Tag Archives: architecture

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

Samples of Brutalist Architecture in Michigan

Posted on January 29, 2018 by

Posted in architecture, art, civics, Communications, futurism, geography, government, historic preservation, history, land use, planning, skylines, spatial design, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

India graces us with the loveliest skyscraper of all

Posted on January 23, 2017 by

The Namaste Tower under construction in Mumbai, India may not be the tallest skyscraper in the city or in the world at (301 meters or 988 feet in height), but when completed it sure will be the loveliest. Designed to … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, art, Asia, cities, civics, culture, downtown, economic development, geography, infrastructure, land use, pictures, placemaking, planning, skylines, skyscrapers, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Stitching together a “Quilt Barn Trail”

Posted on May 1, 2016 by

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

Raising the High Line’s influence to new heights 

Posted on March 21, 2016 by

  It’s not often that you see a skyscraper design that thinks outside the box here in the United States, but I must admit the proposed Spiral in New York City is an eye-catcher. This handsome tower incorporates a stunning … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, cities, downtown, economic development, environment, Green roofs, land use, new urbanism, planning, skylines, skyscrapers, Statistics, sustainability, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Urban planning portrayed through art

Posted on March 12, 2016 by

As urban planners we most often tend to think of our profession being depicted to the outside world in fairly basic textual and geographic terms. Either it is the written word in somewhat legalistic prose, or it is maps representing … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, art, books, cartoons, cities, civics, Communications, culture, film, history, humanity, inclusiveness, land use, literature, movies, music, new urbanism, pictures, placemaking, planning, Poem, spatial design, sustainability, Television, theaters, tourism, Travel, urban planning, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Abandoned commercial airports – ruins and reuses

Posted on February 5, 2016 by

A bit of postmodern ruin porn and uplifting adaptive reuse ideas are provided in this post with a listing of those major abandoned commercial airports which no longer (or in some cases never did) see flights. Some, particularly Croydon, Kai … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, aerospace, air travel, airport planning, airports, architecture, aviation, geography, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, planning, revitalization, spatial design, sustainability, Trade, transportation, Travel, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

An artistic planning masterpiece

Posted on January 8, 2016 by

  As an urban planner, I have seen some very well-written and thought-provoking master plans in the past 25+ years. But recently I stumbled across a specialized plan that I think may top them all – the Public Art Program … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, architecture, art, branding, Cities, civics, culture, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, education, entertainment, fun, geography, government, historic preservation, history, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, music, nature, new urbanism, placemaking, planning, spatial design, sustainability, tourism, Travel, Uncategorized, urban planning, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Urban design without fake plastic signs

Posted on September 15, 2015 by

In many communities across the country, commercial signage seems to be employed in a manner that appears more appropriate in Las Vegas, Times Square, or in this Radiohead video for the song Fake Plastic Trees, rather than on businesses fronting Main Street. … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, advertising, architecture, art, branding, business, cities, commerce, Communications, consumerism, downtown, economic development, historic preservation, history, land use, new urbanism, placemaking, planning, signs, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments