Category Archives: economic development

Longest turnpikes and tollways in North America

Posted on September 24, 2016 by

Below is a list of the longest tollways in North America based on the following criteria: Minimum distance of 40 miles At least a portion be four lanes Limited access A guide for abbreviations of provinces or countries is provided … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Cars, cities, commerce, Communications, economic development, environment, geography | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Birthplace geography of iconic pop/soda/cola brands

Posted on September 12, 2016 by

The following list identifies well-known soft drink brands (pops, sodas, and colas) from across much of North America. The criteria for inclusion in the list includes: Founded a minimum of 40 years ago – Vernor’s leading the way at 150 … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, branding, Canada, commerce, consumerism, culture, economic development, economic gardening, Food, fun, geography, history, Maps, marketing, Mexico, North America, product design, States, Statistics | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Cool map of Can-Am megaregions

Posted on August 10, 2016 by

Found this very cool map of American and Canadian mega-regions on wikipedia.

Posted in Canada, cities, demographics, economic development, fun, geography, history, land use, Maps, North America, planning, spatial design, sprawl, States, Statistics | Tagged | 1 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

Sweet Tooth Cities

Posted on June 28, 2016 by

Here’s is the list I came up with. Any additions or corrections are most welcome. These cities are not meant to be specifically named for something sweet, but instead include a sweet item in their name. Agua Dulce (Sweet Water), … Continue reading →

Posted in branding, cities, Communications, economic development, fun, geography, history, Language, nature, place names | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

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

“Brainbelt” cities

Posted on May 31, 2016 by

I recently completed reading an interested and insightful book entitled The Smartest Places on Earth. Written by Antoine Van Agtmael and Fred Bakker, the book identifies and concentrates on those Rustbelt cities in the North America and Europe that have … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, aerospace, aviation, book reviews, books, branding, business, Canada, Cars, cities, commerce, Communications, culture, economic development, economic gardening, economics, education, energy, environment, Europe, EVs and hybrids, geography, government, health, Health care, history, infrastructure, internet, land use, literature, Maps, Mexico, North America, planning, product design, Renewable Energy, revitalization, schools, Science, Small business, Social media, spatial design, States, technology, Trade, transportation, UK, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments