Category Archives: Travel

Ten planning lessons from astronomical research sites

The following are ten planning lessons learned from visiting multiple astronomical research sites including the Kitt Peak National Observatory, the Very Large Array, Griffith Observatory, and similar facilities across the country. It also includes information learned from the International Dark-Sky … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, aerospace, architecture, Astronomy, books, Cars, cities, climate change, colleges, culture, digital communications, engineering, environment, fun, futurism, geography, government, historic preservation, history, humanity, infrastructure, land use, light pollution, literature, Maps, mountains, natural history, nature, Outer Space, pictures, placemaking, planning, pollution, revitalization, Science, Skies, solar, Statistics, technology, Television, third places, tourism, traffic, Travel, urban design, urban planning, video, visual pollution, weather, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Riding the rails of interstellar discovery at the Very Large Array

It’s hard to fathom that a mere 39 miles of railway track could deliver the entire galaxy to astronomers around the globe. But, when the cargo is limited to 230 ton radio telescopes being moved into position, then such a … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, aerospace, Astronomy, distribution, education, engineering, fun, geography, history, infrastructure, land use, logistics, Maps, Outer Space, planning, Radio, rail, Railroads, Science, shipping, Skies, spatial design, Statistics, technology, tourism, transportation, 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

An out-of-this-world visit to the Very Large Array (VLA)

This past Thursday afternoon several of us had an exciting opportunity to visit the Very Large Array (VLA) in west-central New Mexico. Anyone who has watched the 1997 movie Contact starring Jodie Foster should be familiar with the VLA. More … Continue reading

Posted in aerospace, architecture, Astronomy, Communications, deserts, education, engineering, film, fun, geography, infrastructure, lakes, land use, Maps, mountains, movies, Outer Space, pictures, planning, product design, Science, Skies, spatial design, Statistics, technology, tourism, Travel, video, Wilderness | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The buzz about America’s “bee-friendly” cities

Communities representing 37 states and the District of Columbia are listed beelow as designated “Bee City USA” members. Unfortunately, there are also 13 states without any city members including Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, agriculture, Animal rights, Animals, cities, civics, civility, climate, climate change, culture, ecosystems, education, environment, Food, government, health, insects, land use, landscape architecture, natural and organic foods, natural history, nature, planning, Science, seasons, spatial design, States, Statistics, sustainability, tourism, Travel, urban planning, water, water conservation, Wilderness, Wildlife, xeriscaping, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

New Mexico’s protected wildlife areas along the Rio Grande

As one of the corridors making up the Central Flyway, the Rio Grande Valley through New Mexico is host to a vast array of migrant birds flying seasonally through the state to breeding grounds further north or wintering areas both … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, Animals, archaeology, civics, climate, culture, deserts, ecosystems, environment, geography, Geology, history, lakes, land use, Maps, mountains, natural history, nature, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, recreation, rivers/watersheds, Science, Statistics, sustainability, topography, tourism, trails, Travel, urban planning, water, water conservation, water trails, Wilderness, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Living amid an “Ecology of Fear”

I recently read Ecology of Fear: Los Angeles and the Imagination of Disaster by the late Mike Davis. It is an intriguing book that switches from whimsical to dark and foreboding at the turn of a page. In fact, the … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, Africa, Animals, archaeology, art, Asia, book reviews, books, branding, business, Canada, Cars, cities, civics, Civil Rights, civility, climate, climate change, commerce, Communications, culture, demographics, density, diversity, economic development, economics, ecosystems, education, entertainment, entrepreneurship, environment, film, fun, futurism, geography, Geology, government, Guns, Handguns, health, highways, hiking, historic preservation, history, homelessness, Housing, human rights, humanity, immigration, inclusiveness, India, industry, infrastructure, injustice, land use, Latin America, literature, marketing, money, movies, music, natural history, nature, opinion, planning, politics, pollution, poverty, psychology, racism, reading, Religion, revitalization, schools, Science, Science fiction, Sexism, Small business, social equity, Social media, spatial design, Statistics, sustainability, technology, Television, theaters, topography, tourism, Trade, traffic, transportation, Travel, unemployment, urban design, urban planning, visual pollution, weather, Wilderness, Wildlife, Women, writing, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

America’s longest freeway capping parks

Below are freeway capping projects that incorporate park land or greenspace atop the deck that have taken place or which are proposed in the United States. They are listed by their known or approximate length (~) using maps.google.com. Unfortunately, there … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, architecture, art, bridges, Cars, cities, civics, culture, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, engineering, entertainment, fun, geography, Highway displacement, highways, historic preservation, history, inclusiveness, infrastructure, injustice, land use, landscape architecture, Maps, nature, pictures, placemaking, planning, pollution, product design, racism, recreation, revitalization, social equity, spatial design, Statistics, third places, topography, tourism, trails, transportation, Travel, tunnels, urban design, urban planning, visual pollution, walking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

India’s tallest bridge towers and pylons

The following list identifies the tallest bridge towers and pylons in India. Such support structures are principally found on cable-stayed and suspension bridges and the height is measured from ground or water level to the top of the tower/pylon. The … Continue reading

Posted in architecture, Asia, Cars, cities, commerce, economic development, engineering, geography, highways, history, India, infrastructure, land use, Maps, pictures, placemaking, planning, product design, rail, Railroads, rivers/watersheds, skylines, spatial design, Statistics, technology, tourism, Trade, traffic, trails, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Walkable placemaking with outdoor public stairways

Note: – For purposes of this blogpost, stairways, stairs, and stair-steps are used interchangeably. Post updated 2/16/23 _______ The first time it occurred to me that outdoor stairways could be an important walkability tool for cities was while visiting Edinburgh, … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, Advocacy, Alternative transportation, archaeology, architecture, art, book reviews, books, branding, brewpubs, business, cities, civics, coffee shops/cafes, commerce, culture, demographics, diversity, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, Economy, engineering, entertainment, environment, fitness, fun, geography, government, health, Health care, hiking, historic preservation, history, Housing, humanity, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, literature, logistics, Maps, Mining, mountains, natural history, nature, new urbanism, pictures, placemaking, planning, product design, recreation, revitalization, shopping, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, Stairway networks, Statistics, sustainability, third places, topography, tourism, traffic, trails, transit, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, walking, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment