Category Archives: entrepreneurship

Roadside Americana: Atomic age stops, sights, and oddities

Posted on June 26, 2020 by

This blogpost is a little adventure through the sights and sounds of America’s roadside culture to depict how the Atomic Age has impacted it since 1945. A whole variety of businesses have adopted the term “atomic” or some variation thereof … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, advertising, archaeology, architecture, art, atomic age, branding, brewpubs, cities, coffee shops/cafes, Communications, consumerism, Cuisine, culture, economic development, entertainment, entrepreneurship, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, land use, Maps, marketing, military, place names, placemaking, Science, Science fiction, signs, technology, theaters, third places, toponymy, tourism, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ten Planning Lessons from San Antonio

Posted on March 1, 2020 by

Here are my ten (10) planning lessons from one of America’s most enjoyable and dynamic large cities – San Antonio, Texas. San Antonio’s River Walk can easily be classified as one of America’s “most iconic planning efforts.” It helped set … Continue reading →

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, archaeology, architecture, bicycling, branding, cities, commerce, Cuisine, culture, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, entrepreneurship, food trucks, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, Mexico, placemaking, planning, revitalization, rivers/watersheds, skylines, spatial design, sprawl, third places, tourism, traffic, trails, transportation, Travel, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ten Planning Lessons from Chicago’s Northside Neighborhoods

Posted on October 23, 2019 by

  Below is my list of top ten planning lessons garnered from visits to nearly all of Northside Chicago neighborhoods over the past few years, especially those located to the north and east of I-90/94 (The Kennedy Expressway). Even with … Continue reading →

Posted in Active transportation, architecture, art, bicycling, bike sharing, Biking, branding, cities, civics, civility, commerce, Cuisine, culture, demographics, density, diversity, entertainment, entrepreneurship, gentrification, geography, historic preservation, history, Housing, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, Maps, new urbanism, place names, placemaking, planning, Railroads, shopping, skylines, spatial design, third places, tourism, traffic, transit, transportation, Travel, urban planning, walking, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Thriving and Inclusive First-Ring/Inner Suburbs

Posted on September 5, 2019 by

As metropolitan areas grow in population or enlarge their land area by sprawl, gradually, the innermost or first-ring suburbs start to experience some of the same problems that the core city have found challenging. This is particularly true in regions … Continue reading →

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, architecture, art, bicycling, cities, civics, colleges, commerce, culture, density, diversity, economic development, economic gardening, education, entertainment, entrepreneurship, fun, geography, government, health, historic preservation, history, Housing, human rights, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, new urbanism, Passenger rail, placemaking, planning, racism, revitalization, Science, shopping, skylines, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, third places, tourism, traffic, transit, urban planning, walking, zoning | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Crafting a Perfect Brewery Name, Logo, and Slogan

Posted on July 24, 2019 by

Favorite craft brewery names/logos/slogans and why they are so good: *BEST NAME: Stormcloud Brewing of Frankfort, MI – This is my all time favorite name for a brewery and they have a great logo, as well.  If you’ve ever seen a fierce … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, beer, branding, brewpubs, business, Canada, cities, commerce, Communications, consumerism, Cuisine, culture, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, entrepreneurship, geography, historic preservation, history, land use, marketing, place names, placemaking, planning, product design, third places, tourism, Trade, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ten Planning Lessons from Detroit’s Eastern Market

Posted on November 8, 2018 by

Anyone fortunate enough to visit engaging Detroit’s Eastern Market knows exactly what I am talking about in this post. Enjoy the list below! Great third places like Detroit’s Eastern Market can and will survive and thrive through both good and … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, agriculture, business, cities, commerce, consumerism, culture, economic gardening, economics, entertainment, entrepreneurship, Food, food systems, fun, geography, health, history, infrastructure, land use, placemaking, planning, revitalization, shopping, Small business, social equity, spatial design, sustainability, third places, tourism, Travel, urban planning, walking | Tagged , , | 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

Hot Dog Stands and Shops With Clever Names

Posted on July 18, 2018 by

To celebrate National Hot Dog Day on Wednesday, July 18th, I thought I’d list the best names for hot dog stands and shops from across the country. Coney Islands are also included in this list. Please feel free to submit … Continue reading →

Posted in branding, business, cities, Cuisine, culture, economic gardening, entrepreneurship, Food, food systems, food trucks, fun, geography, land use, placemaking, planning, third places, tourism, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Dollar Stores Are Gutting Small Town Retailers

Posted on July 12, 2018 by

Drive through many small towns across America these days and you are almost sure to see a dollar store of one brand or other (or multiple stores) at the edge of town along the main drag or on the bypass. … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, architecture, business, cities, commerce, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, entrepreneurship, geography, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, placemaking, planning, product design, shopping, sprawl, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Demonstrating Pride of Place: A Tale of Three Towns

Posted on July 9, 2018 by

Generally, one can fairly quickly determine the strength of community pride shortly after entering a city or town. This is especially true in small town, where there are fewer opportunities to make first or lasting impression due to its relative … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, art, branding, cities, commerce, culture, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, entrepreneurship, geography, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, placemaking, planning, spatial design, third places, tourism, trails, Travel, urban planning, walking | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment