Category Archives: books

The “not-so good” war

Posted on August 19, 2016 by

Often, as Americans we are told that World War II was “the good war.” But, is that really the case or is it just an example of the victors writing history to serve their needs? No one is disputing that … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, art, book reviews, books, civics, civility, Communications, culture, diversity, entertainment, geography, government, historic preservation, history, human rights, humanity, literature, military, peace, politics, racism, social equity, writing | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Kerouac’s eloquence in “The Dharma Bums”

Posted on June 2, 2016 by

I love reading books penned by Jack Kerouac. Somehow, his freewheeling eloquence with the written word just lifts imagery and wisdom right off the page and into your soul’s deepest crevasses. Earlier today I finished reading The Dharma Bums and … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, art, Asia, book reviews, books, civics, Communications, culture, entertainment, environment, geography, hiking, homelessness, humanity, literature, nature, peace, politics, tourism, trails, Travel, walking | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

“Brainbelt” cities

Posted on May 31, 2016 by

I recently completed reading an interested and insightful book entitled The Smartest Places on Earth. Written by Antoine Van Agtmael and Fred Bakker, the book identifies and concentrates on those Rustbelt cities in the North America and Europe that have … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, aerospace, aviation, book reviews, books, branding, business, Canada, Cars, cities, commerce, Communications, culture, economic development, economic gardening, economics, education, energy, environment, Europe, EVs and hybrids, geography, government, health, Health care, history, infrastructure, internet, land use, literature, Maps, Mexico, North America, planning, product design, Renewable Energy, revitalization, schools, Science, Small business, Social media, spatial design, States, technology, Trade, transportation, UK, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Is the glamour of domestic air travel all but lost?

Posted on April 21, 2016 by

 Interesting question in the post title, which for a lot of people is probably true unless the fly on a luxury airline, internationally, or in first class. This is the question posed by author Christopher Schaberg in his new book, entitled … Continue reading →

Posted in aerospace, air travel, airport planning, airports, aviation, book reviews, books, civility, commerce, culture, futurism | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Superhero cities

Posted on April 2, 2016 by

Below are listed famous superheroes from comic books, television, film, and cartoons and the primary city where they are based in or operate from. As some superheroes do not have a primary city where they perform feats of derring-do, those … Continue reading →

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Visions of Jack…Kerouac

Posted on March 27, 2016 by

  We spent Saturday in Lowell, Massachusetts and among the places visited were sites related to and honoring the “King of the Beats,” Jack Kerouac.        

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Urban planning portrayed through art

Posted on March 12, 2016 by

As urban planners we most often tend to think of our profession being depicted to the outside world in fairly basic textual and geographic terms. Either it is the written word in somewhat legalistic prose, or it is maps representing … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, art, books, cartoons, cities, civics, Communications, culture, film, history, humanity, inclusiveness, land use, literature, movies, music, new urbanism, pictures, placemaking, planning, Poem, spatial design, sustainability, Television, theaters, tourism, Travel, urban planning, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment