Category Archives: civility

Should Struggling Cities Be Renamed?

Posted on July 7, 2019 by

Everyone loves a good comeback story like is currently happening in Detroit. However,there are some cities that have languished in a depressed economic state for so long (some for 100 years), that their very name can evoke a negative impression. … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, branding, business, cities, civics, civility, commerce, Communications, culture, economic development, economic gardening, Economy, futurism, geography, government, history, infrastructure, land use, marketing, place names, placemaking, planning, politics, spatial design, Statistics, sustainability, topography, tourism, Travel, urban planning, Welcome | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Hell’s Worth of Wickedness in One Cowtown

Posted on April 17, 2019 by

Frontier Towns, Chapter 4: Ellsworth, Kansas   “As we go to press, hell is still in session in Ellsworth.”  That’s a famous newspaper headline dating from 1873 about the situation in Ellsworth, Kansas. Ellsworth may have been situated along the … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, Animals, architecture, cities, civility, commerce, geography, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, Maps, placemaking, planning, rail, Railroads, shipping, tourism, Trade, transportation, Travel | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pendulum Urban Planning – The Wild Ride Between Pro and Anti-development

Posted on March 2, 2019 by

As with nearly every other topic these days, there are strongly held viewpoints in planning circles over development. It seems like either you must be pro-development in all cases, or anti-development in all cases, with no room for middle ground. … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, cities, civics, civility, Communications, culture, diversity, education, gentrification, history, land use, planning, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, urban planning | Leave a comment

Top Eleven Planning Lessons from Lisbon, Portugal

Posted on October 8, 2018 by

Below are my top eleven (11) planning lessons from a delightful week-long trip to Lisboa (Lisbon), Portugal in late September. Many more could be added this list, but for brevity’s sake we’ll stay with these eleven (11) for now. They … Continue reading →

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, architecture, art, cities, civics, civility, Cuisine, culture, diversity, downtown, entertainment, entrepreneurship, environment, Europe, Food, fun, geography, Geology, historic preservation, history, humanity, inclusiveness, land use, music, nature, pictures, placemaking, planning, Portugal, revitalization, spatial design, topography, tourism, transit, transportation, Travel, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Derogatory place nicknames – UPDATE # 4

Posted on August 13, 2018 by

Last weekend (originally published in 2013) a derogatory nickname was overheard for a city here in Michigan that I had never heard expressed before in my 21 (now 26) years of being a resident of this state. For some reason … Continue reading →

Posted in cities, civics, civility, culture, general, geography, history, humanity, inclusiveness, poverty, racism, revitalization, Sexism, writing | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

“Just Mercy” Will Rip Your Heart to Shreds

Posted on June 11, 2018 by

In all my years, I have never read a more disturbing, yet compelling book. The injustice and inhumanity described in Just Mercy will literally rip your heart to shreds and bring tears to your eyes. Just Mercy must be made … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, art, book reviews, books, charities, civics, Civil Rights, civility, culture, diversity, history, human rights, humanity, inclusiveness, injustice, literature, politics, poverty, reading, social equity, Statistics, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Great ‘Reverse’ Migration May Be Disastrous for Many Northern Cities and States

Posted on June 8, 2018 by

Between 1916 and 1970, more than six million African-Americans migrated northward to work in factories and live in cities across the Northeast and Midwest. Today, there is mounting evidence that this great migration has reversed itself, as those who can … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, cities, civics, Civil Rights, civility, culture, demographics, economic development, economic gardening, Economy, education, entrepreneurship, family, geography, government, history, Housing, humanity, immigration, inclusiveness, planning, politics, poverty, social equity, Statistics, urban planning | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Designate I-85 the “Civil Rights Freedomway”

Posted on May 3, 2018 by

It is my suggestion that Interstate 85 (I-85) Between Virginia and Alabama should be named the Civil Rights Freedomway. I make this suggestion because of the large number of important historical sites of the Civil Rights era located along or … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, Advocacy, Bus transportation, charities, cities, civics, Civil Rights, civility, culture, diversity, geography, historic preservation, history, human rights, humanity, inclusiveness, land use, Maps, peace, placemaking, planning, politics, poverty, social equity, tourism, trails, transportation, Travel, volunteerism | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mending Interstate Injustice – Freeway Capping Projects

Posted on April 28, 2018 by

In recent years there has been an effort in some cities to mend some of the wounds of Interstate Highway era gashes that were savagely cut through American cities. A method for healing these scars has been to cap the … Continue reading →

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, Advocacy, architecture, Cars, cities, Civil Rights, civility, density, diversity, downtown, economic development, environment, geography, Green roofs, historic preservation, history, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, pictures, placemaking, planning, poverty, racism, revitalization, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, transit, transportation, Travel, tunnels, urban planning, walking, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

No words…

Posted on April 26, 2018 by

…can possibly describe the sad and disturbing aspect of American history depicted by the new National Memorial for Peace and Justice (a.k.a. Lynching Memorial) that opened today (4/25/18) in Montgomery, Alabama. I will let these photographs of this solemn site … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Rights, civility, diversity, history, human rights, humanity, inclusiveness, peace, pictures, racism, social equity, Statistics | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment