Authors
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problogic
- Tuesday Tunes: Out-of-this-world rock band names
- Riding the rails of interstellar discovery at the Very Large Array
- Majestic “mesa” cities and towns around the globe
- Canada’s next supergroup – A Short Walk to Pluto
- Two migration tales of strength, hardship, and tenacity
- An out-of-this-world visit to the Very Large Array (VLA)
- Albuquerque is a national leader in water conservation
- The buzz about America’s “bee-friendly” cities
- Tallest buildings of Greater Washington, DC
- New Mexico’s protected wildlife areas along the Rio Grande
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Tag Archives: California
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 authors, book reviews, books, California, culture, culture wars, diversity, dystopia, environment, extrapolative, fear, geography, history, hope, inclusivness, literature, Los Angeles, maps, Mike Davis, opinion, planning, safety, security, The Ecology of Fear, writing
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Finding “Los Angeles” amid the aura of “LA”
Downtown Los Angeles with the San Gabriel Mountains in the background – Source: unsplash.com Every city is unique unto itself. Just like human beings, cities have their own character, appearance, identity, flaws, attributes, and aesthetics. As a result, no single … Continue reading
Posted in Active transportation, Alternative transportation, architecture, art, bicycling, Biking, books, branding, business, Cars, cities, civics, commerce, culture, diversity, downtown, economic development, engineering, entertainment, entrepreneurship, environment, film, fun, geography, highways, hiking, historic preservation, history, homelessness, Housing, humanity, inclusiveness, land use, literature, Love, mountains, movies, Music, nature, new urbanism, Passenger rail, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, politics, rail, Railroads, recreation, skylines, skyscrapers, songs, spatial design, sprawl, technology, Television, theaters, third places, topography, toponymy, tourism, Trade, traffic, trails, transit, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, walking, writing, zoning
Tagged book reviews, books, California, cities, freeways, geography, history, LA, La La Land, land use, literature, Los Angeles, megacity, movies, planning, shows, Southern California, writing
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America’s most charming walkable neighborhood is in…
Los Angeles! Yes, you read that correctly. The city known for miles of freeways and lengthy traffic jams is also home to what this retired urban planner feels is the most charming walkable neighborhood in the United States. In fact, … Continue reading
Posted in Active transportation, Alternative transportation, architecture, art, books, Cars, cities, civics, culture, density, engineering, entertainment, environment, fitness, fun, geography, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, Housing, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, Maps, mountains, nature, new urbanism, parking, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, product design, recreation, skylines, spatial design, technology, third places, topography, tourism, traffic, trails, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, walking, zoning
Tagged architecture, California, cities, design, High Tower Elevator, history, Hollywood Heights, LA, Los Angeles, neighborhoods, planning, stairways, urban design, walkability, walking, walkways
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LA en noir et blanc (in black and white)
Below are a few images from mighty Los Angeles taken over the past holiday weekend. They are presented in beautifully subtle black and white monochrome.
Posted in air travel, airports, architecture, art, Cities, culture, downtown, entertainment, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, movies, Nature, new urbanism, pictures, placemaking, planning, skylines, skyscrapers, spatial design, topography, tourism, Transportation, Travel, Uncategorized, urban design, urban planning, walking
Tagged art, black and white, California, Hollywood, Los Angeles, monocrhrome, noir, photographs, photography, stairways
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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 beaches, California, culture, Hermosa Beach, industry, LA, Los Angeles, Manhattan Beach, Pacific Ocean, Redondo Beach, South Bay, surfing, trails
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Ten planning lessons from mighty Los Angeles
Despite its detractors, every time I’m in Los Angeles, the city impresses me more. From the first time in 1970 to just recently, the changes are palpable, especially the move(s) away from being so car-centric and increased densification. Below, is … Continue reading
Posted in Active transportation, Alternative transportation, architecture, art, bicycling, branding, business, cities, civics, commerce, culture, density, distribution, downtown, economic development, Economy, entertainment, entrepreneurship, environment, fun, geography, Highway displacement, highways, historic preservation, history, humanity, immigration, industry, infrastructure, land use, logistics, Maps, mountains, movies, music, nature, Passenger rail, peace, pictures, placemaking, planning, pollution, rail, Railroads, recreation, skylines, skyscrapers, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, Television, topography, tourism, Trade, traffic, transit, transportation, Travel, trucking, urban design, urban planning, walking, zoning
Tagged art, Brady Bunch, Burbank, California, cities, commuter rail, Glendale, highways, Hollywood, LA, land use, light rail, Long Beach, Los Angeles, movies, Pasadena, planning, ports, Santa Monica, subways, transportation, trucks, TV
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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 architecture, California, desert, design, fashion, mid-century modern, Palm Springs, planning, tourism, travel
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Creating LA’s starlit aura – “The Mirage Factory”
What an outstanding book! Perhaps, my favorite the best city biography ever read. Author Gary Krist simply nails it with The Mirage Factory. It’s entertaining, enthralling, infuriating, and thoroughly engaging to read. You will definitely learn some amazing and eye-opening … Continue reading
Posted in Advocacy, art, book reviews, books, branding, business, Cars, cities, civics, commerce, Communications, consumerism, culture, demographics, economic development, entertainment, entrepreneurship, environment, film, fun, geography, Geology, government, highways, historic preservation, history, Housing, humanity, industry, infrastructure, injustice, land use, marketing, movies, music, nature, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, politics, product design, racism, reading, Religion, rivers/watersheds, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, technology, theaters, topography, tourism, Trade, traffic, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, Women, writing
Tagged book reviews, books, California, Gary Krist, history, LA, Los Angeles, silent films, The Mirage Factory, urban biographies, water
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‘Walking with the spirits’ – “Wild” is a must read!
One of the best non-fiction, travel-adventure books I have ever read, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, by Cheryl Strayed is a magnificent publication. Few, if any books capture my imagination in the Prologue, but this … Continue reading
Posted in Active transportation, Animals, art, book reviews, books, Communications, culture, entertainment, environment, family, geography, health, hiking, history, humanity, land use, literature, Love, nature, peace, tourism, trails, transportation, Travel, walking, Wildlife, Women, writing
Tagged book reviews, books, California, Cheryl Strayed, hiking, literature, Minnesota, Oregon, Pacific Crest Trail, trails, walking, Wild
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Two new dark-sky place designations
The International Dark-Sky Association has announced the designation of two more International Dark-Sky places this week. The two new sites are: Death Valley National Park in California (now largest of all the dark-sky parks). Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales – designated … Continue reading
Posted in Astronomy, environment, Europe, geography, humanity, land use, light pollution, nature, North America, Outer Space, peace, placemaking, Science, skylines, sprawl, sustainability, tourism, Travel, UK, visual pollution, weather
Tagged astronomy, California, dark-sky, International Dark-Sky, light pollution, nature, night sky, sky, space, stars, Wales
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Panethos 