Category Archives: transit

Geography of Target’s Smaller/Flexible Urban Store Format

Posted on November 26, 2018 by

While visiting Chicago earlier this month, one could hardly miss seeing the influx of major retailers into urban areas. Particularly noticeable was Target with its trending urban and collegiate smaller/flexible format stores popping up over much of the city and … Continue reading →

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, architecture, bicycling, Biking, business, cities, commerce, downtown, economic development, gentrification, geography, historic preservation, infrastructure, land use, logistics, Maps, new urbanism, Passenger rail, placemaking, planning, rail, revitalization, shopping, spatial design, Statistics, Trade, transit, transportation, urban planning, walking, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Top Eleven Planning Lessons from Lisbon, Portugal

Posted on October 8, 2018 by

Below are my top eleven (11) planning lessons from a delightful week-long trip to Lisboa (Lisbon), Portugal in late September. Many more could be added this list, but for brevity’s sake we’ll stay with these eleven (11) for now. They … Continue reading →

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, architecture, art, cities, civics, civility, Cuisine, culture, diversity, downtown, entertainment, entrepreneurship, environment, Europe, Food, fun, geography, Geology, historic preservation, history, humanity, inclusiveness, land use, music, nature, pictures, placemaking, planning, Portugal, revitalization, spatial design, topography, tourism, transit, transportation, Travel, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Beauty of the Contrasting-Chaotic City Form

Posted on October 3, 2018 by

As urban planners we have a tendency to emphasize the importance and efficiency of the traditional grid street pattern. Compared to the disconnected neighborhoods and subdivisions constructed over the past 75 years, the traditional street grid is far and away … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Cars, Cities, culture, density, downtown, Europe, geography, government, health, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, Maps, North America, pictures, placemaking, planning, Portugal, spatial design, sprawl, topography, tourism, traffic, transit, transportation, Travel, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Lisboa, Glorious Lisboa

Posted on September 28, 2018 by

Posted in air travel, architecture, art, bridges, Cities, commerce, culture, downtown, entertainment, Europe, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, pictures, placemaking, planning, Portugal, rail, sailing, skylines, spatial design, topography, tourism, transit, Transportation, Travel, Uncategorized, urban planning, walking | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The South Shore Line – Indiana’s Gift to Passenger Rail

Posted on May 15, 2018 by

We had the honor and thrill of riding the entire length of the South Shore Line round trip between South Bend (Airport Station) and Chicago (Millennium Station) and back over Mother’s Day weekend. Sometimes dubbed as America’s last Interurban, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Active transportation, Alternative transportation, cities, electric vehicles, fun, geography, history, infrastructure, land use, Maps, Passenger rail, placemaking, planning, rail, Railroads, spatial design, transit, transportation, Travel, urban planning | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

If you drive a SUV, you need to plant 127 trees a year!

Posted on May 8, 2018 by

As the accompanying chart shows, if you own and operate a sport-utility vehicle (SUV), you’ll have a lot of tree planting to do to offset your annual emissions from driving that monstrosity. At approximately $200 per tree (a rather low … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, bicycling, Cars, civics, climate change, electric vehicles, environment, health, nature, Passenger rail, pollution, rail, Railroads, sustainability, transit, transportation, walking | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Mending Interstate Injustice – Freeway Capping Projects

Posted on April 28, 2018 by

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 , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cities leading the autonomous vehicle (AV) revolution

Posted on November 14, 2017 by

According to Bloomberg, the cities listed below (Piloting Cities) are hosting autonomous vehicle tests or have committed to doing so in the near future. For more information on what’s taking place in each of these cities, go to the Global Atlas … Continue reading →

Posted in Active transportation, Asia, Bus transportation, Canada, Cars, China, cities, economic development, electric vehicles, Europe, fun, geography, history, infrastructure, land use, North America, Oceania, planning, product design, Science, South America, spatial design, technology, transit, transportation, Travel, urban planning | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Ten planning lessons from San Luis Obispo (SLO)

Posted on November 2, 2017 by

My wife and I were privileged to spend a few lovely days in the San Luis Obispo area in September. Here are my thoughts about this captivating and enchanting community from a planner’s perspective. A beautiful physical setting not only … Continue reading →

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, architecture, cities, civics, culture, downtown, economic development, environment, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, placemaking, planning, recreation, spatial design, sustainability, topography, tourism, transit, transportation, Travel, urban planning | Tagged | 2 Comments

My Amazon HQ2 prediction

Posted on September 21, 2017 by

Ever since Amazon announced they would be establishing a dual headwaters, a virtual cottage industry of predictions and analyses has developed. Everyone has an opinion on what metro will be selected. Here are my thoughts on the subject: My heart would … Continue reading →

Posted in air travel, airports, Biking, branding, Bus transportation, business, Canada, Cities, civics, Climate Change, commerce, Communications, consumerism, culture, economic development, education, entertainment, entrepreneurship, Environment, fun, futurism, geography, Housing, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, logistics, marketing, North America, placemaking, planning, recreation, revitalization, shopping, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, States, Statistics, sustainability, traffic, transit, Transportation, Uncategorized, urban planning | Tagged , | 9 Comments