Tag Archives: zoning

“Enlightened” city planning amid rural Iowa cornfields

In the film Field of Dreams, Kevin Costner’s father asks him, “Is this heaven?” His response is, “No, it’s Iowa.” Well, to some, Iowa may just be their slice of heaven, especially those who reside in and around the City … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, agriculture, Alternative energy, architecture, art, Asia, Astronomy, cities, civics, civility, climate change, colleges, commerce, Cuisine, culture, diversity, economic development, ecosystems, entrepreneurship, environment, food systems, geography, government, health, history, Housing, humanity, inclusiveness, India, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, Maps, natural history, nature, peace, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, Religion, Renewable Energy, social equity, solar, spatial design, sustainability, topography, tourism, trails, transportation, urban design, urban planning, Wildlife, writing, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Add “The Planning Commission” podcast to your agenda

The planning world has officially joined the 21st century, as three planning professionals have recently debuted an informative and fun podcast called The Planning Commission. The podcast is hosted by by Chris Danley; Jessica Smith, AICP; and Donald Kostelec. As … Continue reading

Posted in Cities, civics, Communications, culture, education, entertainment, fun, government, infrastructure, land use, Maps, planning, spatial design, Transportation, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

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

Strict planning & zoning destroys eclectic, offbeat, and funky

After three decades in the planning profession and several more years since retirement, I’ve come to the conclusion that if you want your community to maintain or build a funky, hip, offbeat, or eccentric vibe, it can not be done … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, advertising, Advocacy, archaeology, architecture, art, branding, business, cities, civics, commerce, consumerism, Cuisine, culture, demographics, deregulation, diversity, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, entrepreneurship, family, Food, fun, gentrification, health, historic preservation, history, homelessness, Housing, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, marketing, Mining, opinion, pictures, placemaking, planning, poverty, product design, revitalization, shopping, signs, Small business, social equity, spatial design, third places, tourism, Travel, urban design, urban planning, visual pollution, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The steaming hot market for drive-thru coffee shops

Across the country there is an ongoing boom in freestanding drive-thru/walk-up coffee shops. These units rarely, if ever, incorporate indoor seating, though they may have some outdoor seats. Instead these shops are designed and meant for customers on the go … Continue reading

Posted in architecture, bicycling, branding, business, Cars, Cities, coffee shops/cafes, commerce, consumerism, Cuisine, economic development, food systems, geography, history, infrastructure, land use, marketing, placemaking, planning, product design, shopping, spatial design, Statistics, third places, traffic, Transportation, Uncategorized, urban planning, walking, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Planning for the EVolution in charging stations

As the number of EV (electric vehicle) charging stations have increased, their design and appearance have grown in style and variety. While many EV charging stations are currently accessory uses on the site of other uses like hotels, theaters, parking … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, advertising, Alternative energy, Alternative transportation, architecture, branding, Cars, cities, climate change, commerce, Communications, consumerism, culture, economic development, electric vehicles, energy, environment, futurism, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, light pollution, marketing, pictures, planning, pollution, product design, Renewable Energy, spatial design, Statistics, sustainability, tourism, Trade, traffic, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, video, visual pollution, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ten planning lessons they didn’t teach you in school

The following insights are not covered sufficiently in planning school. The planning community should work with accredited schools to assure that future graduates are aware of these issues and are better equipped to handle/address them. These are presented in no … Continue reading

Posted in civics, Civil Rights, civility, colleges, Communications, culture, feminism, gentrification, health, Highway displacement, homelessness, inclusiveness, injustice, land use, opinion, planning, politics, Privatization, racism, Sexism, social equity, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Cities joining, nearing, or falling from the 100,000 resident club

The following three lists identify those cities in the United States that reached a population of 100,000; are growing and nearing 100,000 residents; and who have fallen below 100,000 residents based on the 2020 Census. Five (5) cities that were … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, cities, civics, commerce, demographics, density, diversity, downtown, economic development, geography, health, history, humanity, immigration, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, new urbanism, placemaking, planning, revitalization, spatial design, sprawl, States, Statistics, urban design, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

From institutional to inspirational

Unlike this amazing aerial shot, photographs taken from the ground can hardly depict the enormous size and impressive setting of Grand Traverse Commons (formally Traverse City State Hospital or Northern Michigan Asylum). Once an imposing (and probably intimidating) institutional facility, … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, architecture, art, business, cities, civics, commerce, economic development, economic gardening, entertainment, entrepreneurship, health, Health care, historic preservation, history, Housing, infrastructure, land use, new urbanism, pictures, placemaking, planning, product design, recreation, revitalization, shopping, skylines, spatial design, third places, tourism, Travel, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Land uses which are more often found “Up North”

As a regular visitor and now denizen of “Up North,” the following is my list of those land uses that tend to be found more often in northern locales of North America than in other parts of the country. This … Continue reading

Posted in Canada, cities, commerce, culture, geography, history, land use, North America, planning, sports, tourism, Travel, urban planning, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment