Category Archives: fitness

Walkable placemaking with outdoor public stairways

Note: – For purposes of this blogpost, stairways, stairs, and stair-steps are used interchangeably. Post updated 2/16/23 _______ The first time it occurred to me that outdoor stairways could be an important walkability tool for cities was while visiting Edinburgh, … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, Advocacy, Alternative transportation, archaeology, architecture, art, book reviews, books, branding, brewpubs, business, cities, civics, coffee shops/cafes, commerce, culture, demographics, diversity, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, Economy, engineering, entertainment, environment, fitness, fun, geography, government, health, Health care, hiking, historic preservation, history, Housing, humanity, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, literature, logistics, Maps, Mining, mountains, natural history, nature, new urbanism, pictures, placemaking, planning, product design, recreation, revitalization, shopping, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, Stairway networks, Statistics, sustainability, third places, topography, tourism, traffic, trails, transit, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, walking, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Celebrity bridges of the United States in pop culture

The following images and information identify 12 of the most well-known and recognizable “celebrity” bridges in the United States . These impressive structures have starred in a variety of pop culture media, including movies, documentaries, television and radio shows, books, … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, advertising, archaeology, architecture, art, bicycling, books, branding, bridges, business, Cars, cartoons, cities, civics, commerce, Communications, culture, economic development, engineering, entertainment, film, fitness, fun, geography, highways, hiking, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, movies, music, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, product design, psychology, recreation, scenic byways, Science fiction, skylines, songs, spatial design, Statistics, technology, Television, topography, tourism, Trade, traffic, trails, transit, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, video, walking, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

America’s most charming walkable neighborhood is in…

Los Angeles! Yes, you read that correctly. The city known for miles of freeways and lengthy traffic jams is also home to what this retired urban planner feels is the most charming walkable neighborhood in the United States. In fact, … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, Alternative transportation, architecture, art, books, Cars, cities, civics, culture, density, engineering, entertainment, environment, fitness, fun, geography, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, Housing, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, Maps, mountains, nature, new urbanism, parking, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, product design, recreation, skylines, spatial design, technology, third places, topography, tourism, traffic, trails, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, walking, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Twelve planning lessons from failing cities

There are likely many more planning-related lessons from failing cities that could have been added, but these are ones that initially came to mind. Any additions, suggestions, or corrections are welcome. Do NOT chase the latest fad project without doing … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, business, Cars, cities, civics, civility, commerce, culture, downtown, economic development, environment, fitness, food systems, geography, government, health, Health care, Highway displacement, highways, historic preservation, history, Housing, human rights, humanity, inclusiveness, industry, infrastructure, land use, nature, new urbanism, placemaking, planning, politics, recreation, revitalization, Small business, spatial design, sustainability, third places, tourism, traffic, transportation, Travel, urban planning, visual pollution, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Every city should have a signature hiking trail

Having hiked in numerous places around the United States and in a few other nations (Canada, England, Scotland, Ireland, and Portugal), I have found that hiking is an excellent method to become better acquainted with a new place on a … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, advertising, Advocacy, agriculture, Alternative transportation, branding, cities, civics, civility, Communications, culture, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, environment, fitness, fun, geography, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, Maps, marketing, nature, pictures, placemaking, planning, product design, recreation, rivers/watersheds, spatial design, sustainability, third places, topography, tourism, trails, transportation, Travel, urban planning, walking | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Stunning art along Detroit’s Dequindre Cut

We had the pleasure of biking the length of Detroit’s wonderful Dequindre Cut Greenway in both directions today. The murals and graffiti art are magnificent. Here are some photographs of just a few of these amazing works. Enjoy!

Posted in archaeology, architecture, art, bicycling, Biking, Cities, civility, culture, diversity, downtown, economic development, entertainment, fitness, fun, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, pictures, placemaking, planning, recreation, revitalization, spatial design, third places, topography, tourism, trails, Transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, walking | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ten planning lessons from “Unsinkable” Leadville, CO

The historic hometown of the Unsinkable Molly Brown is a scenic gem set high in the Colorado Rockies. Leadville happens to be the highest elevation city in the United States at officially 10,152 feet above sea level. This historic mining … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, Alternative transportation, archaeology, architecture, art, bicycling, bike sharing, Biking, branding, cities, civics, commerce, culture, downtown, economic development, entertainment, environment, fitness, fun, geography, Geology, health, highways, hiking, historic preservation, history, Housing, humanity, industry, infrastructure, land use, Maps, Mining, nature, pictures, place names, placemaking, pollution, recreation, revitalization, spatial design, Statistics, third places, topography, tourism, traffic, trails, Travel, urban design, urban planning, walking, weather, Wildlife, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ten planning lessons from OKC – America’s newest great city!

The changes/improvements that have taken place in Oklahoma City in the past 16 years (since I last visited) are remarkable and immensely impressive. Here are ten planning lessons from the exciting and entertaining capital of Oklahoma. Oklahoma City has coalesced … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, architecture, art, bicycling, branding, brewpubs, bridges, business, Cars, charities, cities, civics, civility, commerce, Cuisine, culture, diversity, downtown, economic development, entertainment, environment, family, fitness, Food, food systems, food trucks, fun, gentrification, geography, government, health, highways, hiking, historic preservation, history, Housing, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, marketing, new urbanism, pictures, placemaking, planning, product design, recreation, revitalization, rivers/watersheds, shopping, skylines, skyscrapers, social equity, spatial design, sports, sprawl, sustainability, technology, third places, tourism, traffic, trails, transit, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, walking, water trails, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Observation towers as economic & tourism development tools

While preparing my recent post on North American observation towers, an intriguing trend was noticed across the Midwest and Great Plains. There, where topographic changes can often quite subtle, observation towers appear to have become an economic development and/or tourism … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, architecture, art, branding, cities, civics, economic development, economic gardening, Economy, entertainment, environment, fitness, fun, geography, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, marketing, nature, pictures, placemaking, planning, product design, recreation, revitalization, rivers/watersheds, skyscrapers, spatial design, Statistics, technology, third places, topography, tourism, Travel, urban design, urban planning, walking | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The longest bike and/or footbridges in the USA or Canada

The following working list identifies the longest bicycle and pedestrian bridges in the United States and Canada based on the length (in feet) of their main span. A separate list of bridges that may be long enough to join this … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, Alternative transportation, archaeology, architecture, art, bicycling, Biking, bridges, Canada, cities, entertainment, fitness, fun, geography, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, pictures, placemaking, planning, recreation, rivers/watersheds, States, Statistics, topography, tourism, trails, transportation, Travel, walking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment