Category Archives: economics

Forgotten fallout: The victims of the Trinity Site atomic bomb test

Generally, history has identified the residents of Hiroshima, Japan as being the first to die and suffer the horrific consequences of an atomic bomb. There is no doubt they were the first to die and the extent of their suffering … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, archaeology, atomic age, charities, civics, deserts, economics, environment, family, Food, geography, government, health, Health care, history, humanity, injustice, military, Native Americans, pictures, politics, pollution, poverty, racism, Science, States, Statistics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Three superb and fresh reads about Los Angeles

“These three books will certainly introduce readers to the width and breadth of mighty Los Angeles. If that entity, however you define it, resists a simple explanation, then so be it. For that may be one of the LA’s most endearing and enduring qualities.” Continue reading

Posted in art, book reviews, books, business, Cars, cities, culture, diversity, downtown, economics, entertainment, environment, fun, geography, government, Highway displacement, highways, hiking, historic preservation, history, homelessness, Housing, humanity, immigration, inclusiveness, industry, infrastructure, injustice, land use, literature, mountains, movies, Music, natural history, nature, new urbanism, placemaking, planning, pollution, racism, rail, recreation, Renewable Energy, revitalization, skylines, social equity, songs, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, sustainability, technology, Television, third places, topography, tourism, Trade, traffic, trails, transit, transportation, Travel, trucking, urban design, urban planning, walking, weather, Wildlife, writing, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Timeless Portraits of the Oklahoma Panhandle

Some places seem to remain largely fixed in time despite the constant changes that occur in the world around them. The narrow strip of land, affectionately known as the Oklahoma Panhandle, is just one of those places. Even today, the … Continue reading

Posted in agriculture, archaeology, books, business, cities, climate change, commerce, culture, economics, energy, environment, geography, historic preservation, history, humanity, infrastructure, land use, Maps, Mining, movies, Native Americans, nature, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, poverty, rail, Railroads, Renewable Energy, scenic byways, Skies, skylines, Small business, spatial design, Statistics, topography, toponymy, tourism, Trade, transportation, Travel, weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Opinion: Greed is destroying college football

With today’s (July 1, 2022) announcement of USC and UCLA moving to the Big Ten Conference in 2024, another nail has been hammered into the coffin of college football. Effectively, only two or three conferences (SEC, Big Ten, and ACC) … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, branding, business, colleges, commerce, culture, economics, education, entertainment, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, injustice, marketing, money, opinion, politics, social equity, sports, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Building solar farms on closed landfills in Massachusetts

As the list directly below demonstrates, over the past decade more than 80 communities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts have successfully turned their closed brownfield landfills into green energy producing “bright fields.” Acton Landfill = 1.59 megawatt solar array on … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, Advocacy, Astronomy, business, cities, civics, climate, climate change, economic development, economics, ecosystems, energy, engineering, environment, geography, history, infrastructure, land use, Maps, nature, pictures, planning, politics, product design, Renewable Energy, Science, solar, spatial design, States, Statistics, sustainability, technology, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The global network of subsea digital communication cables and the coastal hub cities that stand to benefit from them

Despite the fanfare surrounding satellite networks, subsea cables still transmit 99 percent of all data between continents. Much like the interstate highway system, airline networks, and railways, undersea global communication cables form a hub and spoke system, albeit being somewhat … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, Africa, architecture, Asia, business, cities, commerce, Communications, digital communications, distribution, ecommerce, economic development, economic gardening, economics, engineering, environment, Europe, futurism, geography, globalization, government, history, industry, infrastructure, internet, land use, logistics, Maps, marketing, nature, North America, Oceania, placemaking, planning, politics, Science, Social media, South America, spatial design, spying, Statistics, technology, topography, Trade, traffic, urban planning, video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How do you solve a logistics problem like Chicago?

If you have traveled through metropolitan Chicago by car, truck, train, or plan, you know how difficult it is to negotiate. Being situated near the base of Lake Michigan makes it a natural choke point for travel and distribution. As … Continue reading

Posted in air travel, airport planning, airports, aviation, business, Cars, cities, commerce, distribution, ecommerce, economic development, economics, geography, Great Lakes, highways, industry, infrastructure, land use, logistics, Maps, Passenger rail, pictures, planning, rail, Railroads, shipping, spatial design, Statistics, topography, Trade, traffic, transportation, Travel, trucking, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Great Ore Docks of the Great Lakes – Updated

Iron ore docks are one of the most iconic symbols of the northern Great Lakes. From the last quarter of the 19th-century to the mid-20th century these enormous timber or steel/concrete structures dominated the skylines of places like Ashland, Duluth, … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, archaeology, architecture, Canada, cities, economics, geography, Geology, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, Mining, placemaking, planning, rail, Railroads, shipping, topography, transportation, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Ten Planning Lessons from Old West Ghost Towns

On a recent visit to Arizona and New Mexico, my son and I had the opportunity to visit/view three ghost towns – Fairbank, Arizona; Shakespeare, New Mexico; and Steins, New Mexico. Each had its own history to tell about the … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, Advocacy, agriculture, archaeology, architecture, art, cities, commerce, culture, economics, environment, fun, geography, Geology, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, Mining, pictures, placemaking, planning, pollution, Railroads, revitalization, spatial design, Statistics, sustainability, topography, tourism, Trade, transportation, Travel, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment