Category Archives: immigration

Two migration tales of strength, hardship, and tenacity

Far too often, certain pundits, politicos, and just plain bigots depict refugees and immigrants as criminals and/or parasites. That couldn’t be further from the truth for the vast majority of those people who are seeking a new life in another … Continue reading

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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

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

Ten planning lessons from mighty Los Angeles

Despite its detractors, every time I’m in Los Angeles, the city impresses me more. From the first time in 1970 to just recently, the changes are palpable, especially the move(s) away from being so car-centric and increased densification. Below, is … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, Alternative transportation, architecture, art, bicycling, branding, business, cities, civics, commerce, culture, density, distribution, downtown, economic development, Economy, entertainment, entrepreneurship, environment, fun, geography, Highway displacement, highways, historic preservation, history, humanity, immigration, industry, infrastructure, land use, logistics, Maps, mountains, movies, music, nature, Passenger rail, peace, pictures, placemaking, planning, pollution, rail, Railroads, recreation, skylines, skyscrapers, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, Television, topography, tourism, Trade, traffic, transit, transportation, Travel, trucking, urban design, urban planning, walking, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cities joining, nearing, or falling from the 100,000 resident club

The following three lists identify those cities in the United States that reached a population of 100,000; are growing and nearing 100,000 residents; and who have fallen below 100,000 residents based on the 2020 Census. Five (5) cities that were … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, cities, civics, commerce, demographics, density, diversity, downtown, economic development, geography, health, history, humanity, immigration, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, new urbanism, placemaking, planning, revitalization, spatial design, sprawl, States, Statistics, urban design, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Some snippets from the newly released 2020 Census data

While most headlines will likely tout the continued growth of the South and West, some cities in the East and North have some bragging to do, as well: Cincinnati, OH (309,317); Buffalo, NY (278,349); Rochester, NY (211,328); and Syracuse, NY … Continue reading

Posted in cities, commerce, demographics, density, economic development, geography, history, Housing, immigration, land use, planning, sprawl, States, Statistics, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The racist rot that has corroded St. Louis and America

“The imperium of St. Louis (and thus of the United States) is continually framed by the history of genocide, removal, and the expropriation and control of land — all justified in the name of white supremacy.” Page 6 The recently … Continue reading

Posted in art, book reviews, books, cities, civics, Civil Rights, commerce, culture, demographics, diversity, economic development, feminism, geography, government, health, Highway displacement, history, Housing, human rights, humanity, immigration, inclusiveness, injustice, land use, literature, Native Americans, planning, politics, poverty, racism, Railroads, rivers/watersheds, Sexism, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, urban design, urban planning, Women, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ethnic/Cultural heritage-themed towns in the USA

The table below identifies those actual cities and towns across the United States that have an ethnic or cultural theme for promoting tourism, branding, and/or celebrating local pride, based on their unique local heritage. In many cases the theme is … Continue reading

Posted in advertising, architecture, art, branding, cities, civics, culture, economic development, entertainment, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, immigration, infrastructure, land use, marketing, place names, placemaking, planning, revitalization, third places, toponymy, tourism, Trade, Travel, urban design, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“The Newspaper Boy” – a helpful remedy when losing hope

Spoiler Alert: While I try not to reveal too much about details contained within the book, there are undoubtedly some aspect of spoilers contained within this post. If you prefer to read the book first without knowing too much about … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, art, book reviews, books, cities, civics, Civil Rights, civility, Communications, culture, diversity, education, entertainment, health, history, human rights, humanity, immigration, inclusiveness, injustice, literature, politics, poverty, racism, Religion, social equity, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ten+ planning lessons from “remarqable” Marquette, Michigan

Before going through the twelve planning lessons listed below, it must be noted that for many years, Marquette has been at the top of my list of favorite cities in Michigan, as well as the at the top of my … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, archaeology, architecture, bicycling, Biking, branding, cities, civics, colleges, commerce, culture, diversity, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, environment, fun, geography, Geology, Great Lakes, hiking, historic preservation, history, immigration, infrastructure, land use, Mining, nature, new urbanism, place names, placemaking, planning, Railroads, recreation, revitalization, shipping, skylines, spatial design, sustainability, third places, topography, tourism, Trade, traffic, trails, transportation, Travel, urban planning, walking, water trails, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment