Category Archives: Civil Rights

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

New “Austin Towers” will soon be spying over Texas

For multiple decades the tallest building in Texas has been located in either Dallas, Houston, or San Antonio. That fact is about to change, as the booming state capital of Austin will soon takeover this vertical leadership role in the … Continue reading

Posted in architecture, art, branding, business, cities, civics, Civil Rights, civility, commerce, Cuisine, culture, diversity, downtown, economic development, engineering, gentrification, geography, highways, historic preservation, history, Housing, human rights, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, pictures, placemaking, planning, poverty, skylines, skyscrapers, sprawl, spying, Statistics, third places, tourism, traffic, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The planning profession could use some anarchy!

Just before the climatic car race scene in the movie Grease, John Travolta’s opponent turns to him and says the following: Well, in the urban planning field, one can definitely NOT say “there ain’t no rules.” And that’s a problem. … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, cities, civics, Civil Rights, civility, Communications, culture, demographics, digital communications, diversity, education, government, history, homelessness, Housing, human rights, humanity, inclusiveness, Labor, land use, movies, Native Americans, opinion, peace, pictures, planning, poverty, Religion, social equity, Social media, spatial design, sustainability, urban design, urban planning, video, Welcome, Women, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

A comparison between Burning Man’s Black Rock City and the Greater World Earthship Community

The American West is blessed with two modern utopian communities — Burning Man’s Black Rock City on a high desert playa in northwestern Nevada and the Greater World Earthship Community located west of Taos, New Mexico. As Burning Man/Black Rock … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, Advocacy, Alternative energy, architecture, art, branding, cities, civics, Civil Rights, civility, climate change, Communications, culture, deregulation, deserts, diversity, economic development, energy, entertainment, entrepreneurship, environment, food systems, fun, futurism, geography, government, health, history, Housing, human rights, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, literature, Maps, marketing, minimalism, nature, peace, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, politics, product design, recycling, Renewable Energy, social equity, spatial design, sustainability, technology, third places, tourism, Trade, Travel, urban design, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“RESET” – Where planning intersects sci-fi and John Lennon

Imagine if you will, a place and time where society has barely survived nuclear armageddon (the Last War) and reestablished itself in four (4) distinct, unique, climate-controlled, and self-sustained cities in the Mojave Desert – Callisto, Lysithea, Europa, and Elara. This utopian society was founded by an omnipotent Planner by employing wisdom derived from the lyrics of John Lennon’s most enduring song – “Imagine.” Continue reading

Posted in archaeology, art, atomic age, book reviews, books, cities, Civil Rights, civility, culture, entertainment, futurism, government, health, history, Housing, human rights, humanity, literature, Love, planning, reading, Science, Science fiction, songs, spatial design, sustainability, urban planning, Women, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ten planning lessons they didn’t teach you in school

The following insights are not covered sufficiently in planning school. The planning community should work with accredited schools to assure that future graduates are aware of these issues and are better equipped to handle/address them. These are presented in no … Continue reading

Posted in civics, Civil Rights, civility, colleges, Communications, culture, feminism, gentrification, health, Highway displacement, homelessness, inclusiveness, injustice, land use, opinion, planning, politics, Privatization, racism, Sexism, social equity, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The racist rot that has corroded St. Louis and America

“The imperium of St. Louis (and thus of the United States) is continually framed by the history of genocide, removal, and the expropriation and control of land — all justified in the name of white supremacy.” Page 6 The recently … Continue reading

Posted in art, book reviews, books, cities, civics, Civil Rights, commerce, culture, demographics, diversity, economic development, feminism, geography, government, health, Highway displacement, history, Housing, human rights, humanity, immigration, inclusiveness, injustice, land use, literature, Native Americans, planning, politics, poverty, racism, Railroads, rivers/watersheds, Sexism, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, urban design, urban planning, Women, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Memphis – “The Cradle of American Music”

  Yes, Nashville may bill itself as “Music City” and Austin claims to be America’s “Live Music Capital,” but if there is one city in the United States that has truly given birth to the greatest variety of music genre … Continue reading

Posted in air travel, architecture, art, aviation, branding, business, cities, civics, Civil Rights, Communications, culture, demographics, diversity, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, entrepreneurship, fun, geography, globalization, historic preservation, history, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, logistics, Maps, music, music reviews, placemaking, planning, Radio, rivers/watersheds, social equity, songs, Statistics, theaters, third places, tourism, Trade, transportation, Travel, urban planning, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The pioneers behind historic Black-owned pharmacies

A quick trip to the drugstore sounds like a typically mundane shopping adventure we all have taken from time to time. Unfortunately, for Black Americans, especially during America’s Jim Crow segregation era, a trip to the pharmacy for prescriptions or … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, Africa, business, cities, civics, Civil Rights, civility, commerce, consumerism, culture, demographics, diversity, economic development, education, entrepreneurship, geography, health, Health care, historic preservation, history, humanity, inclusiveness, injustice, land use, North America, pictures, placemaking, planning, politics, racism, Science, shopping, social equity, States, third places, urban planning, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Historical geography of the Blues in America

The list below identifies the historical geography of 17 different styles of “the Blues”. Given multitudes of music genres and sub-genres, it is likely that other forms could have been included. The locations are listed by the decade in which … Continue reading

Posted in art, cities, Civil Rights, commerce, Communications, culture, entertainment, geography, historic preservation, history, injustice, Maps, music, placemaking, planning, poverty, social equity, third places, tourism, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment