Authors
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problogic
- “Bigotsburgs of the week” – three cities with the most Confederate monuments
- “Biogotsburg of the Week” – Gardendale, Alabama
- Reestablishing “true community”
- Indian cities with the most high-rise buildings
- Poets of the pavement – local places with Poet Laureates
- Grand movie palaces of Northern Michigan
- 4/5th’s of Fleetwood Mac are infinitely better than most musicians
- A physical Brexit with Iberian flair
- Regional place names that sound like names of nations
- States/Provinces with the most carousels
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Category Archives: civics
Reestablishing “true community”
In far too many aspects of our modern lives, there is no longer “true community,” as more and more people have physically and socially walled themselves off from one another through a variety of means. Physically, these may include dead-end … Continue reading
Posted in Advocacy, Cities, civics, civility, Communications, culture, diversity, education, family, geography, globalization, Housing, human rights, humanity, land use, politics, Privatization, social equity, Social media, spatial design
Tagged common good, commonism
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Ten planning lessons from St. Augustine
Now that I’ve had a chance to ponder some about all the wondrous sights and scenes of St. Augustine, here are my ten planning lessons from that amazing city. You don’t need to be a big city to be a … Continue reading
Posted in architecture, art, cities, civics, civility, commerce, culture, diversity, downtown, economic development, entertainment, environment, geography, historic preservation, history, humanity, inclusiveness, land use, placemaking, planning, spatial design, third places, tourism, traffic, transportation, Travel, zoning
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“A Handmaid’s Tale” – Is fiction becoming reality?
Though written 32 years ago, the dystopian theocratic society described in Margaret Atwood’s striking novel bears an uncanny likeness to what is (and has been for some time) being preached and advocated by far-right political and religious zealots in our … Continue reading
Posted in art, book reviews, books, Canada, censorship, civics, civility, Communications, culture, feminism, futurism, human rights, humanity, Labor, literature, Love, Religion, Women, writing
Tagged A Handmaid's Tale, fiction, Margaret Atwood, novels
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Two downtown pedestrian malls that work and work very well
I have now had the pleasure of recently visiting two American cities with hugely successful pedestrian malls in their downtown core – St. Augustine, Florida and Boulder, Colorado. During the 1960s and 70s, pedestrian malls were seen as a possible … Continue reading
Posted in adaptive reuse, Advocacy, architecture, art, bicycling, Biking, branding, cities, civics, coffee shops/cafes, colleges, commerce, Cuisine, culture, density, downtown, economic development, entertainment, Food, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, Housing, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, Maps, pictures, placemaking, planning, shopping, spatial design, third places, tourism, traffic, transit, transportation, Travel, urban planning, walking, zoning
Tagged bikeable, Boulder, Pearl Street, pedestrian malls, St. Augustine, St. George Street, walkable
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America’s most beautiful downtown – my vote is St. Augustine
I have had the great pleasure of visiting many communities across America ranging in size from hamlet to town to major city. This includes visits to parts of 49 states. Until this past week’s visit to St. Augustine, Florida I … Continue reading
Posted in adaptive reuse, Advocacy, architecture, art, bridges, cities, civics, civility, Cuisine, culture, diversity, downtown, geography, government, historic preservation, history, humanity, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, Maps, North America, pictures, placemaking, planning, skylines, spatial design, tourism, Travel, urban planning, walking, zoning
Tagged Florida, scenic, St. Augustine, visual beauty
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The Strongest Town Contest – Championship Round
Please consider voting for my hometown of Traverse City, Michigan in the Championship Round of The 2017 Strongest Town Contest. We are up against Guelph, Ontario in the finals sponsored by strongtowns.org. The competition began three weeks ago with 16 … Continue reading
Combating the bus transit snobs
In the years preceding our move from Greater Lansing to Traverse City, there were lengthy discussions on developing some form of enhanced transit along the primary corridor in the region – Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA) Route 1 which extends … Continue reading
Posted in Active transportation, Advocacy, Bus transportation, civics, demographics, environment, geography, health, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, placemaking, planning, social equity, spatial design, transit, transportation, urban planning
Tagged bus transit, buses, mass transit, public transit
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