Tag Archives: Texas

New “Austin Towers” will soon be spying over Texas

For multiple decades the tallest building in Texas has been located in either Dallas, Houston, or San Antonio. That fact is about to change, as the booming state capital of Austin will soon takeover this vertical leadership role in the … Continue reading

Posted in architecture, art, branding, business, cities, civics, Civil Rights, civility, commerce, Cuisine, culture, diversity, downtown, economic development, engineering, gentrification, geography, highways, historic preservation, history, Housing, human rights, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, pictures, placemaking, planning, poverty, skylines, skyscrapers, sprawl, spying, Statistics, third places, tourism, traffic, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

El Paso’s impressive Loop 375 bypass could be extraordinary

It’s not often that one comments about a specific freeway, but the Texas Loop 375 bypass of El Paso is not your typical highway. The freeway connects the central city with Interstate 10 southeast of town, then to US 62 … Continue reading

Posted in Cars, cities, commerce, economic development, geography, Highway displacement, highways, hiking, history, infrastructure, land use, logistics, pictures, planning, spatial design, sprawl, topography, tourism, Trade, traffic, trails, transportation, Transportation, Travel, urban planning, walking, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Echoes from a 20th Century ghost town – Glenrio, NM/TX

One typically thinks of ghost towns being worn relics from the 19th Century or of earlier time periods. However, in the case of Glenrio, New Mexico/Texas, the town was founded, prospered, and died during a narrow time span within the … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, archaeology, architecture, Cars, Cities, commerce, culture, fun, geography, Highway displacement, highways, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, pictures, place names, Railroads, Small business, spatial design, topography, tourism, Transportation, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Laredo: From 275-day national capital to border boomtown

Between 1838 and 1841 there was an effort to establish a new nation along the Rio Grande composed of parts of the Northern Frontier of Mexico and disputed portions of the then Republic of Texas located south of the Nueces … Continue reading

Posted in archaeology, cities, commerce, culture, geography, government, highways, historic preservation, history, land use, Latin America, Maps, Mexico, pictures, place names, placemaking, politics, rail, Railroads, rivers/watersheds, shipping, topography, tourism, Trade, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ten Planning Lessons from San Antonio

Here are my ten (10) planning lessons from one of America’s most enjoyable and dynamic large cities – San Antonio, Texas. San Antonio’s River Walk can easily be classified as one of America’s “most iconic planning efforts.” It helped set … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, archaeology, architecture, bicycling, branding, cities, commerce, Cuisine, culture, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, entrepreneurship, food trucks, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, Mexico, placemaking, planning, revitalization, rivers/watersheds, skylines, spatial design, sprawl, third places, tourism, traffic, trails, transportation, Travel, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Two Towns and Two Death Tales of Billy the Kid

Frontier Towns, Chapter 5: Fort Sumner, New Mexico and Hico, Texas Normally, I am skeptical of conspiracy theories. But, I also realize that history tends to be written by the victors. With that, the victors can and will tend to … Continue reading

Posted in book reviews, books, business, cities, civics, culture, geography, historic preservation, history, literature, Maps, pictures, politics | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Old West Personified in a Town’s Iconic Name

Frontier Towns, Chapter 2: Pecos, Texas Few names portray a better image of the Old West than “Pecos.” The Pecos River is the natural dividing line between central and western Texas, as to the west of this iconic river the … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, architecture, books, branding, cartoons, cities, civics, commerce, culture, deserts, downtown, economic development, environment, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, Maps, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, recreation, spatial design, topography, tourism, Trade, transportation, Travel, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The geography of Facebook data centers

Just this week, Facebook announced it would be building its fifth data center complex in Fort Worth, Texas. Hat’s off to Facebook, as the entire complex will contain 750,000 square feet in three buildings on 111 acres, will be 100% … Continue reading

Posted in Alternative energy, architecture, business, cities, climate change, commerce, Communications, economic development, environment, geography, infrastructure, internet, land use, pictures, planning, product design, Renewable Energy, spatial design, Statistics, sustainability, technology, transportation, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

It’s a beach, not a litter box for plastic!

This disgusting and disgraceful view is what we were greeted with upon arriving at the beach of San Jose Island on the Texas Gulf Coast 10 days ago.  The largely uninhabited island sits on the north side of the mouth … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, civics, civility, consumerism, education, environment, planning, pollution, recycling, sustainability, tourism, Travel, visual pollution | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Unofficial guide to hipsterhoods of Texas and the Great Plains

With the exception of Texas, much of the Great Plains is often overlooked by the national media when citing hipster-cool city neighborhoods and districts. Similar to the Rust Belt, what is actually considered Great Plains is somewhat fluid, depending on whom you ask. For … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, architecture, art, bicycling, branding, cities, Cuisine, culture, diversity, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, entrepreneurship, geography, historic preservation, history, Housing, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, new urbanism, North America, placemaking, planning, revitalization, social equity, spatial design, sustainability, urban planning, walking, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment