Category Archives: health

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

The Beauty of the Contrasting-Chaotic City Form

Posted on October 3, 2018 by

As urban planners we have a tendency to emphasize the importance and efficiency of the traditional grid street pattern. Compared to the disconnected neighborhoods and subdivisions constructed over the past 75 years, the traditional street grid is far and away … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Cars, Cities, culture, density, downtown, Europe, geography, government, health, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, Maps, North America, pictures, placemaking, planning, Portugal, spatial design, sprawl, topography, tourism, traffic, transit, transportation, Travel, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Front Grills That Can Kill

Posted on August 24, 2018 by

A sadly growing trend in American transportation has been an increase in pedestrian and bicyclist deaths. There are several reasons for this, but one that is not mentioned as often as it should be is the increased size and altered … Continue reading →

Posted in Active transportation, Advocacy, Alternative transportation, bicycling, Biking, cities, civics, consumerism, deregulation, government, health, Health care, hiking, history, human rights, humanity, planning, politics, recreation, Statistics, transportation, walking | Tagged | Leave a comment

It is Time to Ban Gas-powered Leaf Blowers!

Posted on May 11, 2018 by

Personally, I’m sick and tired of noisy leaf blowers disturbing the enjoyment of beautiful days. It has gotten to the point where one cannot keep their windows open or sit on the deck without these infernal things droning on and … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, Alternative energy, environment, health, landscape architecture, nature, peace, planning, pollution, product design, seasons, Statistics, sustainability, technology | 3 Comments

If you drive a SUV, you need to plant 127 trees a year!

Posted on May 8, 2018 by

As the accompanying chart shows, if you own and operate a sport-utility vehicle (SUV), you’ll have a lot of tree planting to do to offset your annual emissions from driving that monstrosity. At approximately $200 per tree (a rather low … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, bicycling, Cars, civics, climate change, electric vehicles, environment, health, nature, Passenger rail, pollution, rail, Railroads, sustainability, transit, transportation, walking | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Interstate Injustice: Plowing Highways Through Minority Neighborhoods

Posted on April 7, 2018 by

The list provided at the end of the post is a partial tally of the once vibrant, historically Black and Latino neighborhoods that have been largely decimated by Interstate Highway construction. Much of this community displacement and destruction took place … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, cities, civics, Civil Rights, economic development, environment, geography, health, history, Housing, humanity, infrastructure, land use, Maps, planning, politics, poverty, racism, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, traffic, transportation, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Is your community a bully?

Posted on March 29, 2018 by

The title of this post may sound odd, but I am convinced that the persona of certain communities is to act like bullies towards their counterparts on the local and regional stage. In reality, this assertion shouldn’t be so strange … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, cities, civics, civility, Communications, culture, education, health, human rights, humanity, inclusiveness, Love, peace, politics, social equity | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fracking sprawl across West Texas

Posted on March 8, 2018 by

Many places across America lament the urban sprawl taking place in their midst. Meanwhile, parts of Texas have a different kind of sprawl to contend with – fracking sprawl. As can be seen in the photos taken as I flew … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, air travel, Alternative energy, aviation, Cities, Climate Change, economics, energy, geography, Geology, health, Housing, infrastructure, land use, pictures, planning, politics, pollution, spatial design, sprawl, topography, Travel, Uncategorized, visual pollution | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Planning lessons from Tucson

Posted on February 25, 2018 by

My wife and I just returned home from an amazing week in gorgeous Tucson, Arizona. Unlike many places visited, it was easy to come up with many more than ten planning lessons from this beautiful desert oasis. While we adore … Continue reading →

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, Advocacy, Alternative transportation, architecture, art, bicycling, bike sharing, Biking, Cities, civics, colleges, Cuisine, culture, diversity, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, entrepreneurship, environment, fitness, Food, food systems, fun, geography, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, nature, pictures, placemaking, planning, recreation, spatial design, sprawl, third places, topography, tourism, transportation, Travel, urban planning, visual pollution, walking, Wildlife, zoning | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Driving and striving to survive a broken ‘Merica

Posted on January 6, 2018 by

I will never, ever look at a recreational vehicle, van, motor home, or campground the same way again. Not since reading Jessica Bruder’s engrossing, informative, and heartbreaking new book entitled Nomadland. I have long imagined, envied, and eagerly anticipated my … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, ageism, art, book reviews, books, Cars, civics, civility, consumerism, culture, demographics, economics, Economy, family, geography, health, Health care, history, homelessness, Housing, human rights, humanity, Labor, literature, logistics, minimalism, politics, poverty, product design, reading, shopping, social equity, Statistics, transportation, Travel, unemployment, Women, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment