Tag Archives: homeless

Cities with a Homeless Bill of Rights

On November 2, 2015 the City Commission of Traverse City adopted a Bill of Rights for homeless residents of the city. I am so very proud of my new home town for having taken this important and compassionate step. In … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, cities, civics, civility, culture, health, homelessness, Housing, human rights, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, Love, planning, politics, social equity, urban planning | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Are we becoming a scavenger society?

Last night, I stopped by Michigan State University’s state-of-the art Public Recycling Center to drop off my recyclables.  While there, I happened to notice a woman was carrying a metal object with three-prongs at the end of it. As I … Continue reading

Posted in charities, civility, consumerism, economics, Economy, Environment, health, homelessness, humanity, politics, poverty, Recycling, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Restoring hope for the “blind sides” of cities

Sunday evening I was driving through one of the less fortunate parts of Greater Lansing. While doing so I realized that even as urban planners, many of us live in sheltered cocoons during most of our professional careers. Either we … Continue reading

Posted in cities, civics, culture, diversity, economic development, education, entrepreneurship, fair trade, food systems, health, history, homelessness, human rights, immigration, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, placemaking, planning, poverty, revitalization, spatial design, sprawl, sustainability, urban planning, volunteerism | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Here’s something new – panhandle meters

According to a brief tidbit in this month’s Planning magazine, parking meters are not the only meters you will find along the city streets of Miami, Florida. Begun in 2010, the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust installed colorful panhandle meters for citizens and … Continue reading

Posted in Cities, economics, homelessness, Housing, land use, poverty | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Where the street people have no names

The post title comes from a U2 song of nearly the same name. It seems to best epitomize this sad, yet hopeful story from npr.com. While I can see the benefit of making tourists and citizens more cognizant of and … Continue reading

Posted in Cities, homelessness, poverty | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment