Authors
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problogic
- World’s largest cities with three (3) letter names
- The Pumpkins return with a “Smashing” good record
- City/town names in USA/Canada that end with matching letters
- The High Desert bursts forth in a symphony of colors
- Scaling peaks of stone despite achy bones: A memoir and and an aspiration
- Ten favorite and least favorite state capital cities
- Los destinos divinos de Latinoamérica: Ciudades con nombres religiosos más allá de San/o, o Santa/o [Latin America’s divine destinations: Cities with religious names beyond San/o, or Santa/o]
- Ten dreamy planning lessons from cruising Michigan’s Woodward Corridor
- Cities and towns on the go –> Go –> GO!
- Twelve planning lessons from the Interstate Highway System
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Tag Archives: economic development
Observation towers as economic & tourism development tools
While preparing my recent post on North American observation towers, an intriguing trend was noticed across the Midwest and Great Plains. There, where topographic changes can often quite subtle, observation towers appear to have become an economic development and/or tourism … Continue reading
Posted in adaptive reuse, architecture, art, branding, cities, civics, economic development, economic gardening, Economy, entertainment, environment, fitness, fun, geography, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, marketing, nature, pictures, placemaking, planning, product design, recreation, revitalization, rivers/watersheds, skyscrapers, spatial design, Statistics, technology, third places, topography, tourism, Travel, urban design, urban planning, walking
Tagged cities, economic development, lookout towers, lookouts, observation towers, tourism, towers, travel
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Shifting from bland to “GRAND!”
As the following photos will demonstrate, when it comes to mixed-use development there can be bland designs and there can be “GRAND” designs. The first two mixed-use buildings (see below) are located in East Lansing and tend to come across as … Continue reading
Posted in Advocacy, architecture, art, cities, civics, commerce, Communications, culture, diversity, downtown, economic development, entertainment, entrepreneurship, fun, Housing, humanity, land use, new urbanism, pictures, placemaking, planning, product design, revitalization, skylines, spatial design, sustainability, third places, tourism, Travel, urban planning, walking, zoning
Tagged architecture, art, buildings, cities, design, economic development, fun, land use, mixed use developments, pedestrians, planning, streetscapes, urban design, urban planning, walking
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Prospecting for art in former mining towns
Each of the towns listed below was historically founded as an isolated mining community. All have successfully reinvented themselves as art towns since the local mining industry waned. Some mining operations may still take place in the vicinity, but not to the … Continue reading
Posted in adaptive reuse, architecture, art, branding, Canada, cities, civics, commerce, culture, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, entrepreneurship, environment, geography, Geology, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, marketing, Mining, North America, placemaking, planning, revitalization, Small business, spatial design, sustainability, third places, tourism, Trade, Travel, urban planning
Tagged art, art towns, branding, cities, economic development, geography, geology, history, land use, mining, planning, revitalization
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Geography of advanced degrees in the USA (2013)
This fascinating chart from newgeography.com depicts those large metropolitan areas in the United States with the highest percentage of advanced degrees (masters or Ph.D) in 2013. Of particular interest in the growth in many Northern and Western cities and the corresponding … Continue reading
Posted in aerospace, Alternative energy, Alternative transportation, architecture, aviation, cities, colleges, economic development, economic gardening, economics, Economy, education, entrepreneurship, environment, geography, Health care, infrastructure, North America, planning, Renewable Energy, Statistics, technology, urban planning
Tagged advanced degrees, cities, colleges, economic development, education, geography, jobs, statistics, United States, universities
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Most innovative USA metros: 2000-2011
Below is a list of the twenty most innovative metropolitan areas in the United States, based on the number of patents issued between 2000 and 2011. Most surprising is the absence of the Research Triangle of Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina; … Continue reading
Posted in aerospace, Alternative energy, cities, colleges, commerce, Communications, culture, economic development, economic gardening, Economy, education, entrepreneurship, geography, health, Health care, infrastructure, internet, land use, Maps, North America, placemaking, planning, product design, Renewable Energy, schools, Science, Statistics, technology, Trade
Tagged cities, data, economic development, entrepreneurship, innovation, metros, patents, Science, technology, urban areas, USA
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Sky-high Ferris wheels – latest urban fad?
Until the past few days, I had not realized how many cities have added an enormous Ferris wheel as an urban attraction. Yes, I knew of the London Eye and even visited it myself in 2008, though the queue and … Continue reading
Posted in architecture, art, Asia, branding, China, cities, culture, downtown, economic development, entertainment, Europe, film, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, holiday, infrastructure, Ireland, land use, landscape architecture, movies, new urbanism, North America, Oceania, placemaking, planning, product design, revitalization, skylines, technology, third places, tourism, Travel, UK, urban planning, video
Tagged 1941, amenities, Australia, Canada, China, cities, downtown, economic development, entertainment, Ferris wheels, fun, geography, Japan, land use, movies, placemaking, planning, Russia, Singapore, technology, UK, urban planning, USA
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This is what great planning is all about!
Anyone remotely interested in urban planning, revitalization, hiking, kayaking, bicycling, history, civics, urban design, community spirit, canals, economic development, the environment, or cities in general should download and listen to the November 19, 2013 podcast and powerpoint presentation of Tuesdays … Continue reading
Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, Advocacy, architecture, art, bicycling, Biking, branding, cities, civics, civility, commerce, culture, diversity, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, environment, fitness, fun, geography, government, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, marketing, nature, new urbanism, North America, Passenger rail, placemaking, planning, rail, recreation, revitalization, Small business, spatial design, sustainability, third places, tourism, trails, transit, transportation, Travel, urban planning, walking, zoning
Tagged APA, architecture, art, bicycling, Blue Island, canals, Chicago, cities, Daniel Burnham, design, economic development, fitness, geography, health, hiking, history, Illinois, kayaking, land use, podcasts, recreation, revitalization, rowing, trails, transportation, Tuesdays at APA, urban planning, walking, water, water trails
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A bolder thesis from Boulder
I finished reading an excellent economic development planning and entrepreneurship book a week or so ago. It is entitled Startup Communities by entrepreneur and author Brad Feld. In the book, Mr. Feld adeptly describes how the Boulder, Colorado startup community began, … Continue reading
Posted in Advocacy, art, book reviews, books, branding, cities, civics, civility, coffee shops/cafes, commerce, Communications, culture, diversity, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, economics, Economy, entrepreneurship, environment, family, government, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, Labor, land use, literature, marketing, nature, North America, placemaking, planning, product design, recreation, Small business, spatial design, sustainability, technology, third places, Trade, urban planning, writing
Tagged authors, book reviews, books, Boulder, Boulder thesis, Brad Feld, cities, Colorado, economic development, economic gardening, entrepreneurship, literature, planning, start-up communities, start-ups, startup, writing
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Teaching the old guard some new tricks
I don’t know if this scenario applies universally, but in some places there is an unfortunate problem of the old guard of the planning and economic development hierarchy literally standing in the way of innovative ideas and programs. It may be employing alternative … Continue reading
Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, Administration, Advocacy, Alternative energy, architecture, bicycling, Biking, cities, civics, civility, Communications, culture, economic development, entrepreneurship, environment, government, history, humanity, inclusiveness, land use, planning, politics, urban planning, zoning
Tagged administration, cities, economic development, government, land use, planning, politics, zoning
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Panethos 
Are brewpubs becoming too standardized?
In a word, yes. I have visited several dozen brewpubs in seven states and am beginning to tire of the same old, same old format of restored historic building, wood floors, big screen TVs, brick walls, lots of noise, standard … Continue reading →