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Tag Archives: placemaking
America’s hottest hipsterhoods in 2017
The following list developed by hotspotrentals.com identifies the hottest inner city neighborhoods around the country in 2017. Having been to Midtown Detroit back in late August and seen how exciting it is, one can only imagine the vibrancy and hipness of the … Continue reading
Posted in Active transportation, Alternative transportation, art, Biking, branding, Cities, civics, coffee shops/cafes, commerce, culture, density, diversity, economic gardening, fun, gentrification, geography, Housing, land use, new urbanism, place names, placemaking, planning, revitalization, spatial design, Statistics, third places, urban planning, walking
Tagged cities, gentrification, hipsterhoods, hipsters, neighborhoods, placemaking, revitalization, urban
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TC’s totally cool downtown “Art Banner Project”
Walk, bike, or drive around downtown Traverse City and you will soon see one of the enormous art banners hanging from the walls of some of the buildings. Brainchild of retired Art Department Chair of Northwestern Michigan College, Paul Welch, … Continue reading
Posted in art, branding, cities, civics, Communications, culture, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, fun, history, land use, new urbanism, pictures, placemaking, planning, revitalization, skylines, spatial design, third places, tourism, Travel, urban planning
Tagged art, art banners, banners, cities, downtown, photos, placemaking, planning, Traverse City
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The science of creating place
For those generations prior to the millennials, one’s place of residence was most often determined by factors such as proximity to family and employment opportunities. For this writer, that meant moving to Dayton, Ohio when I was a fresh, shiny … Continue reading
Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, Advocacy, architecture, art, bicycling, branding, cities, civics, commerce, Communications, culture, diversity, entertainment, fun, geography
Tagged branding, cities, culture, economics, geography, history, land use, placemaking, topography, vibe
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Urban design without fake plastic signs
In many communities across the country, commercial signage seems to be employed in a manner that appears more appropriate in Las Vegas, Times Square, or in this Radiohead video for the song Fake Plastic Trees, rather than on businesses fronting Main Street. … Continue reading
Posted in adaptive reuse, advertising, architecture, art, branding, business, cities, commerce, Communications, consumerism, downtown, economic development, historic preservation, history, land use, new urbanism, placemaking, planning, signs, urban planning, zoning
Tagged advertising, architecture, branding, business, cities, communications, Fake Plastic Trees, history, land use, placemaking, planning, Radiohead, signs, Traverse City, zoning
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Cambridge’s “complete” Vassar Street
During our Boston St. Patrick’s Day weekend, we wandered around parts of Cambridge and MIT’s campus. One of the places we chanced upon after our bike sharing tour along the Charles River was Vassar Street. This approximate two-mile long urban thoroughfare … Continue reading
Posted in Active transportation, Advocacy, bicycling, bike sharing, Biking, civics, colleges, commerce, culture, downtown, economic development, education, environment, fitness, fun, geography, health, infrastructure, land use, Maps, new urbanism, pictures, placemaking, planning, product design, recreation, revitalization, schools, spatial design, sustainability, technology, third places, tourism, trails, transportation, Travel, urban planning, walking
Tagged active transportation, advocacy, bicycling, biking, Cambridge, cities, commuting, complete streets, design, fitness, fun, geography, health, land use, maps, Massachusetts, MIT, placemaking, planning, protected bike lanes, transportation, travel, urban planning, Vassar Street
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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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Seven Detroit-area marquees
Below are photographs taken over the past couple of years of seven historic theater marquees from the Metro Detroit area. Enjoy! Alger (seen better days) Berkley (pride of Berkley) Fillmore (brilliant) Fox (stellar) Main (pride of Royal Oak) Michigan (an Ann Arbor gem) State (another Ann Arbor … Continue reading
Posted in adaptive reuse, architecture, art, cities, civics, Communications, culture, downtown, entertainment, film, fun, historic preservation, history, land use, movies, pictures, placemaking, planning, signs, theaters, tourism, Travel, Uncategorized, urban planning, video
Tagged architecture, art, film, historic preservation, motion pictures, movies, placemaking, theaters
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Iconic tribute sculptures of Woodward Avenue
Of all the streets and roads in Michigan, none quite has the familiar ring, rhyme, and historic charm of Woodward Avenue. Stretching some 27 miles from the Detroit waterfront to Pontiac, Woodward Avenue (also known as M-1) is the main … Continue reading
Posted in advertising, architecture, art, branding, Cars, cities, civics, civility, Communications, culture, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, placemaking, planning, product design, revitalization, spatial design, sustainability, technology, third places, tourism, transportation, Travel, urban planning
Tagged All-American Road, architecture, art, Detroit, Ferndale, heritage routes, Highland Park, land use, placemaking, Pontiac, Royal Oak, scenic byways, sculptures, Southeast Michigan, tourims, travel, tribute sculptures, Woodward Avenue
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No copycats allowed when placemaking!
Let me start off by saying that placemaking is a very useful and beneficial approach to enhancing one’s community and creating pride in place. That being said, there is also an inherent risk that placemaking efforts across the nation can become … Continue reading
Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, Advocacy, architecture, art, bicycling, branding, cities, civics, civility, commerce, Communications, consumerism, Cuisine, culture, economic development, economic gardening, Economy, entertainment, entrepreneurship, geography, Geology, government, historic preservation, history, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, marketing, new urbanism, placemaking, planning, product design, revitalization, spatial design, sustainability, third places, tourism, transportation, Travel, urban planning, walking, zoning
Tagged cities, civics, context sensitive, design, geography, placemaking, planning urban planning, Third places
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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 →