Category Archives: economic development

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

Two downtown pedestrian malls that work and work very well

Posted on May 19, 2017 by

I have now had the pleasure of recently visiting two American cities with hugely successful pedestrian malls in their downtown core – St. Augustine, Florida and Boulder, Colorado. During the 1960s and 70s, pedestrian malls were seen as a possible … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, Advocacy, architecture, art, bicycling, Biking, branding, cities, civics, coffee shops/cafes, colleges, commerce, Cuisine, culture, density, downtown, economic development, entertainment, Food, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, Housing, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, Maps, pictures, placemaking, planning, shopping, spatial design, third places, tourism, traffic, transit, transportation, Travel, urban planning, walking, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

America’s oddest air terminal

Posted on April 3, 2017 by

First opened in 1935, Woolsey Memorial Airport is located near Northport, Michigan, close to the northernmost point of the Leelanau Peninsula.  As is evident from the following photos, this charming 200 acre airport facility is home to one of the … Continue reading →

Posted in aerospace, air travel, airport planning, airports, architecture, aviation, commerce, economic development, fun, geography, placemaking, planning, revitalization, tourism, transportation, Travel | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

From protective to active – repurposing historic city walls

Posted on March 23, 2017 by

When we think of city walls, some of the first images that come to mind are imposing structures erected as a protective or defensive barrier. More often than not, city walls were constructed from stone, masonry, brick, and/or concrete. Unfortunately, … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, architecture, bicycling, Canada, cities, culture, economic development, entertainment, environment, Europe, fitness, geography, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, placemaking, planning, recreation, revitalization, spatial design, topography, tourism, transportation, Travel, walking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“The D” in our destiny is Detroit

Posted on March 11, 2017 by

In graduate school nearly 30 years ago, one of the courses I took at Virginia Tech was Urban Economic Geography. In this class, the primary textbook was entitled, Detroit: Race and Uneven Development. Even though I was born and raised … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, architecture, branding, cities, civics, culture, diversity, downtown, economic development, entrepreneurship, geography, government, historic preservation, history, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, pictures, placemaking, planning, revitalization, spatial design, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Motor City soars to new heights

Posted on February 23, 2017 by

Yesterday, it was announced that Dan Gilbert, owner of Quicken Loans will be constructing the tallest building in the State of Michigan on the site of the former Hudson’s Department store in downtown Detroit. The tower is proposed to contain … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, architecture, cities, downtown, economic development, entertainment, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, Housing, infrastructure, land use, new urbanism, placemaking, planning, revitalization, skylines, skyscrapers, spatial design, third places, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

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