Tag Archives: recreation

Every city should have a signature hiking trail

Having hiked in numerous places around the United States and in a few other nations (Canada, England, Scotland, Ireland, and Portugal), I have found that hiking is an excellent method to become better acquainted with a new place on a … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, advertising, Advocacy, agriculture, Alternative transportation, branding, cities, civics, civility, Communications, culture, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, environment, fitness, fun, geography, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, Maps, marketing, nature, pictures, placemaking, planning, product design, recreation, rivers/watersheds, spatial design, sustainability, third places, topography, tourism, trails, transportation, Travel, urban planning, walking | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Historic beaches opened for Black Americans during Jim Crow

  Back in November of 2019, I posted a list of the beach wade-in protests that took place during the Civil Rights Era. These protests demanded that public beaches be opened up to all people, instead of being limited to … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, cities, civics, Civil Rights, civility, culture, demographics, diversity, entertainment, entrepreneurship, geography, health, historic preservation, history, human rights, inclusiveness, injustice, land use, Maps, pictures, placemaking, racism, recreation, Small business, social equity, third places, tourism, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Favorite shoreline & inland hikes of NW Lower Michigan

The list below includes those trails that are primarily geared towards hikers rather than cyclists. The only exception is the Boardman Lake Loop Trail.  Shoreline hikes refer to those that are along Lake Michigan or Grand Traverse Bay. Meanwhile, inland … Continue reading

Posted in entertainment, environment, fitness, fun, geography, Geology, health, Health care, hiking, infrastructure, land use, Maps, nature, pictures, placemaking, planning, recreation, spatial design, topography, tourism, trails, Travel, walking, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

From protective to active – repurposing historic city walls

When we think of city walls, some of the first images that come to mind are imposing structures erected as a protective or defensive barrier. More often than not, city walls were constructed from stone, masonry, brick, and/or concrete. Unfortunately, … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, archaeology, architecture, bicycling, Canada, cities, culture, economic development, entertainment, environment, Europe, fitness, geography, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, placemaking, planning, recreation, revitalization, spatial design, topography, tourism, transportation, Travel, walking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A “grand vision” of a loop trail

Several terms have become synonymous with continuous urban loop trails. These include Rim Trails, Metro Edge Ways, and Knapsack Pathways. All three of these terms were highlighted by trail-scholar Bob Searns, AICP at the 2016 Michigan Statewide Trail Summit, as … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, cities, entertainment, Environment, fitness, fun, geography, health, hiking, infrastructure, land use, Maps, nature, placemaking, planning, spatial design, sustainability, third places, topography, tourism, trails, transportation, Travel, Uncategorized, urban planning, walking | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

States with the most curling clubs

The list at the end of this post identifies those states with the most established and operating curling clubs. Clubs that are forming, exist only on paper, or which are inactive are not included in these figures. As is evident … Continue reading

Posted in Canada, cities, culture, entertainment, fitness, fun, geography, health, infrastructure, land use, North America, placemaking, planning, recreation, sports, States, Statistics, tourism, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

TC is “Totally Cool”

There are certain cities that immediately exude a cool or hip vibe the very moment you arrive. I call this the “it factor,” as in you just know it and feel it as soon as you get there. It may be … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, Advocacy, Alternative transportation, architecture, art, beer, bicycling, branding, business, cities, civics, coffee shops/cafes, commerce, Cuisine, culture, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, entrepreneurship, environment, family, film, Food, fun, geography, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, movies, music, nature, peace, pictures, placemaking, planning, recreation, revitalization, sailing, seasons, skylines, spatial design, sports, sustainability, theaters, third places, topography, tourism, trails, transportation, Travel, urban planning, walking, water trails, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Sail on, sail on, sailor”

Here are a few photos from our four-hour sailing trip on the East Arm of Grand Traverse Bay, Michigan this past Tuesday afternoon. Sailing is easily one the most beautiful recreational/sporting activities on Earth and our trip aboard the 31′ Starlight … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, art, civility, culture, environment, fun, geography, nature, North America, peace, pictures, recreation, sailing, sports, tourism, transportation, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Getting a kick out of golf = Footgolf

Yesterday afternoon, my wife, middle son, and I tried our first attempt at the hot new sport of footgolf. Yes, you read that correctly, footgolf. Essentially, the marriage of soccer and golf, footgolf has become increasing popular in parts of … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, Advocacy, culture, entertainment, fitness, fun, geography, health, history, land use, product design, recreation, sports, States, Statistics, tourism, walking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Outdoor urban stairways from heaven

As a follow-up to last Friday’s post on ULI’s Building Healthy Places Toolkit, this montage depicts images of a dozen of the planet’s most famous and/or intriguing outdoor urban stairways. Aside from the public health benefits derived from promoting walkability, … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, Alternative transportation, architecture, art, cities, fitness, fun, geography, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, pictures, placemaking, planning, recreation, spatial design, trails, transportation, urban planning, walking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments