Category Archives: environment

America’s First Great Town Planners…

Posted on May 30, 2019 by

…were not William Penn (Philadelphia), Pierre Charles L’Enfant (Washington, DC), James Oglethorpe (Savannah), nor other post-Columbian examples. No, America’s first great town planners were the Native American Indians. Whether they were the builders of magnificent cliff dwellings and mesa-topped pueblos … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, art, cities, civics, culture, education, environment, geography, Geology, historic preservation, history, humanity, land use, Native Americans, placemaking, planning, spatial design, topography, tourism, Travel, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Old West Personified in a Town’s Iconic Name

Posted on March 21, 2019 by

Frontier Towns, Chapter 2: Pecos, Texas Few names portray a better image of the Old West than “Pecos.” The Pecos River is the natural dividing line between central and western Texas, as to the west of this iconic river the … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, architecture, books, branding, cartoons, cities, civics, commerce, culture, deserts, downtown, economic development, environment, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, Maps, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, recreation, spatial design, topography, tourism, Trade, transportation, Travel, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Town That Was Moved Four Times!

Posted on March 13, 2019 by

The first of our new “Frontier Towns” series is about the historic Great Plains town of Julesburg, Colorado. At the crossroads of multiple important and historic transcontinental routes lies the quaint Great Plains town of Julesburg, Colorado. This classic western … Continue reading →

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, architecture, bicycling, Biking, branding, cities, civics, commerce, culture, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, environment, film, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, Maps, movies, nature, Passenger rail, place names, placemaking, planning, rail, Railroads, recreation, rivers/watersheds, signs, Small business, sustainability, theaters, topography, tourism, Trade, trails, transportation, Travel, urban planning, Welcome | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Airlines Need to Respect Small and Mid-sized Markets, Too

Posted on February 22, 2019 by

Over the past weekend (Feb.17/18), my wife and I went through airline/airport hell during the latter half of our trip home from a wonderful vacation in Arizona. While we didn’t mind the extra four hours in the sunny Southwest due … Continue reading →

Posted in aerospace, air travel, airport planning, airports, aviation, business, cities, commerce, deregulation, economic development, environment, geography, history, infrastructure, land use, planning, shipping, Statistics, tourism, transportation, Travel, urban planning, weather | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Groundhog Day Special: You survived a polar vortex, when…

Posted on February 1, 2019 by

With Groundhog Day tomorrow, here are a few light-hearted, post-polar vortex thoughts from Northwest Lower Michigan. Please feel free to pass along your fun quips too and they will be added. …20 degrees fahrenheit feels like a frigging heat wave. … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, environment, fun, weather | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Icy Wonders of Nature

Posted on January 26, 2019 by

Living “Up North” in Michigan can present some challenges during the winter months. But, it can also often instill a complete sense of awe and wonder. The beauty of freshly fallen snow, the reflective subtleties created by moonlight on the … Continue reading →

Posted in art, environment, fun, geography, nature, pictures, rivers/watersheds, Science, tourism, Travel, weather | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Descriptive Detail of Inuit Town Names

Posted on December 18, 2018 by

As Inuit town names are being reestablished in the Arctic regions of Canada, Alaska, and Greenland, this author has found them to often be much more interesting and descriptive than the former English or Danish (in Greenland) names. Too often, … Continue reading →

Posted in Arctic, Canada, cities, civics, culture, diversity, environment, Europe, geography, land use, Language, North America, place names, placemaking, planning, topography, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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

Ten Planning Lessons From Warsaw, Indiana

Posted on June 5, 2018 by

Warsaw, Indiana may not be the first place on most folks lists of planning trend setters across the nation, but in most any community one can find both good and bad lessons to learn from. This prosperous city along with … Continue reading →

Posted in bicycling, bike sharing, business, Cars, cities, commerce, Communications, demographics, downtown, economic development, environment, geography, Health care, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, placemaking, planning, revitalization, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, technology, tourism, traffic, transportation, urban planning, walking, zoning | 2 Comments

Fishy Town Names

Posted on June 3, 2018 by

Here’s my working list of cities, towns, and villages that are named after fish, fish related activities, or include some form of fish terminology in their name. Please note that in some instances the place name may not have originally … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, cities, environment, fun, geography, history, Language, nature, place names, Wildlife | Tagged , | 2 Comments