Category Archives: civics

Happy 100th Birthday to the National Park Service!

Posted on August 24, 2016 by

The National Park Service is easily my favorite federal agency and the one that deserves so much more funding than Congress has been willing to give in recent years. If I were able to be transported back to the threshold … Continue reading →

Posted in civics, environment, fun, geography, Geology, government, hiking, historic preservation, history, land use, nature, peace, recreation, sustainability, topography, tourism, Travel | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

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

Awesome Acadia turns 100

Posted on August 12, 2016 by

I have had the distinct privilege of visiting 72+ of our national parks, historic sites, battlefields, lakeshores, memorials, seashores, trails, and similar units of the National Park Service. Similarly, I have had the pleasure of visiting a variety national parks … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, bridges, civics, culture, environment, fun, geography, Geology, government, hiking, historic preservation, history, land use, nature, peace, placemaking, planning, recreation, spatial design, sustainability, topography, tourism, trails, Travel, walking, Wildlife | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Building a peaceful community with good planning

Posted on July 22, 2016 by

Building a peaceful community does not just result from how we treat one another (see previous post), but can be literally develop based on how we design our communities and allocate funding. The days of the “wrong side of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, Advocacy, airports, Alternative transportation, architecture, Bus transportation, Cars, cities, civics, civility, climate change, commerce, culture, diversity, economic development, environment, gentrification, geography, health, historic preservation, history, homelessness, Housing, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, Love, new urbanism, peace, placemaking, planning, pollution, poverty, rail, revitalization, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, sustainability, third places, traffic, transit, transportation, Travel, urban planning, walking, zoning | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ten ways urban planners can promote a peaceful community

Posted on July 19, 2016 by

To a certain extent these are common sense approaches to maintaining peace during the planning process, but considering the extent of rancor and divisiveness in our nation and around the world, I thought they would be useful. They are presented in no … Continue reading →

Posted in cities, civics, civility, humanity, inclusiveness, peace, planning, social equity, urban planning | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Portland Conundrum 

Posted on June 20, 2016 by

Below is an eye-opening summary of the housing market in Portland, Oregon from the perspective of a new resident to the region, who also happens to be an urban planner and a friend of mine. The parallels to what we … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, cities, civics, civility, climate change, culture, demographics, diversity, economic development, economics, environment, fitness, food systems, futurism, gentrification, geography, health, holiday, Housing, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, logistics, Maps, new urbanism, placemaking, planning, politics, revitalization, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, sustainability, transit, transportation, urban planning, walking, zoning | 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