Tag Archives: agriculture

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

Timeless Portraits of the Oklahoma Panhandle

Some places seem to remain largely fixed in time despite the constant changes that occur in the world around them. The narrow strip of land, affectionately known as the Oklahoma Panhandle, is just one of those places. Even today, the … Continue reading

Posted in agriculture, archaeology, books, business, cities, climate change, commerce, culture, economics, energy, environment, geography, historic preservation, history, humanity, infrastructure, land use, Maps, Mining, movies, Native Americans, nature, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, poverty, rail, Railroads, Renewable Energy, scenic byways, Skies, skylines, Small business, spatial design, Statistics, topography, toponymy, tourism, Trade, transportation, Travel, weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Albuquerque’s two distinctive ranchito suburbs

All of us are familiar with the enormous ranches and farming operations that are most often found flung across the Midwestern and Western United States. We are also familiar with the smaller scale ranchettes and farmettes that tend to dot … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, Advocacy, agriculture, Animals, archaeology, architecture, art, cities, civics, culture, density, diversity, economic development, economic gardening, environment, Food, food systems, geography, government, health, historic preservation, history, land use, Maps, Native Americans, nature, placemaking, planning, recreation, rivers/watersheds, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, sustainability, third places, topography, tourism, Trade, trails, Travel, urban planning, walking, Wildlife, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A whirling good time to the Mid-America Windmill Museum

Nothing evokes the history of the American Midwest and Great Plains more than the classic windmill spinning effortlessly in the breeze. Sadly, these iconic structures are becoming less and less visible on the American landscape. But, there is a wonderful … Continue reading

Posted in agriculture, Alternative energy, architecture, culture, energy, environment, geography, historic preservation, history, industry, infrastructure, land use, nature, peace, product design, technology, topography, weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Stitching together a “Quilt Barn Trail”

On Michigan’s historic Old Mission Peninsula, the community has banded together to stitch a Quilt Barn Trail. One may ask, as I first did, what is a Quilt Barn Trail? Essentially, it is an effort to celebrate and recognize the … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, agriculture, architecture, art, branding, civics, Communications, culture, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, environment, family, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, land use, Maps, placemaking, planning, revitalization, signs, tourism, trails, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Land uses which are more often found in the “Heartland”

Here is the third in this series of region-specific land uses – this one lists those more often found in the Heartland of the country. As always, additions and corrections are welcome. Family farms Dairies County courthouse squares Farm implement … Continue reading

Posted in branding, culture, fun, geography, history, land use, planning | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

“Small, Gritty, and Green” just misses the mark

While quite an interesting read, the book Small, Gritty, and Green: The Promise of America’s Smaller Industrial Cities in a Low-Carbon World, by Catherine Tumber raised only a few new ideas to this urban planner. Perhaps that was because it … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, Alternative energy, art, book reviews, books, branding, cities, civics, climate change, colleges, commerce, culture, diversity, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, Economy, education, energy, entrepreneurship, environment, Food, geography, globalization, government, health, historic preservation, history, Housing, inclusiveness, infrastructure, Labor, land use, literature, marketing, new urbanism, North America, placemaking, planning, politics, pollution, poverty, psychology, recreation, Renewable Energy, revitalization, schools, Science, Small business, spatial design, sprawl, States, Statistics, sustainability, technology, third places, tourism, Trade, transit, transportation, Travel, unemployment, urban planning, weather, writing, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Down the drain – our use and abuse of water

A map entitled “World of Rivers” included as an insert within the April 2010 issue of National Geographic magazine provides an analysis of how much water is actually consumed (hidden water usage) to produce common everyday goods. It is an … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, agriculture, Animals, beer, civics, climate change, coffee shops/cafes, commerce, consumerism, culture, education, environment, Food, food systems, geography, globalization, health, humanity, land use, nature, planning, product design, Science, spatial design, Statistics, sustainability, weather | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

When Ford didn’t have a better idea

I finished reading the book entitled Fordlandia: the Rise and Fall of Henry Ford’s Forgotten Jungle City by Greg Grandin last night. This fine publication was released in 2009 and was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award that … Continue reading

Posted in agriculture, Animals, architecture, book reviews, books, Cars, cities, civics, civility, climate change, commerce, culture, diversity, economic development, economics, entrepreneurship, environment, geography, globalization, health, historic preservation, history, Housing, immigration, infrastructure, land use, nature, planning, politics, Science, South America, spatial design, sustainability, tourism, Trade, transportation, Travel, urban planning, weather, Wildlife, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“It was like three midnights in a jug”

The memorable quote used for the title of this post came from a survivor of the Dust Bowl. Also referred to as the Dirty Thirties, this decade meant great economic and social hardship for many residents of the United States, but … Continue reading

Posted in art, book reviews, books, Canada, climate change, Economy, environment, Food, food systems, geography, Geology, health, history, homelessness, Housing, humanity, immigration, land use, nature, North America, politics, pollution, reading, Science, States, sustainability, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments