Category Archives: Housing

Reestablishing “true community”

Posted on August 1, 2017 by

In far too many aspects of our modern lives, there is no longer “true community,” as more and more people have physically and socially walled themselves off from one another through a variety of means. Physically, these may include dead-end … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, Cities, civics, civility, Communications, culture, diversity, education, family, geography, globalization, Housing, human rights, humanity, land use, politics, Privatization, social equity, Social media, spatial design | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Two downtown pedestrian malls that work and work very well

Posted on May 19, 2017 by

I have now had the pleasure of recently visiting two American cities with hugely successful pedestrian malls in their downtown core – St. Augustine, Florida and Boulder, Colorado. During the 1960s and 70s, pedestrian malls were seen as a possible … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, Advocacy, architecture, art, bicycling, Biking, branding, cities, civics, coffee shops/cafes, colleges, commerce, Cuisine, culture, density, downtown, economic development, entertainment, Food, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, Housing, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, Maps, pictures, placemaking, planning, shopping, spatial design, third places, tourism, traffic, transit, transportation, Travel, urban planning, walking, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Motor City soars to new heights

Posted on February 23, 2017 by

Yesterday, it was announced that Dan Gilbert, owner of Quicken Loans will be constructing the tallest building in the State of Michigan on the site of the former Hudson’s Department store in downtown Detroit. The tower is proposed to contain … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, architecture, cities, downtown, economic development, entertainment, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, Housing, infrastructure, land use, new urbanism, placemaking, planning, revitalization, skylines, skyscrapers, spatial design, third places, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The MOST important urban planning book of our time

Posted on February 11, 2017 by

I realize that the title of this post is a bold and perhaps controversial statement to make, but I truly believe that the definitive and thought-provoking publication by Salvatore Settis entitled, If Venice Dies, is the most important urban planning book … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, architecture, art, book reviews, books, branding, business, cities, civics, civility, commerce, consumerism, culture, demographics, density, economic development, entertainment, environment, Europe, geography, government, historic preservation, history, Housing, infrastructure, land use, literature, placemaking, planning, product design, recreation, revitalization, shipping, skylines, skyscrapers, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, sustainability, topography, tourism, transportation, Travel, urban planning, writing, zoning | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Venice Effect: Destination cities imperiled by mass tourism

Posted on February 3, 2017 by

Mass tourism can be roughly defined as thousands of people going to the same destination, often at the same time of the year, and often arriving in large, consecutive human waves. Examples of these human waves of tourism include, but … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, air travel, art, aviation, book reviews, books, branding, cities, civics, civility, commerce, consumerism, culture, demographics, density, diversity, downtown, economic development, entertainment, environment, gentrification, geography, globalization, historic preservation, history, Housing, humanity, infrastructure, land use, placemaking, planning, recreation, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, sustainability, tourism, traffic, transportation, Travel, urban planning, walking, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Shedding light on shameful Sundown Towns

Posted on December 28, 2016 by

I feel ashamed to admit having grown up in the United States, garnered high school, undergrad, and graduate degrees, including a minor in history, and still didn’t know about Sundown Towns. Let me correct that, I didn’t know how prevalent … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, art, book reviews, books, cities, civics, civility, Communications, culture, demographics, diversity, education, geography, government, history, Housing, human rights, humanity, racism, social equity, spatial design | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Bay City, Michigan – in the sweet spot of new urbanism

Posted on October 17, 2016 by

From what this urban planner can tell, downtown Bay City, Michigan is, or is on the verge of becoming one of the hottest redevelopment markets in the state. The list of on-going and already accomplished projects is impressive for a … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, architecture, cities, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, fun, gentrification, geography, historic preservation, history, Housing, land use, new urbanism, pictures, placemaking, planning, product design, revitalization, skylines, spatial design, sustainability, third places, tourism, Travel, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment