Tag Archives: inclusiveness

The planning profession could use some anarchy!

Just before the climatic car race scene in the movie Grease, John Travolta’s opponent turns to him and says the following: Well, in the urban planning field, one can definitely NOT say “there ain’t no rules.” And that’s a problem. … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, cities, civics, Civil Rights, civility, Communications, culture, demographics, digital communications, diversity, education, government, history, homelessness, Housing, human rights, humanity, inclusiveness, Labor, land use, movies, Native Americans, opinion, peace, pictures, planning, poverty, Religion, social equity, Social media, spatial design, sustainability, urban design, urban planning, video, Welcome, Women, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Ten planning lessons from OKC – America’s newest great city!

The changes/improvements that have taken place in Oklahoma City in the past 16 years (since I last visited) are remarkable and immensely impressive. Here are ten planning lessons from the exciting and entertaining capital of Oklahoma. Oklahoma City has coalesced … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, architecture, art, bicycling, branding, brewpubs, bridges, business, Cars, charities, cities, civics, civility, commerce, Cuisine, culture, diversity, downtown, economic development, entertainment, environment, family, fitness, Food, food systems, food trucks, fun, gentrification, geography, government, health, highways, hiking, historic preservation, history, Housing, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, marketing, new urbanism, pictures, placemaking, planning, product design, recreation, revitalization, rivers/watersheds, shopping, skylines, skyscrapers, social equity, spatial design, sports, sprawl, sustainability, technology, third places, tourism, traffic, trails, transit, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, walking, water trails, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Great ‘Reverse’ Migration May Be Disastrous for Many Northern Cities and States

Between 1916 and 1970, more than six million African-Americans migrated northward to work in factories and live in cities across the Northeast and Midwest. Today, there is mounting evidence that this great migration has reversed itself, as those who can … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, cities, civics, Civil Rights, civility, culture, demographics, economic development, economic gardening, Economy, education, entrepreneurship, family, geography, government, history, Housing, humanity, immigration, inclusiveness, planning, politics, poverty, social equity, Statistics, urban planning | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Metro areas most impacted by the new immigration ban

Interesting data from the Brookings Institutionis provided below which is related to existing immigrant residents in the United States from the recently banned seven (7) Muslim nations.  The data in the first chart shows those cities where these immigrant populations … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, cities, civics, civility, culture, demographics, diversity, geography, human rights, humanity, immigration, inclusiveness, planning, politics, Statistics, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Building a peaceful community with good planning

Building a peaceful community does not just result from how we treat one another (see previous post), but can be literally develop based on how we design our communities and allocate funding. The days of the “wrong side of the … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, Advocacy, airports, Alternative transportation, architecture, Bus transportation, Cars, cities, civics, civility, climate change, commerce, culture, diversity, economic development, environment, gentrification, geography, health, historic preservation, history, homelessness, Housing, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, Love, new urbanism, peace, placemaking, planning, pollution, poverty, rail, revitalization, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, sustainability, third places, traffic, transit, transportation, Travel, urban planning, walking, zoning | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Opting-out of mass transit = modern redlining

Currently, more than 50 communities in Southeast Michigan opt-out of participating in SMART (the regional transit system). Just yesterday, in a narrow 3-2 vote, Bloomfield Hills voted to continue opting out. Most often, the rationale for not participating is due … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, Advocacy, Bus transportation, Cars, cities, civics, civility, commerce, culture, diversity, economics, geography, government, history, homelessness, human rights, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, placemaking, planning, politics, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, transit, transportation, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Seeking admission into the realm of hipsterdom

Does the realm of hipsterdom have a maximum age limit? That’s a question I have often asked myself.  Can someone like me, who soon will be facing the 40th high school reunion squarely in the face, really be considered a … Continue reading

Posted in art, beer, bicycling, branding, brewpubs, civics, civility, coffee shops/cafes, Communications, culture, diversity, history, humanity, inclusiveness, peace, politics, reading, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ten planning lessons made in Detroit

Here are my ten planning lessons from Detroit. It’s a great city that I have seen change dramatically, both for the positive and the negative, over the past 22 years as a resident of Michigan. Beneath this downtrodden city was a sleeping giant … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, Advocacy, architecture, branding, Canada, cities, civics, civility, Communications, culture, diversity, geography, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, North America, placemaking, planning, revitalization, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, sustainability, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Plaidurday – A celebration of plaid!

On October 7, 2011, the first Plaidurday was celebrated in Lansing, Michigan. In case you have been residing in a cave or castaway on a remote island and have not heard of Plaidurday, here’s the brief history of the event from … Continue reading

Posted in branding, culture, fun, geography, globalization, holiday, inclusiveness, Language, pictures, product design, Social media | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

USA’s most exciting mid-sized cities

Below is a list created by the Movoto Real Estate Blog of its top ten most exciting mid- sized cities (120,000 to 210,000 people) in the United States: Providence, RI Charleston, SC Fort Collins, CO Eugene, OR Syracuse, NY New … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, art, beer, bicycling, Biking, branding, brewpubs, cities, coffee shops/cafes, colleges, commerce, Cuisine, culture, economic development, economic gardening, Economy, entertainment, entrepreneurship, Food, fun, geography, health, hiking, humanity, inclusiveness, marketing, movies, music, pictures, placemaking, planning, recreation, sustainability, theaters, third places, tourism, trails, transportation, Travel, urban planning, walking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments