Tag Archives: culture

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

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

Strict planning & zoning destroys eclectic, offbeat, and funky

After three decades in the planning profession and several more years since retirement, I’ve come to the conclusion that if you want your community to maintain or build a funky, hip, offbeat, or eccentric vibe, it can not be done … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, advertising, Advocacy, archaeology, architecture, art, branding, business, cities, civics, commerce, consumerism, Cuisine, culture, demographics, deregulation, diversity, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, entrepreneurship, family, Food, fun, gentrification, health, historic preservation, history, homelessness, Housing, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, marketing, Mining, opinion, pictures, placemaking, planning, poverty, product design, revitalization, shopping, signs, Small business, social equity, spatial design, third places, tourism, Travel, urban design, urban planning, visual pollution, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Gnarly Native American art on skateboard decks

We had the pleasure of visiting the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This facility is very impressive and includes a variety of exhibits, meeting rooms, as well as a nice restaurant and gift shop. The exhibit that … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, art, cities, culture, diversity, economic development, entertainment, entrepreneurship, fun, history, humanity, inclusiveness, Native Americans, nature, pictures, placemaking, product design, recreation, Religion, Small business, sports, tourism, Trade, transportation, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

These places NEED to become one National Park!

Of all of America’s national parks, three (3) tend to stand out as pre-eminent showcases of outstanding natural beauty. Those are Yellowstone, Zion, and Yosemite. However, there is a fourth location that currently consists of a national monument, a national … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, Animals, archaeology, climate, culture, ecosystems, entertainment, environment, fun, geography, Geology, government, health, historic preservation, history, land use, Maps, Native Americans, nature, peace, pictures, planning, recreation, rivers/watersheds, scenic byways, Statistics, topography, toponymy, tourism, trails, Travel, waterfalls | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Viva historic preservation in the “True Las Vegas”

We recently spent part of a day wandering about downtown Las Vegas, New Mexico and came away very impressed by the preserved historical and cultural assets of this High Plains city. Unlike the overwhelming glitter and gaudiness found in Nevada, … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, archaeology, architecture, art, branding, business, cities, civics, civility, commerce, Cuisine, culture, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, entrepreneurship, Food, fun, geography, government, historic preservation, history, Housing, infrastructure, land use, libraries, Maps, pictures, placemaking, planning, revitalization, shopping, Small business, spatial design, Statistics, third places, topography, tourism, Trade, Travel, urban design, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Ethnic/Cultural heritage-themed towns in the USA

The table below identifies those actual cities and towns across the United States that have an ethnic or cultural theme for promoting tourism, branding, and/or celebrating local pride, based on their unique local heritage. In many cases the theme is … Continue reading

Posted in advertising, architecture, art, branding, cities, civics, culture, economic development, entertainment, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, immigration, infrastructure, land use, marketing, place names, placemaking, planning, revitalization, third places, toponymy, tourism, Trade, Travel, urban design, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Obtrusive cemeteries at ancient Native American Mound sites

Initially, the idea of locating a modern (post-European settlement) cemetery on or amidst an ancient Native American Mound or Mound Complex might have seemed like a logical use of the land, as they are both burial sites. During the 19th-century, … Continue reading

Posted in archaeology, civility, culture, diversity, historic preservation, history, human rights, humanity, land use, Native Americans, pictures, spatial design | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Favorite historic mining towns visited to date

Favorite historic mining towns are presented in alphabetical order after the top three, which are immediately below. The list does not include historic mining towns that are now ghost towns. Here are the favorites to date: Bisbee, Arizona (copper, gold, … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, archaeology, architecture, art, branding, business, cities, culture, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, environment, fun, geography, Geology, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, marketing, Mining, placemaking, planning, recreation, revitalization, spatial design, third places, topography, tourism, trails, Travel, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Ten+ planning lessons from “remarqable” Marquette, Michigan

Before going through the twelve planning lessons listed below, it must be noted that for many years, Marquette has been at the top of my list of favorite cities in Michigan, as well as the at the top of my … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, archaeology, architecture, bicycling, Biking, branding, cities, civics, colleges, commerce, culture, diversity, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, environment, fun, geography, Geology, Great Lakes, hiking, historic preservation, history, immigration, infrastructure, land use, Mining, nature, new urbanism, place names, placemaking, planning, Railroads, recreation, revitalization, shipping, skylines, spatial design, sustainability, third places, topography, tourism, Trade, traffic, trails, transportation, Travel, urban planning, walking, water trails, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment