Category Archives: politics

Ten favorite and least favorite state capital cities

Provided below are lists of favorite and least favorite state capital cities across the country. These are based on impressions obtained from visiting and in some cases, living in those cities (Indianapolis, Columbus, and Lansing). The list is not based … Continue reading

Posted in architecture, art, branding, business, cities, civics, civility, colleges, commerce, culture, demographics, diversity, downtown, economic development, Economy, education, entertainment, geography, government, health, historic preservation, history, Housing, humanity, inclusiveness, industry, infrastructure, land use, marketing, mountains, natural history, new urbanism, place names, placemaking, planning, politics, pollution, racism, recreation, revitalization, rivers/watersheds, schools, skylines, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, States, sustainability, third places, topography, toponymy, tourism, Trade, traffic, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, visual pollution | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Twelve planning lessons from the Interstate Highway System

The following are 12 planning lessons learned from America’s Interstate Highway System. Just as the network continues to expand with the addition of new routes such as I-11 in Nevada and Arizona, I-14 in Texas, I-42 and I-87 in North … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, Advocacy, Alternative transportation, bicycling, Biking, business, Cars, Cities, civics, Civil Rights, commerce, culture, downtown, economic development, ecosystems, engineering, Environment, geography, government, health, Highway displacement, highways, history, infrastructure, land use, logistics, Maps, Nature, new urbanism, Passenger rail, pictures, placemaking, planning, politics, pollution, product design, racism, Railroads, revitalization, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, technology, topography, tourism, Trade, traffic, Transportation, Travel, trucking, Uncategorized, urban design, urban planning, visual pollution, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Twelve planning lessons from Durango, Colorado

There are few cities in this country that can grasp your heart and soul as quickly as Durango, Colorado. From the moment of arrival, the city quickly absorbs you into its charming aura. It may be the snow-capped mountains drenched … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, Advocacy, Alternative transportation, Animal rights, Animals, archaeology, architecture, art, bicycling, bike sharing, Biking, branding, business, charities, cities, civics, civility, climate, climate change, colleges, commerce, Cuisine, culture, diversity, downtown, economic development, Economy, ecosystems, education, entertainment, entrepreneurship, environment, fitness, fun, geography, Geology, government, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, homelessness, Housing, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, Maps, marketing, Mining, mountains, Native Americans, natural history, nature, Passenger rail, peace, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, politics, pollution, psychology, rail, Railroads, recreation, revitalization, rivers/watersheds, schools, Science, social equity, spatial design, Stairway networks, Statistics, sustainability, third places, topography, toponymy, tourism, Trade, traffic, trails, transit, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, walking, water conservation, water trails, Wildlife, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Why do former Western mining towns more often appear to recover while Eastern ones continue to decline? A comparative analysis from a human and A.I.

There are many thoughts on this issue and it can be much more complex that just a single reason. As a result, it was decided to compare this blog author’s thoughts on the subject to those of chat.openai.com to see … Continue reading

Posted in art, books, business, cities, commerce, Communications, culture, economic development, education, energy, entertainment, entrepreneurship, environment, film, geography, Geology, government, health, historic preservation, history, humanity, infrastructure, land use, literature, Maps, Mining, mountains, movies, music, Native Americans, natural history, nature, opinion, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, politics, pollution, psychology, recreation, revitalization, social equity, songs, spatial design, Statistics, sustainability, technology, Television, topography, tourism, Trade, Travel, unemployment, urban planning, visual pollution, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ten planning lessons from our national parks

Provided below are ten planning lessons garnered from having the honor and pleasure of visiting countless national parks, monuments, historic sites, battlefields, lakeshores, seashores, trails, and preserves across our nation. The lessons are not necessarily presented in order of importance, … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, Alternative energy, Alternative transportation, Animals, archaeology, architecture, art, Astronomy, bicycling, bike sharing, Biking, branding, Bus transportation, Cars, charities, Cities, civics, climate, culture, deserts, diversity, economic development, ecosystems, education, electric vehicles, energy, entertainment, Environment, EVs and hybrids, family, fitness, geography, Geology, government, Green roofs, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, land use, mountains, natural history, Nature, parking, placemaking, planning, politics, recreation, rivers/watersheds, solar, spatial design, sprawl, sustainability, third places, topography, tourism, traffic, transit, Transportation, Travel, Uncategorized, urban planning, walking, water, water conservation, water trails, waterfalls, Wilderness, Wildlife, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A global map of active solar observatories

The map provided below identifies the currently active solar observatories on Earth. While other observatories may include some facets of research related to the Sun, this map identifies those optical and radio observatories whose primary purpose is the study and … Continue reading

Posted in aerospace, Africa, Asia, Astronomy, China, civics, Communications, digital communications, education, engineering, environment, Europe, geography, government, history, humanity, India, infrastructure, land use, Latin America, light pollution, Maps, military, mountains, nature, North America, Oceania, Outer Space, pictures, place names, planning, politics, pollution, Radio, Russia, Science, Skies, solar, South America, space, spatial design, technology, tourism, Transportation, Travel, urban planning, visual pollution, weather | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Forgotten fallout: The victims of the Trinity Site atomic bomb test

Generally, history has identified the residents of Hiroshima, Japan as being the first to die and suffer the horrific consequences of an atomic bomb. There is no doubt they were the first to die and the extent of their suffering … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, archaeology, atomic age, charities, civics, deserts, economics, environment, family, Food, geography, government, health, Health care, history, humanity, injustice, military, Native Americans, pictures, politics, pollution, poverty, racism, Science, States, Statistics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A sobering trip to the Trinity Site

It’s hard to encapsulate all the thoughts that come to mind when visiting the Trinity Site in south-central New Mexico. One cannot help but be impressed by the science and ingenuity that created the atomic bomb, but that is greatly … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, Asia, atomic age, cities, Europe, historic preservation, history, injustice, Maps, military, opinion, peace, pictures, politics, product design, Science, technology, tourism, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

Posted in Advocacy, art, book reviews, books, charities, civility, culture, diversity, education, entertainment, family, film, government, history, human rights, humanity, immigration, inclusiveness, injustice, Latin America, literature, movies, opinion, peace, politics, poverty, racism, Travel, Uncategorized, Welcome, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Forget the latest planning buzzword and just plan

First it was “context sensitive solutions,” then “cool cities,” followed by “third places,” and most recently it has been the term “15 minute city.” All of these terms (and a myriad of others) are principally buzzwords meant to promote and … Continue reading

Posted in advertising, Advocacy, books, branding, business, cities, civics, civility, Communications, consumerism, culture, education, history, land use, literature, marketing, opinion, placemaking, planning, politics, product design, reading, Social media, third places, urban planning, writing, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment