for each continent. The lists are based … Continue reading

Posted in aerospace, Africa, air travel, airport planning, airports, architecture, Asia, aviation, cities, Communications, Europe, geography, history, infrastructure, land use, North America, Oceania, pictures, planning, skylines, South America, spatial design, Statistics, tourism, traffic, transportation, Travel, urban planning | 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

Cities with a lengthy formal, original, or ceremonial name

Below are twelve cities around the globe that have very long formal, original, or ceremonial names. Needless to say, these would be tough to include on postage or any document for that matter. The majority have long names associated with … Continue reading

Posted in advertising, Asia, cities, civics, Communications, culture, Europe, fun, geography, history, Language, Latin America, North America, place names, Religion | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Applying facets of Vastu Shastra to address climate change

Vastu Shastra doctrine are ancient spiritual design priciples that can be described as follows: “Vastu is the art of living in harmony with the land, such that one derives the greatest benefits and prosperity from being in perfect equilibrium with … Continue reading

Posted in archaeology, architecture, art, Asia, Astronomy, cities, civics, climate change, commerce, culture, density, ecosystems, education, environment, geography, Geology, health, historic preservation, history, Housing, humanity, India, industry, infrastructure, land use, Maps, natural history, nature, planning, rivers/watersheds, Science, spatial design, sprawl, sustainability, topography, transportation, urban design, urban planning, writing, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment