Tag Archives: news

The closest thing to a-la-carte viewing thus far

Posted on January 5, 2015 by problogic

After years of frustration with Bombast and other less-than-customer-friendly cable companies, my wife and I have decided to cut the cord. Instead we have now installed a Mohu high-definition antenna and a Roku 3 web-streaming player. The HD antenna gives … Continue reading →

Posted in art, Communications, consumerism, entertainment, family, fun, infrastructure, internet, movies, music, product design, Radio, Social media, technology, Television, video, weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A heartbreaking image from Ukraine

Posted on May 3, 2014 by problogic

It is said that pictures can tell a 1,000 words. The photograph of this bewildered bicyclist above from Ukraine does that and much more – it depicts what should be the joy of cycling set against a backdrop of death, … Continue reading →

Posted in Active transportation, Advocacy, art, bicycling, Biking, civics, civility, Communications, culture, diversity, environment, Europe, film, geography, Guns, history, human rights, humanity, inclusiveness, Love, military, music, peace, pictures, politics, video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

If I had a nickel for every urban legend…

Posted on October 19, 2013 by problogic

As urban planners we hear some real whoppers now and again. Beyond that, we also hear our fair share of rumors, innuendo, guesstimates, conjecture, hyperbole, and flat-out lies. But, it is the urban legends that I find most fascinating. Those … Continue reading →

Posted in cities, civics, civility, Communications, consumerism, culture, government, history, humanity, land use, planning, urban planning, writing, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

It’s time for 21st century legal noticing!

Posted on July 26, 2013 by problogic

In an era of daily newspapers shutting down or dramatically reducing their publication dates to just twice or thrice a week, and with Saturday mail delivery being on the fiscal chopping block, it seems long-past time that planning and zoning enabling legislation … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, Advocacy, cities, civics, civility, commerce, Communications, culture, education, government, history, humanity, inclusiveness, land use, Language, libraries, planning, politics, Social media, technology, Television, urban planning, writing, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Shared responsibility for Detroit’s plight

Posted on July 24, 2013 by problogic

As a Michigander for the past 21 years, I have heard my share of Detroit criticisms, jokes, and put downs, both from within and outside the Great Lakes State. While fingers can be and have been correctly pointed at the … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptive reuse, Advocacy, architecture, art, Cars, cities, civics, commerce, culture, diversity, downtown, economic development, Economy, entrepreneurship, geography, globalization, government, historic preservation, history, homelessness, Housing, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, new urbanism, placemaking, planning, politics, poverty, racism, revitalization, spatial design, sports, sprawl, States, sustainability, transit, transportation, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Fear factor forecasting

Posted on June 29, 2013 by problogic

Anyone else notice how weather forecasting (and related types of science)has taken a decisively edgier tone over the years. Hardly a season goes by anymore without some new “scarier” term being used to describe weather-related events. Some were invented (Super … Continue reading →

Posted in climate change, Communications, entertainment, environment, geography, government, Language, nature, Science, technology, Television, weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Leading the charge, pt. 2 – states with best EV station access

Posted on May 13, 2013 by problogic

While the total number of electric vehicle charging stations is one measure of successful employment of charging station infrastructure (see post from 5/11/13), to the average driver, ease of accessibility is a better measure. Once again, Tennessee is the big … Continue reading →

Posted in Active transportation, Alternative energy, Cars, cities, civics, climate change, commerce, consumerism, culture, economic development, economic gardening, economics, entrepreneurship, environment, EVs and hybrids, geography, government, health, humanity, infrastructure, land use, logistics, North America, placemaking, planning, politics, pollution, product design, Renewable Energy, revitalization, spatial design, States, Statistics, sustainability, technology, tourism, transportation, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

American as baseball, hot dogs, and vodka – Spy towns of the Cold War

Posted on May 2, 2013 by problogic

I always find it interesting how certain blog post ideas come to me. This one was totally on a lark. I was watching NCIS Los Angeles Tuesday night and near the end of the episode, Hetty and Callen were in … Continue reading →

Posted in cities, civics, commerce, culture, education, film, geography, globalization, government, historic preservation, history, humanity, immigration, land use, military, peace, planning, politics, product design, Television, Travel, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

“Dust in the Wind” – Cities prone to dust storms

Posted on November 17, 2012 by problogic

In conjunction with Ken Burns new documentary film entitled “The Dust Bowl” which is premiering November 18th and 19th on  PBS, I thought a post about those urban areas around the world that are subject to dust storms, sand storms, and haboobs on a fairly regular … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, agriculture, Asia, Canada, China, cities, climate change, density, economic development, environment, Europe, Food, food systems, geography, health, history, humanity, India, land use, nature, North America, Oceania, planning, pollution, poverty, Science, seasons, South America, spatial design, sprawl, States, sustainability, Television, Travel, urban planning, weather, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

The birth of new nations?

Posted on September 16, 2012 by problogic

Came across this story on the BBC about 1.5 million Catalonians marching on the streets of Barcelona back on September 11th in support of the region’s independence from Spain. I predicted that both Catalonia and the Basque regions will seek and … Continue reading →

Posted in civics, civility, Communications, culture, diversity, economics, Economy, Europe, geography, government, history, humanity, inclusiveness, peace, politics, psychology | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments