Authors
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problogic
- “Hydrograds” built by the former Soviet Union
- Nuclear nomenclature that’s now commonplace in English
- American “Hydrograds” – Cities built for hydroelectric projects
- Favorite shoreline & inland hikes of NW Lower Michigan
- Atomic “doomtowns” that once surrounded Chernobyl
- Tuesday Tunes: Band names for those who wish to be immersed in music
- Soviet-era “Atomgrads,” part 2 – Nuclear Energy Cities
- Soviet-era “Atomgrads,” part 1 – Nuclear Weapon Cities
- Tuesday Tunes: Classic rock songs that make me cringe
- Fictional cities and towns of live action television
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Category Archives: poverty
Ten Planning Lessons from Traverse City
Now that we have lived in Traverse City for almost four years, it is time to list the ten top planning lessons learned from our hometown. Sometimes, evaluation of the places closest to you are the toughest. Smaller cities and … Continue reading
Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, Advocacy, air travel, branding, cities, civics, civility, commerce, Communications, culture, demographics, diversity, downtown, economic development, education, entertainment, environment, family, gay rights, geography, government, health, historic preservation, history, homelessness, Housing, human rights, humanity, immigration, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, placemaking, planning, politics, poverty, racism, Sexism, social equity, spatial design, sustainability, third places, tourism, transportation, Travel, urban planning, volunteerism, Welcome
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The Flint You Don’t Hear About
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 Flint, Michigan, turbo-capitalism
2 Comments
Derogatory place nicknames – UPDATE # 4
Last weekend (originally published in 2013) a derogatory nickname was overheard for a city here in Michigan that I had never heard expressed before in my 21 (now 26) years of being a resident of this state. For some reason … Continue reading
Posted in cities, civics, civility, culture, general, geography, history, humanity, inclusiveness, poverty, racism, revitalization, Sexism, writing
Tagged derogatory nicknames, mean nicknames, negative nicknames, place names
13 Comments
“Just Mercy” Will Rip Your Heart to Shreds
* A small commission is earned from purchases that are made using this visual link to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. In all my years, I have never read a more disturbing, yet compelling book. … Continue reading
Posted in Advocacy, art, book reviews, books, charities, civics, Civil Rights, civility, culture, diversity, history, human rights, humanity, inclusiveness, injustice, literature, politics, poverty, reading, social equity, Statistics, writing
Tagged Bryan Stevenson, crime, Equal Justice Initiative, inequality, injustice, justice, law, punishment, reviews
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The Great ‘Reverse’ Migration May Be Disastrous for Many Northern Cities and States
Between 1916 and 1970, more than six million African-Americans migrated northward to work in factories and live in cities across the Northeast and Midwest. Today, there is mounting evidence that this great migration has reversed itself, as those who can … Continue reading
Posted in Advocacy, cities, civics, Civil Rights, civility, culture, demographics, economic development, economic gardening, Economy, education, entrepreneurship, family, geography, government, history, Housing, humanity, immigration, inclusiveness, planning, politics, poverty, social equity, Statistics, urban planning
Tagged African-Americans, immigrants, inclusiveness, The Great Migration, welcoming
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Designate I-85 the “Civil Rights Freedomway”
It is my suggestion that Interstate 85 (I-85) Between Virginia and Alabama should be named the Civil Rights Freedomway. I make this suggestion because of the large number of important historical sites of the Civil Rights era located along or … Continue reading
Posted in adaptive reuse, Advocacy, Bus transportation, charities, cities, civics, Civil Rights, civility, culture, diversity, geography, historic preservation, history, human rights, humanity, inclusiveness, land use, Maps, peace, placemaking, planning, politics, poverty, social equity, tourism, trails, transportation, Travel, volunteerism
Tagged Civil Rights, historic markers, historic sites, I-85, Interstate 85, non-violence, peace, protest
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Mending Interstate Injustice – Freeway Capping Projects
In recent years there has been an effort in some cities to mend some of the wounds of Interstate Highway era gashes that were savagely cut through American cities. A method for healing these scars has been to cap the … Continue reading
Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, Advocacy, architecture, Cars, cities, Civil Rights, civility, density, diversity, downtown, economic development, environment, geography, Green roofs, historic preservation, history, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, pictures, placemaking, planning, poverty, racism, revitalization, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, transit, transportation, Travel, tunnels, urban planning, walking, zoning
Tagged Austin Connect, freeway capping, Freeway Park, Hance Deck Park, Interstate Highway Injustice, Kennedy Greenway, Park 101, Southern Gateway Public Green, Space 134 Park, The Cap, The Stitch
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Interstate Injustice: Plowing Highways Through Minority Neighborhoods – Updated
The list provided at the end of the post is a partial tally of the once vibrant, historically Black and Latino neighborhoods that have been largely decimated by Interstate Highway construction. Much of this community displacement and destruction took place … Continue reading
Posted in Advocacy, cities, civics, Civil Rights, economic development, environment, geography, health, history, Housing, humanity, infrastructure, land use, Maps, planning, politics, poverty, racism, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, traffic, transportation, urban planning, zoning
Tagged cities, construction, discrimination, injustice, Interstate Highways, poverty, racism, transportation
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Driving and striving to survive a broken ‘Merica
I will never, ever look at a recreational vehicle, van, motor home, or campground the same way again. Not since reading Jessica Bruder’s engrossing, informative, and heartbreaking new book entitled Nomadland. I have long imagined, envied, and eagerly anticipated my … Continue reading
Posted in Advocacy, ageism, art, book reviews, books, Cars, civics, civility, consumerism, culture, demographics, economics, Economy, family, geography, health, Health care, history, homelessness, Housing, human rights, humanity, Labor, literature, logistics, minimalism, politics, poverty, product design, reading, shopping, social equity, Statistics, transportation, Travel, unemployment, Women, writing
Tagged book reviews, books, homelessness, houseless, Jessica Bruder, literature, Nomad land, nomads, van dwelling, workamping, writing
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Bigotsburg of the week – Shreveport, Louisiana
How many times has it been repeatedly demonstrated that urban highway construction projects have far too often been used as a tool for so-called “urban renewal?” Urban renewal in this context meaning an illicit tool for bulldozing historically African-American, Latino, … Continue reading
