Category Archives: Housing

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

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

Three superb and fresh reads about Los Angeles

“These three books will certainly introduce readers to the width and breadth of mighty Los Angeles. If that entity, however you define it, resists a simple explanation, then so be it. For that may be one of the LA’s most endearing and enduring qualities.” Continue reading

Posted in art, book reviews, books, business, Cars, cities, culture, diversity, downtown, economics, entertainment, environment, fun, geography, government, Highway displacement, highways, hiking, historic preservation, history, homelessness, Housing, humanity, immigration, inclusiveness, industry, infrastructure, injustice, land use, literature, mountains, movies, Music, natural history, nature, new urbanism, placemaking, planning, pollution, racism, rail, recreation, Renewable Energy, revitalization, skylines, social equity, songs, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, sustainability, technology, Television, third places, topography, tourism, Trade, traffic, trails, transit, transportation, Travel, trucking, urban design, urban planning, walking, weather, Wildlife, writing, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Finding “Los Angeles” amid the aura of “LA”

Downtown Los Angeles with the San Gabriel Mountains in the background – Source: unsplash.com Every city is unique unto itself. Just like human beings, cities have their own character, appearance, identity, flaws, attributes, and aesthetics. As a result, no single … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, Alternative transportation, architecture, art, bicycling, Biking, books, branding, business, Cars, cities, civics, commerce, culture, diversity, downtown, economic development, engineering, entertainment, entrepreneurship, environment, film, fun, geography, highways, hiking, historic preservation, history, homelessness, Housing, humanity, inclusiveness, land use, literature, Love, mountains, movies, Music, nature, new urbanism, Passenger rail, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, politics, rail, Railroads, recreation, skylines, skyscrapers, songs, spatial design, sprawl, technology, Television, theaters, third places, topography, toponymy, tourism, Trade, traffic, trails, transit, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, walking, writing, zoning | 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

Ten planning lessons from LA’s South Bay beach cities

We had the pleasure of visiting the three South Bay beach cities of Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Hermosa Beach over the Christmas holiday weekend. Below are ten planning lessons learned from these charming and beautiful communities. Peace! Esplanade nearest … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, Alternative energy, Alternative transportation, architecture, bicycling, Biking, branding, business, cities, civics, climate, climate change, commerce, culture, demographics, density, economic development, Economy, ecosystems, electric vehicles, entertainment, environment, fun, geography, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, Housing, humanity, industry, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, nature, pictures, placemaking, planning, pollution, recreation, Renewable Energy, revitalization, spatial design, Statistics, sustainability, third places, topography, tourism, trails, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, visual pollution, walking, water, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tall Timbers – World’s tallest wooden skyscrapers

*This is a republished and updated article from 2020. In recent years, a new trend in high-rise construction has emerged – the development of skyscrapers constructed largely of wood products (can also referred to as mass timber, cross-laminate timber, and/or engineered-wood). … Continue reading

Posted in architecture, art, Canada, cities, downtown, economic development, environment, Europe, geography, history, Housing, infrastructure, land use, nature, new urbanism, North America, Oceania, placemaking, planning, revitalization, skylines, skyscrapers, spatial design, States, Statistics, sustainability, Travel, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

From sea to shining sea of wasteful surface parking lots

The images below depict the extent of wasteful surface parking lots that can be found across the United States at many major sports venues, especially those dedicated to football, baseball, and soccer. Much of the land currently set aside for … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, Alternative transportation, Cars, cities, downtown, economic development, engineering, geography, history, Housing, infrastructure, land use, Maps, parking, Passenger rail, placemaking, planning, Portugal, product design, rail, Railroads, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, technology, third places, tourism, traffic, transit, transportation, Travel, UK, urban design, urban planning, visual pollution, walking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

New “Austin Towers” will soon be spying over Texas

For multiple decades the tallest building in Texas has been located in either Dallas, Houston, or San Antonio. That fact is about to change, as the booming state capital of Austin will soon takeover this vertical leadership role in the … Continue reading

Posted in architecture, art, branding, business, cities, civics, Civil Rights, civility, commerce, Cuisine, culture, diversity, downtown, economic development, engineering, gentrification, geography, highways, historic preservation, history, Housing, human rights, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, pictures, placemaking, planning, poverty, skylines, skyscrapers, sprawl, spying, Statistics, third places, tourism, traffic, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ten planning lessons from the elegant oasis of Palm Springs

Below are ten (10) planning lessons from the beautiful desert city of Palm Springs, California. Peace! Few places have such a dramatic elevation change in such a short distance (up to 9,000 feet in four miles). This makes Palm Springs’ … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, Alternative transportation, architecture, art, bicycling, branding, Cities, civics, climate, commerce, culture, deserts, diversity, downtown, economic development, entertainment, Environment, fun, geography, Geology, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, Housing, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, marketing, mountains, natural history, Nature, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, poverty, recreation, skylines, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, third places, topography, tourism, Transportation, Travel, Uncategorized, urban design, Urban Gondolas, urban planning, visual pollution, walking, weather, xeriscaping, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment