Category Archives: urban planning

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

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

An Impressive Park Memorializes When Quilts Saved a Town

Posted on May 28, 2019 by problogic

Frontier Towns, Part 7: Panguitch, Utah In city planning, as well as park and recreation circles, one of the most successful trends of the past decade or two has been the creation of pocket parks. These small oases help provide … Continue reading →

Posted in art, cities, geography, historic preservation, history, land use, placemaking, planning, recreation, topography, tourism, Travel, urban planning | Tagged history, Panguitch, parks, pocket parks, sculpture, Utah | 1 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

The Town That Was Moved Four Times!

Posted on March 13, 2019 by problogic

The first of our new “Frontier Towns” series is about the historic Great Plains town of Julesburg, Colorado. At the crossroads of multiple important and historic transcontinental routes lies the quaint Great Plains town of Julesburg, Colorado. This classic western … Continue reading →

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, architecture, bicycling, Biking, branding, cities, civics, commerce, culture, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, environment, film, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, Maps, movies, nature, Passenger rail, place names, placemaking, planning, rail, Railroads, recreation, rivers/watersheds, signs, Small business, sustainability, theaters, topography, tourism, Trade, trails, transportation, Travel, urban planning, Welcome | Tagged Colorado, Julesburg, pioneers, pony express, railroads, stagecoaches, trails, travel | 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

Airlines Need to Respect Small and Mid-sized Markets, Too

Posted on February 22, 2019 by problogic

Over the past weekend (Feb.17/18), my wife and I went through airline/airport hell during the latter half of our trip home from a wonderful vacation in Arizona. While we didn’t mind the extra four hours in the sunny Southwest due … Continue reading →

Posted in aerospace, air travel, airport planning, airports, aviation, business, cities, commerce, deregulation, economic development, environment, geography, history, infrastructure, land use, planning, shipping, Statistics, tourism, transportation, Travel, urban planning, weather | Tagged transportation, travel, weather delays | Leave a comment

The Flint You Don’t Hear About

Posted on January 15, 2019 by problogic

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

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