-
Join 783 other subscribers
Authors
-
problogic
- Tuesday Tunes: Out-of-this-world rock band names
- Riding the rails of interstellar discovery at the Very Large Array
- Majestic “mesa” cities and towns around the globe
- Canada’s next supergroup – A Short Walk to Pluto
- Two migration tales of strength, hardship, and tenacity
- An out-of-this-world visit to the Very Large Array (VLA)
- Albuquerque is a national leader in water conservation
- The buzz about America’s “bee-friendly” cities
- Tallest buildings of Greater Washington, DC
- New Mexico’s protected wildlife areas along the Rio Grande
-
Blog Stats
- 1,822,240 hits
Blogroll
- Alliance for Biking and Walking
- American Planning Association
- Canadian Institute of Planners
- City Observatory
- CityLab
- Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
- Curbed Detroit
- Curbed National
- Dezeen
- FLOW – For Love of Water
- Grist
- League of American Bicyclists
- Modern Cities
- Next City
- Oil & Water Don't Mix
- Planetizen
- Royal Town Planning Institute
- Streetsblog
- Strong Towns
- The Corner Side Yard
- The Dirt
- The Gondola Project
Category Archives: civility
Two migration tales of strength, hardship, and tenacity
Far too often, certain pundits, politicos, and just plain bigots depict refugees and immigrants as criminals and/or parasites. That couldn’t be further from the truth for the vast majority of those people who are seeking a new life in another … Continue reading
Posted in Advocacy, art, book reviews, books, charities, civility, culture, diversity, education, entertainment, family, film, government, history, human rights, humanity, immigration, inclusiveness, injustice, Latin America, literature, movies, opinion, peace, politics, poverty, racism, Travel, Uncategorized, Welcome, writing
Tagged books, El Salvador, film, history, immigration, literature, migrants, migration, movies, refugees, Solito, Syria, The Swimmers, writing
Leave a comment
The buzz about America’s “bee-friendly” cities
Communities representing 37 states and the District of Columbia are listed beelow as designated “Bee City USA” members. Unfortunately, there are also 13 states without any city members including Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, … Continue reading
Posted in Advocacy, agriculture, Animal rights, Animals, cities, civics, civility, climate, climate change, culture, ecosystems, education, environment, Food, government, health, insects, land use, landscape architecture, natural and organic foods, natural history, nature, planning, Science, seasons, spatial design, States, Statistics, sustainability, tourism, Travel, urban planning, water, water conservation, Wilderness, Wildlife, xeriscaping, zoning
Tagged agriculture, animals, Bee City USA, bees, cities, climate change, Farming, flowers, fruits, insects, orchards, pesticides, pollinators, vegetables, vineyards, wildlife
Leave a comment
Forget the latest planning buzzword and just plan
First it was “context sensitive solutions,” then “cool cities,” followed by “third places,” and most recently it has been the term “15 minute city.” All of these terms (and a myriad of others) are principally buzzwords meant to promote and … Continue reading
Posted in advertising, Advocacy, books, branding, business, cities, civics, civility, Communications, consumerism, culture, education, history, land use, literature, marketing, opinion, placemaking, planning, politics, product design, reading, Social media, third places, urban planning, writing, zoning
Tagged buzzwords, cities, concepts, fads, history, ideas, land use, language, opinion, planning, trends, writing
Leave a comment
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 authors, book reviews, books, California, culture, culture wars, diversity, dystopia, environment, extrapolative, fear, geography, history, hope, inclusivness, literature, Los Angeles, maps, Mike Davis, opinion, planning, safety, security, The Ecology of Fear, writing
Leave a comment
Ten planning lessons from the death of Mountain Lion P-22
Source: Steve Winter of National Geographic via bbc.com and reddit.com The tragic death this weekend of Mountain Lion P-22 in/near Los Angeles’ Griffith Park struck a somber chord within me, much like the euthanized death of a neighborhood-roaming black bear … Continue reading
Posted in Advocacy, Animal rights, Animals, architecture, Cars, charities, cities, civility, climate, climate change, culture, ecosystems, engineering, environment, geography, Geology, government, health, Highway displacement, highways, hiking, history, humanity, infrastructure, land use, mountains, natural history, nature, opinion, Pets, pictures, placemaking, planning, recreation, rivers/watersheds, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, sustainability, topography, toponymy, tourism, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, water, water conservation, water trails, Wilderness, Wildlife, zoning
Tagged animals, cities, ecology, environment, epidemiology, geography, humanity, land use, Los Angeles, Mountain Lion P-22, planning, transportation, Traverse City, urban jungle, wildlife
Leave a comment
Twelve planning lessons from failing cities
There are likely many more planning-related lessons from failing cities that could have been added, but these are ones that initially came to mind. Any additions, suggestions, or corrections are welcome. Do NOT chase the latest fad project without doing … Continue reading
Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, business, Cars, cities, civics, civility, commerce, culture, downtown, economic development, environment, fitness, food systems, geography, government, health, Health care, Highway displacement, highways, historic preservation, history, Housing, human rights, humanity, inclusiveness, industry, infrastructure, land use, nature, new urbanism, placemaking, planning, politics, recreation, revitalization, Small business, spatial design, sustainability, third places, tourism, traffic, transportation, Travel, urban planning, visual pollution, zoning
Tagged adaptive reuse, blight, codes, failing cities, historic preservation, master plan, NGOs, non-profits, parking, parking lots
Leave a comment
Ten+1 planning lessons from Maharishi Vedic City
The Vedic/Vastu planned and designed community of Maharishi Vedic City in southeast Iowa offers a number of interesting and insightful lessons for planners. Here are the ten primary lessons from researching and visiting this unique sustainable city: 10/7/22 Addendum – … Continue reading
Posted in agriculture, Alternative energy, Alternative transportation, architecture, cities, civics, civility, climate change, culture, ecosystems, environment, geography, health, history, Housing, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, natural history, nature, placemaking, planning, product design, recreation, Renewable Energy, social equity, solar, spatial design, sustainability, urban design, urban planning, water conservation, zoning
Tagged architecture, cities, garden cities, Iowa, land use, LULUs, Maharishi Vedic City, Mandala, nature, neighborhoods, open space, planning, spatial design, sustainable, transitional zoning, urban design
Leave a comment
“Enlightened” city planning amid rural Iowa cornfields
In the film Field of Dreams, Kevin Costner’s father asks him, “Is this heaven?” His response is, “No, it’s Iowa.” Well, to some, Iowa may just be their slice of heaven, especially those who reside in and around the City … Continue reading
Posted in Active transportation, agriculture, Alternative energy, architecture, art, Asia, Astronomy, cities, civics, civility, climate change, colleges, commerce, Cuisine, culture, diversity, economic development, ecosystems, entrepreneurship, environment, food systems, geography, government, health, history, Housing, humanity, inclusiveness, India, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, Maps, natural history, nature, peace, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, Religion, Renewable Energy, social equity, solar, spatial design, sustainability, topography, tourism, trails, transportation, urban design, urban planning, Wildlife, writing, zoning
Tagged astronomy, cities, designs, enlightenment, Fairfield, Iowa, Maharishi Internatioanl University, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Maharishi Vedic City, Natural Law, planning, trails, Transcendental Meditation, Vastu Shastra, Vedic, zoning
Leave a comment
Cities and towns that have gone to the dogs: Ruff-ruff!
Below is a list of those populated places (current and former) in North America that include “dog” or its equivalent in their name. Maine seems to be the leader of places named dog with four (4) listed. As alway, any … Continue reading
Posted in Canada, cartoons, cities, civics, civility, fun, geography, history, Mexico, North America, place names, placemaking, toponymy, tourism, Travel
Tagged canine, chien, cities, dog, geography, hound, perros, place names, towns
Leave a comment