Category Archives: third places

Ten planning lessons from St. Augustine

Posted on June 4, 2017 by

Now that I’ve had a chance to ponder some about all the wondrous sights and scenes of St. Augustine, here are my ten planning lessons from that amazing city. You don’t need to be a big city to be a … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, art, cities, civics, civility, commerce, culture, diversity, downtown, economic development, entertainment, environment, geography, historic preservation, history, humanity, inclusiveness, land use, placemaking, planning, spatial design, third places, tourism, traffic, transportation, Travel, zoning | Leave a comment

Two downtown pedestrian malls that work and work very well

Posted on May 19, 2017 by

I have now had the pleasure of recently visiting two American cities with hugely successful pedestrian malls in their downtown core – St. Augustine, Florida and Boulder, Colorado. During the 1960s and 70s, pedestrian malls were seen as a possible … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, Advocacy, architecture, art, bicycling, Biking, branding, cities, civics, coffee shops/cafes, colleges, commerce, Cuisine, culture, density, downtown, economic development, entertainment, Food, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, Housing, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, Maps, pictures, placemaking, planning, shopping, spatial design, third places, tourism, traffic, transit, transportation, Travel, urban planning, walking, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Motor City soars to new heights

Posted on February 23, 2017 by

Yesterday, it was announced that Dan Gilbert, owner of Quicken Loans will be constructing the tallest building in the State of Michigan on the site of the former Hudson’s Department store in downtown Detroit. The tower is proposed to contain … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, architecture, cities, downtown, economic development, entertainment, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, Housing, infrastructure, land use, new urbanism, placemaking, planning, revitalization, skylines, skyscrapers, spatial design, third places, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Most walkable core communities of Northern Michigan

Posted on November 4, 2016 by

Want to find some healthy walkability ratings for downtown areas in Michigan? Then head due north to the Northern Lower Peninsula and/or the Upper Peninsula. Below are listed 19 cities and towns with walkability scores of 60 or greater for … Continue reading →

Posted in Active transportation, Alternative transportation, business, cities, civics, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, geography, historic preservation, infrastructure, land use, new urbanism, placemaking, planning, shopping, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, sustainability, third places, tourism, Trade, transportation, Travel, walking, zoning | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

“Cool” vibes Up North in Boyne City, Michigan

Posted on October 29, 2016 by

Several weekends ago we ventured to Boyne City, Michigan to take in the vibrant fall colors of Northwest Lower Michigan. Beyond the standard driving tour, we stopped at a park/preserve that was once a busy ski hill in the winter … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, architecture, art, beer, branding, brewpubs, cities, coffee shops/cafes, Cuisine, culture, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, environment, fun, geography, hiking, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, placemaking, planning, recreation, third places, tourism, trails, Travel, urban planning, walking | Tagged | Leave a comment

Bay City, Michigan – in the sweet spot of new urbanism

Posted on October 17, 2016 by

From what this urban planner can tell, downtown Bay City, Michigan is, or is on the verge of becoming one of the hottest redevelopment markets in the state. The list of on-going and already accomplished projects is impressive for a … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, architecture, cities, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, fun, gentrification, geography, historic preservation, history, Housing, land use, new urbanism, pictures, placemaking, planning, product design, revitalization, skylines, spatial design, sustainability, third places, tourism, Travel, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Building a peaceful community with good planning

Posted on July 22, 2016 by

Building a peaceful community does not just result from how we treat one another (see previous post), but can be literally develop based on how we design our communities and allocate funding. The days of the “wrong side of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, Advocacy, airports, Alternative transportation, architecture, Bus transportation, Cars, cities, civics, civility, climate change, commerce, culture, diversity, economic development, environment, gentrification, geography, health, historic preservation, history, homelessness, Housing, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, Love, new urbanism, peace, placemaking, planning, pollution, poverty, rail, revitalization, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, sustainability, third places, traffic, transit, transportation, Travel, urban planning, walking, zoning | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment