Category Archives: planning

The First Great Hub of the Northern Plains

Posted on May 12, 2019 by

Frontier Towns, Part 6: Fort Laramie, Wyoming Don’t confuse Fort Laramie with the much larger university city of Laramie – they are 105 miles and world’s apart. Fort Laramie is a small Northern Plains town of approximately 230 residents located … Continue reading →

Posted in cities, commerce, culture, geography, historic preservation, history, humanity, infrastructure, land use, Maps, Native Americans, place names, planning, topography, tourism, Trade, trails, transportation, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a 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

A Town that was Born Through a Scam!

Posted on April 9, 2019 by

Frontier Towns, Chapter 3: Boise City, Oklahoma We’ve all probably heard the urban legends of people buying swamp land in Florida from a con artist, but it’s a rare occurrence to learn of an entire town being founded on a … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, cities, civics, commerce, Communications, geography, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, marketing, place names, planning, politics, spatial design | 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

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

Pendulum Urban Planning – The Wild Ride Between Pro and Anti-development

Posted on March 2, 2019 by

As with nearly every other topic these days, there are strongly held viewpoints in planning circles over development. It seems like either you must be pro-development in all cases, or anti-development in all cases, with no room for middle ground. … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, cities, civics, civility, Communications, culture, diversity, education, gentrification, history, land use, planning, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, urban planning | Leave a comment

Airlines Need to Respect Small and Mid-sized Markets, Too

Posted on February 22, 2019 by

Over the past weekend (Feb.17/18), my wife and I went through airline/airport hell during the latter half of our trip home from a wonderful vacation in Arizona. While we didn’t mind the extra four hours in the sunny Southwest due … Continue reading →

Posted in aerospace, air travel, airport planning, airports, aviation, business, cities, commerce, deregulation, economic development, environment, geography, history, infrastructure, land use, planning, shipping, Statistics, tourism, transportation, Travel, urban planning, weather | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Snoring and Buttcracks: A Snowstorm Sleepover at O’Hare

Posted on February 18, 2019 by

It’s been a long day…night…day. At the conclusion of our trip to Tucson, Old Man Winter decided to play havoc with airline schedules. A few inches of snow delayed or cancelled many flights in and out of O’Hare International Airport … Continue reading →

Posted in aerospace, air travel, airport planning, airports, aviation, Cities, commerce, infrastructure, planning, product design, tourism, Transportation, Travel | 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