Category Archives: visual pollution

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

Confessions of a recovering freeway nerd

Source: wired.com I’ll admit it. In my younger days, I was a certified freeway nerd. Growing up in Indianapolis, I was in awe of the Interstate Highway System. Lucky for me, Indy had plenty of them, including my teenage and … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, Advocacy, Alternative transportation, bicycling, bike sharing, Biking, bridges, Bus transportation, Cars, cities, civics, climate change, commerce, culture, density, distribution, downtown, economic development, electric vehicles, energy, engineering, environment, EVs and hybrids, fun, futurism, geography, health, Highway displacement, highways, historic preservation, history, humanity, infrastructure, land use, nature, new urbanism, Passenger rail, pictures, placemaking, planning, politics, pollution, poverty, product design, racism, rail, Railroads, recreation, Renewable Energy, revitalization, scenic byways, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, sustainability, technology, topography, tourism, Trade, traffic, trails, transit, transportation, Travel, trucking, tunnels, urban design, urban planning, visual pollution, walking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ten planning lessons from LA’s South Bay beach cities

We had the pleasure of visiting the three South Bay beach cities of Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Hermosa Beach over the Christmas holiday weekend. Below are ten planning lessons learned from these charming and beautiful communities. Peace! Esplanade nearest … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, Alternative energy, Alternative transportation, architecture, bicycling, Biking, branding, business, cities, civics, climate, climate change, commerce, culture, demographics, density, economic development, Economy, ecosystems, electric vehicles, entertainment, environment, fun, geography, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, Housing, humanity, industry, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, nature, pictures, placemaking, planning, pollution, recreation, Renewable Energy, revitalization, spatial design, Statistics, sustainability, third places, topography, tourism, trails, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, visual pollution, walking, water, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“All aboard”: Ten planning lessons from riding USA railways

Moonlight over Fort Madison, Iowa After completing a long-distance trip across much of the United States this week, it seemed appropriate to list those planning lessons learned from this and previous rail travel experiences. While much of my ridership has … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, advertising, air travel, Alternative transportation, art, books, Canada, Cars, cities, commerce, downtown, economic development, engineering, entertainment, environment, Europe, fun, geography, government, highways, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, Passenger rail, pictures, placemaking, planning, product design, rail, Railroads, spatial design, technology, topography, tourism, Trade, traffic, trails, transit, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, visual pollution | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

From sea to shining sea of wasteful surface parking lots

The images below depict the extent of wasteful surface parking lots that can be found across the United States at many major sports venues, especially those dedicated to football, baseball, and soccer. Much of the land currently set aside for … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, Alternative transportation, Cars, cities, downtown, economic development, engineering, geography, history, Housing, infrastructure, land use, Maps, parking, Passenger rail, placemaking, planning, Portugal, product design, rail, Railroads, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, technology, third places, tourism, traffic, transit, transportation, Travel, UK, urban design, urban planning, visual pollution, walking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Ten planning lessons from the elegant oasis of Palm Springs

Below are ten (10) planning lessons from the beautiful desert city of Palm Springs, California. Peace! Few places have such a dramatic elevation change in such a short distance (up to 9,000 feet in four miles). This makes Palm Springs’ … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, Alternative transportation, architecture, art, bicycling, branding, Cities, civics, climate, commerce, culture, deserts, diversity, downtown, economic development, entertainment, Environment, fun, geography, Geology, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, Housing, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, marketing, mountains, natural history, Nature, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, poverty, recreation, skylines, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, third places, topography, tourism, Transportation, Travel, Uncategorized, urban design, Urban Gondolas, urban planning, visual pollution, walking, weather, xeriscaping, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Twelve planning lessons from failing cities

There are likely many more planning-related lessons from failing cities that could have been added, but these are ones that initially came to mind. Any additions, suggestions, or corrections are welcome. Do NOT chase the latest fad project without doing … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, business, Cars, cities, civics, civility, commerce, culture, downtown, economic development, environment, fitness, food systems, geography, government, health, Health care, Highway displacement, highways, historic preservation, history, Housing, human rights, humanity, inclusiveness, industry, infrastructure, land use, nature, new urbanism, placemaking, planning, politics, recreation, revitalization, Small business, spatial design, sustainability, third places, tourism, traffic, transportation, Travel, urban planning, visual pollution, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Is Burning Man making a mistake at Fly Ranch?

I’m torn. A part of me wants to travel this very minute to Fly Ranch and experience the scenic landscapes on this lovely site, while also visualizing the various art/sustainability projects taking place there. On the other hand, the site … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, Alternative energy, architecture, art, branding, charities, civics, climate, climate change, Communications, culture, deserts, diversity, economic development, ecosystems, education, environment, food systems, futurism, geography, health, historic preservation, history, humanity, land use, Maps, Native Americans, natural history, nature, opinion, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, pollution, recreation, Renewable Energy, social equity, spatial design, sustainability, technology, topography, tourism, Travel, visual pollution, water conservation, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Twelve planning lessons from Taos and the Taos Pueblo

The following are ten+ planning-related lessons learned from our visits to the 400+ year old Town of Taos and the 1000+ year old Taos Pueblo. The beauty of this area is beyond mere words — a good reason why the … Continue reading

Posted in air travel, airport planning, archaeology, architecture, art, aviation, branding, business, cities, civics, climate, climate change, commerce, culture, demographics, diversity, economic development, ecosystems, environment, futurism, geography, government, historic preservation, history, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, injustice, land use, Native Americans, natural history, nature, placemaking, planning, politics, rivers/watersheds, scenic byways, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, third places, topography, tourism, Trade, traffic, transit, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, visual pollution, water, water conservation, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment