Category Archives: civility

Ten planning lessons from St. Augustine

Posted on June 4, 2017 by

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 | Leave a comment

“A Handmaid’s Tale” – Is fiction becoming reality?

Posted on May 22, 2017 by

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 , , , | 1 Comment

America’s most beautiful downtown – my vote is St. Augustine

Posted on May 15, 2017 by

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 , , , | Leave a comment

Applying my Quaker principles to urban planning

Posted on February 26, 2017 by

As a liberal Quaker and an urban planner, I am very intrigued by the interrelationship between these two significant aspects of my life. Back on November 6th of 2014, I summarized how the ten (10) principles of my regular yoga practice … Continue reading →

Posted in charities, cities, civics, civility, Communications, culture, education, environment, health | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The MOST important urban planning book of our time

Posted on February 11, 2017 by

I realize that the title of this post is a bold and perhaps controversial statement to make, but I truly believe that the definitive and thought-provoking publication by Salvatore Settis entitled, If Venice Dies, is the most important urban planning book … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, architecture, art, book reviews, books, branding, business, cities, civics, civility, commerce, consumerism, culture, demographics, density, economic development, entertainment, environment, Europe, geography, government, historic preservation, history, Housing, infrastructure, land use, literature, placemaking, planning, product design, recreation, revitalization, shipping, skylines, skyscrapers, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, sustainability, topography, tourism, transportation, Travel, urban planning, writing, zoning | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Venice Effect: Destination cities imperiled by mass tourism

Posted on February 3, 2017 by

Mass tourism can be roughly defined as thousands of people going to the same destination, often at the same time of the year, and often arriving in large, consecutive human waves. Examples of these human waves of tourism include, but … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, air travel, art, aviation, book reviews, books, branding, cities, civics, civility, commerce, consumerism, culture, demographics, density, diversity, downtown, economic development, entertainment, environment, gentrification, geography, globalization, historic preservation, history, Housing, humanity, infrastructure, land use, placemaking, planning, recreation, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, sustainability, tourism, traffic, transportation, Travel, urban planning, walking, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Metro areas most impacted by the new immigration ban

Posted on January 31, 2017 by

Interesting data from the Brookings Institutionis provided below which is related to existing immigrant residents in the United States from the recently banned seven (7) Muslim nations.  The data in the first chart shows those cities where these immigrant populations … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, cities, civics, civility, culture, demographics, diversity, geography, human rights, humanity, immigration, inclusiveness, planning, politics, Statistics, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment