Category Archives: futurism

Ten planning lessons from astronomical research sites

The following are ten planning lessons learned from visiting multiple astronomical research sites including the Kitt Peak National Observatory, the Very Large Array, Griffith Observatory, and similar facilities across the country. It also includes information learned from the International Dark-Sky … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, aerospace, architecture, Astronomy, books, Cars, cities, climate change, colleges, culture, digital communications, engineering, environment, fun, futurism, geography, government, historic preservation, history, humanity, infrastructure, land use, light pollution, literature, Maps, mountains, natural history, nature, Outer Space, pictures, placemaking, planning, pollution, revitalization, Science, Skies, solar, Statistics, technology, Television, third places, tourism, traffic, Travel, urban design, urban planning, video, visual pollution, weather, zoning | 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

Confessions of a recovering freeway nerd

Source: wired.com I’ll admit it. In my younger days, I was a certified freeway nerd. Growing up in Indianapolis, I was in awe of the Interstate Highway System. Lucky for me, Indy had plenty of them, including my teenage and … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, Advocacy, Alternative transportation, bicycling, bike sharing, Biking, bridges, Bus transportation, Cars, cities, civics, climate change, commerce, culture, density, distribution, downtown, economic development, electric vehicles, energy, engineering, environment, EVs and hybrids, fun, futurism, geography, health, Highway displacement, highways, historic preservation, history, humanity, infrastructure, land use, nature, new urbanism, Passenger rail, pictures, placemaking, planning, politics, pollution, poverty, product design, racism, rail, Railroads, recreation, Renewable Energy, revitalization, scenic byways, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, sustainability, technology, topography, tourism, Trade, traffic, trails, transit, transportation, Travel, trucking, tunnels, urban design, urban planning, visual pollution, walking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Snapshots of Chicago in geometric black & white

Posted in adaptive reuse, architecture, art, cities, civics, Cuisine, culture, downtown, entertainment, Food, fun, futurism, geography, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, new urbanism, Passenger rail, pictures, placemaking, planning, product design, rail, Railroads, revitalization, skylines, skyscrapers, spatial design, technology, third places, tourism, transit, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Is Burning Man making a mistake at Fly Ranch?

I’m torn. A part of me wants to travel this very minute to Fly Ranch and experience the scenic landscapes on this lovely site, while also visualizing the various art/sustainability projects taking place there. On the other hand, the site … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, Alternative energy, architecture, art, branding, charities, civics, climate, climate change, Communications, culture, deserts, diversity, economic development, ecosystems, education, environment, food systems, futurism, geography, health, historic preservation, history, humanity, land use, Maps, Native Americans, natural history, nature, opinion, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, pollution, recreation, Renewable Energy, social equity, spatial design, sustainability, technology, topography, tourism, Travel, visual pollution, water conservation, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A comparison between Burning Man’s Black Rock City and the Greater World Earthship Community

The American West is blessed with two modern utopian communities — Burning Man’s Black Rock City on a high desert playa in northwestern Nevada and the Greater World Earthship Community located west of Taos, New Mexico. As Burning Man/Black Rock … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, Advocacy, Alternative energy, architecture, art, branding, cities, civics, Civil Rights, civility, climate change, Communications, culture, deregulation, deserts, diversity, economic development, energy, entertainment, entrepreneurship, environment, food systems, fun, futurism, geography, government, health, history, Housing, human rights, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, literature, Maps, marketing, minimalism, nature, peace, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, politics, product design, recycling, Renewable Energy, social equity, spatial design, sustainability, technology, third places, tourism, Trade, Travel, urban design, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Twelve planning lessons from Taos and the Taos Pueblo

The following are ten+ planning-related lessons learned from our visits to the 400+ year old Town of Taos and the 1000+ year old Taos Pueblo. The beauty of this area is beyond mere words — a good reason why the … Continue reading

Posted in air travel, airport planning, archaeology, architecture, art, aviation, branding, business, cities, civics, climate, climate change, commerce, culture, demographics, diversity, economic development, ecosystems, environment, futurism, geography, government, historic preservation, history, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, injustice, land use, Native Americans, natural history, nature, placemaking, planning, politics, rivers/watersheds, scenic byways, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, third places, topography, tourism, Trade, traffic, transit, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, visual pollution, water, water conservation, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The “unity of drought” must supersede myths and self interest

*A small commission is earned from purchases that are made using the above links to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. _______ The book Water is for Fighting Over: and Other Myths About Water in the … Continue reading

Posted in art, book reviews, books, cities, civics, civility, climate, climate change, economic development, ecosystems, education, engineering, environment, futurism, geography, Geology, government, health, history, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, injustice, land use, landscape architecture, literature, Maps, Native Americans, natural history, nature, opinion, planning, politics, reading, recreation, rivers/watersheds, Science, social equity, spatial design, Statistics, topography, urban planning, water, water conservation, weather, writing | 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

Planning for the EVolution in charging stations

As the number of EV (electric vehicle) charging stations have increased, their design and appearance have grown in style and variety. While many EV charging stations are currently accessory uses on the site of other uses like hotels, theaters, parking … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, advertising, Alternative energy, Alternative transportation, architecture, branding, Cars, cities, climate change, commerce, Communications, consumerism, culture, economic development, electric vehicles, energy, environment, futurism, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, light pollution, marketing, pictures, planning, pollution, product design, Renewable Energy, spatial design, Statistics, sustainability, tourism, Trade, traffic, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, video, visual pollution, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment