Category Archives: zoning

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

Dollar Stores Are Gutting Small Town Retailers

Posted on July 12, 2018 by

Drive through many small towns across America these days and you are almost sure to see a dollar store of one brand or other (or multiple stores) at the edge of town along the main drag or on the bypass. … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, architecture, business, cities, commerce, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, entrepreneurship, geography, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, placemaking, planning, product design, shopping, sprawl, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

A Quartet of Former Vintage Barber Shops

Posted on June 21, 2018 by

As a follow-up to my previous post of old barber shops still operating, here are four (4) that no longer are used as barber shops. Two (2) are currently empty though the barber shop in Honor was a sign shop … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, Animals, architecture, business, Cities, coffee shops/cafes, culture, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, entrepreneurship, food trucks, geography, historic preservation, history, land use, Pets, pictures, placemaking, planning, product design, Small business, third places, Uncategorized, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Ten Planning Lessons From Warsaw, Indiana

Posted on June 5, 2018 by

Warsaw, Indiana may not be the first place on most folks lists of planning trend setters across the nation, but in most any community one can find both good and bad lessons to learn from. This prosperous city along with … Continue reading →

Posted in bicycling, bike sharing, business, Cars, cities, commerce, Communications, demographics, downtown, economic development, environment, geography, Health care, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, placemaking, planning, revitalization, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, technology, tourism, traffic, transportation, urban planning, walking, zoning | Leave a comment

WATCH mUSkeGOn!

Posted on May 29, 2018 by

Got to admit that it has been quite a few years since I last visited Muskegon, Michigan. Even though it is my mother’s birthplace, I can only think of two or three trips to the city (not passing by on … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, architecture, art, cities, Cuisine, culture, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, environment, Food, historic preservation, infrastructure, land use, placemaking, planning, recreation, revitalization, skylines, spatial design, third places, tourism, Travel, urban planning, zoning | 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

Must modern houses resemble office buildings?

Posted on April 21, 2018 by

A housing trend I’ve noticed in Traverse City is homes being built that look more like an office building rather than a dwelling. I’m all for architectural freedom, but personally it’s not an appealing trend, at least in the manner … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, architecture, art, cities, culture, deserts, environment, futurism, geography, historic preservation, history, Housing, land use, landscape architecture, planning, spatial design, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Surviving Clusters of Shotgun Houses

Posted on April 14, 2018 by

The shotgun house, or shotgun shack is an easily recognizable long and narrow residential dwelling style that was most commonly constructed in the Deep South and along/near the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys in the decades between the end of the … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, Africa, architecture, art, cities, culture, density, diversity, economics, geography, historic preservation, history, homelessness, Housing, humanity, infrastructure, land use, new urbanism, placemaking, planning, revitalization, spatial design, Statistics, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Interstate Injustice: Plowing Highways Through Minority Neighborhoods

Posted on April 7, 2018 by

The list provided at the end of the post is a partial tally of the once vibrant, historically Black and Latino neighborhoods that have been largely decimated by Interstate Highway construction. Much of this community displacement and destruction took place … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, cities, civics, Civil Rights, economic development, environment, geography, health, history, Housing, humanity, infrastructure, land use, Maps, planning, politics, poverty, racism, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, traffic, transportation, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments