Category Archives: Biking

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

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 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

A single sidewalk can make a huge difference

It’s not often when one can witness the palpable difference infrastructure can make on the micro level. However, a small summer cottage beach neighborhood on Lake Wawasee, Indiana presents just such an opportunity. Here, the Natti Crow Beach neighborhood installed … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, Advocacy, art, bicycling, Biking, civics, Communications, culture, entertainment, family, fun, health, hiking, history, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, lakes, land use, pictures, placemaking, planning, product design, recreation, spatial design, third places, transportation, urban planning, walking | 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

Stunning art along Detroit’s Dequindre Cut

We had the pleasure of biking the length of Detroit’s wonderful Dequindre Cut Greenway in both directions today. The murals and graffiti art are magnificent. Here are some photographs of just a few of these amazing works. Enjoy!

Posted in archaeology, architecture, art, bicycling, Biking, Cities, civility, culture, diversity, downtown, economic development, entertainment, fitness, fun, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, pictures, placemaking, planning, recreation, revitalization, spatial design, third places, topography, tourism, trails, Transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, walking | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Favorite scenic byways and roadways traveled

Below, listed in alphabetical order, are my favorite scenic byways and highways that I’ve traveled from across the United States. Those shown in bold would be at the top of my list. No freeways, toll roads, or interstate highways allowed … Continue reading

Posted in archaeology, architecture, art, Biking, Cars, culture, deserts, ecosystems, entertainment, environment, Food, fun, geography, Geology, Great Lakes, highways, hiking, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, nature, peace, pictures, placemaking, planning, rivers/watersheds, scenic byways, spatial design, sustainability, topography, tourism, trails, transportation, Travel, walking, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ten planning lessons from “Unsinkable” Leadville, CO

The historic hometown of the Unsinkable Molly Brown is a scenic gem set high in the Colorado Rockies. Leadville happens to be the highest elevation city in the United States at officially 10,152 feet above sea level. This historic mining … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, Alternative transportation, archaeology, architecture, art, bicycling, bike sharing, Biking, branding, cities, civics, commerce, culture, downtown, economic development, entertainment, environment, fitness, fun, geography, Geology, health, highways, hiking, historic preservation, history, Housing, humanity, industry, infrastructure, land use, Maps, Mining, nature, pictures, place names, placemaking, pollution, recreation, revitalization, spatial design, Statistics, third places, topography, tourism, traffic, trails, Travel, urban design, urban planning, walking, weather, Wildlife, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

One planner’s guide to non-fiction books about specific cities

Nearly every city has at least one unique story to tell about itself and some cities are filled with many interesting ones. The story(ies) may be due to conflict or upheaval, its unique culture or geography, a natural or human … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, Advocacy, bicycling, Biking, book reviews, books, cities, civics, civility, climate change, commerce, culture, demographics, economic development, ecosystems, environment, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, Housing, humanity, infrastructure, land use, literature, nature, place names, placemaking, planning, reading, revitalization, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, third places, tourism, Trade, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, writing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment