Category Archives: spatial design

Ten Planning Lessons from Detroit’s Corktown Neighborhood

Posted on July 29, 2019 by problogic

Some planning lessons learned from one of my favorite neighborhoods in all of Detroit. A city’s oldest neighborhood can also be a leader in its revival. The historic site of a former major league stadium (Tiger Stadium) can enjoy a … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, architecture, art, branding, business, cities, civics, culture, economic development, economic gardening, education, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, new urbanism, placemaking, planning, politics, revitalization, Small business, spatial design, sports, third places, tourism, Trade, transportation, Travel, urban planning, zoning | Tagged baseball, Corktown, Detroit, Detroit Tigers, murals, neighborhoods, planning, The Corner Ballpark, Tiger Stadium | Leave a comment

Should Struggling Cities Be Renamed?

Posted on July 7, 2019 by problogic

Everyone loves a good comeback story like is currently happening in Detroit. However,there are some cities that have languished in a depressed economic state for so long (some for 100 years), that their very name can evoke a negative impression. … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, branding, business, cities, civics, civility, commerce, Communications, culture, economic development, economic gardening, Economy, futurism, geography, government, history, infrastructure, land use, marketing, place names, placemaking, planning, politics, spatial design, Statistics, sustainability, topography, tourism, Travel, urban planning, Welcome | Tagged Aberdeen, Anniston, Bartholomew Bayou, Blue Mountain, branding, Butte, Camden, Chester, Chippewa, cities, Cumberland, Danville, East Cleveland, East St. Louis, Flint, Gadsden, Gary, Grand Calumet River, Johnstown, Lima, marketing, Ojibwe, Pine Bluff, place names, Portsmouth, rebranding, renaming, Saginaw, Scot River, Shawnee, Western Reserve, Youngstown | Leave a comment

Ten+ Planning Lessons from Page, Arizona

Posted on July 1, 2019 by problogic

Some might be wondering where the heck Page, Arizona is located and secondly, how could a town founded in 1957 offer up any planning advice. Well, Page sits close to the Arizona-Utah border where the Glen Canyon Dam was constructed … Continue reading →

Posted in Active transportation, Alternative transportation, archaeology, architecture, bicycling, cities, civics, commerce, culture, deserts, diversity, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, environment, geography, Geology, government, health, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, Native Americans, nature, placemaking, planning, spatial design, sprawl, topography, tourism, transportation, Travel, zoning | Tagged Arizona, mass tourism, Navajo, Page | Leave a comment

Ten Planning Lessons from Flagstaff, Arizona

Posted on June 21, 2019 by problogic

Following our recent trip to the beautiful Southwestern United States, here are some thoughts on planning lessons one can learn from impressive and beautiful Flagstaff, Arizona. You can have a physically active and exciting city in a colder-weather, high-altitude environment. … Continue reading →

Posted in Active transportation, archaeology, branding, cities, civics, colleges, culture, deserts, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, environment, fitness, geography, Geology, health, history, infrastructure, land use, Native Americans, Nature, new urbanism, placemaking, planning, recreation, spatial design, third places, topography, tourism, transit, transportation, Travel, weather, zoning | Tagged archaeology, Arizona, conservation, elevation, Flagstaff, water | Leave a comment

Tri-Cities and Quad Cities

Posted on June 18, 2019 by problogic

The following are lists of urban regions and metropolitan areas that have developed into a multiple-nuclei of either three (3) or four (4) traditional core communities. By traditional, I mean something other than a suburban edge city (i.e. Tyson’s Corners, … Continue reading →

Posted in branding, cities, civics, commerce, Communications, economic development, fun, geography, history, land use, Maps, marketing, place names, placemaking, planning, spatial design, sprawl, transportation, urban planning | Tagged branding, Fyrstad, Quad Cities, Trestad, Tri-Cities, Tricity, triopolis, triple cities | Leave a comment

America’s First Great Town Planners…

Posted on May 30, 2019 by problogic

…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 archaeology, 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 Casa Grande National Monument, cliff-dwellings, Elden Pueblo, James Oglethorpe, Native Americans, Pierre L'Enfant, pit-dwellings, post-Columbian, pre-Columbian, Puebloan cultures, pueblos, Tuscayan Ruin, Walnut Canyon National Monument, William Penn, Wupatki national Monument | 4 Comments

A Town that was Born Through a Scam!

Posted on April 9, 2019 by problogic

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 Boise City, con artist, land swindles, Oklahoma, scams | Leave a comment

The Old West Personified in a Town’s Iconic Name

Posted on March 21, 2019 by problogic

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 Pecos, Pecos Bill, Pecos River, rodeo, Texas, Trans-Pecos, West of the Pecos | Leave a comment

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

Posted on March 2, 2019 by problogic

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

Tallest Suburban Skyscrapers of the Midwest

Posted on December 3, 2018 by problogic

Criteria for inclusion in this list: Minimum building height of 200 feet. Must be located outside the city limits of the core city(ies) of the metro area – suburban towers within the main city’s limits are not included. Must be … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, cities, downtown, economic development, geography, history, Housing, infrastructure, land use, new urbanism, planning, skylines, skyscrapers, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, urban planning, zoning | Tagged buildings, Midwest, rankings, skyscrapers, statistics, suburbs | 3 Comments