Category Archives: placemaking

America’s First Great Town Planners…

Posted on May 30, 2019 by

…were not William Penn (Philadelphia), Pierre Charles L’Enfant (Washington, DC), James Oglethorpe (Savannah), nor other post-Columbian examples. No, America’s first great town planners were the Native American Indians. Whether they were the builders of magnificent cliff dwellings and mesa-topped pueblos … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, art, cities, civics, culture, education, environment, geography, Geology, historic preservation, history, humanity, land use, Native Americans, placemaking, planning, spatial design, topography, tourism, Travel, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

An Impressive Park Memorializes When Quilts Saved a Town

Posted on May 28, 2019 by

Frontier Towns, Part 7: Panguitch, Utah In city planning, as well as park and recreation circles, one of the most successful trends of the past decade or two has been the creation of pocket parks. These small oases help provide … Continue reading →

Posted in art, cities, geography, historic preservation, history, land use, placemaking, planning, recreation, topography, tourism, Travel, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Hell’s Worth of Wickedness in One Cowtown

Posted on April 17, 2019 by

Frontier Towns, Chapter 4: Ellsworth, Kansas   “As we go to press, hell is still in session in Ellsworth.”  That’s a famous newspaper headline dating from 1873 about the situation in Ellsworth, Kansas. Ellsworth may have been situated along the … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, Animals, architecture, cities, civility, commerce, geography, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, Maps, placemaking, planning, rail, Railroads, shipping, tourism, Trade, transportation, Travel | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Old West Personified in a Town’s Iconic Name

Posted on March 21, 2019 by

Frontier Towns, Chapter 2: Pecos, Texas Few names portray a better image of the Old West than “Pecos.” The Pecos River is the natural dividing line between central and western Texas, as to the west of this iconic river the … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, architecture, books, branding, cartoons, cities, civics, commerce, culture, deserts, downtown, economic development, environment, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, Maps, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, recreation, spatial design, topography, tourism, Trade, transportation, Travel, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ominous Sounding Frontier Town Names

Posted on March 19, 2019 by

As part of our Frontier Towns series, the following list of town names might make you want to think twice before moving there or living there. Some of the names are famous, while others are infamous. All of them are … Continue reading →

Posted in branding, cities, geography, Maps, Mining, place names, placemaking, tourism, Travel | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Town That Was Moved Four Times!

Posted on March 13, 2019 by

The first of our new “Frontier Towns” series is about the historic Great Plains town of Julesburg, Colorado. At the crossroads of multiple important and historic transcontinental routes lies the quaint Great Plains town of Julesburg, Colorado. This classic western … Continue reading →

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, architecture, bicycling, Biking, branding, cities, civics, commerce, culture, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, environment, film, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, Maps, movies, nature, Passenger rail, place names, placemaking, planning, rail, Railroads, recreation, rivers/watersheds, signs, Small business, sustainability, theaters, topography, tourism, Trade, trails, transportation, Travel, urban planning, Welcome | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Flint You Don’t Hear About

Posted on January 15, 2019 by

Flint, Michigan has had a tough couple of decades. If the auto plant closings and shutdowns weren’t enough, terrible decisions by the state legislature and officials under the Snyder administration put its residents in jeopardy. Those same residents will be … Continue reading →

Posted in cities, civics, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, geography, health, Health care, historic preservation, history, Housing, human rights, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, placemaking, planning, pollution, poverty, racism, revitalization, Statistics, third places, tourism, Travel, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Descriptive Detail of Inuit Town Names

Posted on December 18, 2018 by

As Inuit town names are being reestablished in the Arctic regions of Canada, Alaska, and Greenland, this author has found them to often be much more interesting and descriptive than the former English or Danish (in Greenland) names. Too often, … Continue reading →

Posted in Arctic, Canada, cities, civics, culture, diversity, environment, Europe, geography, land use, Language, North America, place names, placemaking, planning, topography, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Geography of Target’s Smaller/Flexible Urban Store Format

Posted on November 26, 2018 by

While visiting Chicago earlier this month, one could hardly miss seeing the influx of major retailers into urban areas. Particularly noticeable was Target with its trending urban and collegiate smaller/flexible format stores popping up over much of the city and … Continue reading →

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, architecture, bicycling, Biking, business, cities, commerce, downtown, economic development, gentrification, geography, historic preservation, infrastructure, land use, logistics, Maps, new urbanism, Passenger rail, placemaking, planning, rail, revitalization, shopping, spatial design, Statistics, Trade, transit, transportation, urban planning, walking, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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