Tag: travel
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Historic Preservation: Balancing Restoration and Demolition
In my many years working in the field of historic preservation I have seen some communities commit to preserving as much of their built history as possible, others demolish nearly all of it, and a majority that falls somewhere in between. What I could never understand is how different cities decide when preservation is worth…
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Philadelphia’s Iconic Squares
Back in 2017 I wrote a short paper for the International Making Cities Livable Conference titled “A Return to the Town Square.” I spent a lot of time doing research and came up with three case study cities—Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia, Times Square in New York City, and the Railyard in Santa Fe, NM. I…
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The 15 Minute City
The latest trend in city planning is the 15 minute city—the idea that everyone should have access to everyday services within a 15 minute walk or bike ride. The 15 minute city is really just cities before cars were invented. Without easy transportation that allowed us to travel long distances quickly we built our cities…
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Our Towns
Book Review I was jealous as I read Our Towns by James and Deborah Fallows who spent several years flying around the U.S. in their small personal plane visiting towns making a comeback after the recession. As a planner traveling to learn from other communities is an ingrained part of my personality. I love visiting…
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Island of Swallows
In preparation for an upcoming trip I thought I would research the history of Cozumel, a Mexican island off the coast of Playa del Carmen. My husband and I visited the island over 6 years ago, but only stayed for a few hours and took the ferry back to Playa del Carmen where we were…
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Biking in Nebraska: Health, Cost, and Environment
This past week we saw temperatures hitting 50 degrees, an incredible gift for January in Nebraska. This also meant the snow was completely melted, making biking an option I would consider. I did take advantage last Saturday with a bike ride up to Benson for some lunch at 1912 and a visit to Infusion Brewing…
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Exploring Wildlife in Rocky Mountain National Park
Its been almost three months since I camped in Rocky Mountain National Park, but I’m finally getting around to writing about the trip. I’ve been camping before, but never in a national forest like Rocky Mountain. It was amazing to see a moose, elk, deer, and other animals going about their business unaffected set against…
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Interactive Art Installation Celebrates Immigrant Stories
It was almost a year ago that I wrote about an interesting piece of artwork installed at the Commons Park in downtown Minneapolis. This year I watched during my lunches as a new educational piece of art was assembled in the same location. The winner of the 2018 Creative City Challenge was Carry On Homes,…
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Route 66
Book Review Anytime I hear the name Route 66 I immediately think of the animated movie Cars. Little did I know that those cartoon vehicles were based on real people and the town is a compilation of real cities along the highway that stretches from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California. Route 66 was established…
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Airports as Mini Cities: Lessons for Urban Design
I recently flew from Minneapolis to Santa Fe, stopping over in the Denver airport. While waiting for my connecting flight I noticed something about the the airport that I had not seen before. Airports, those large enough to support multiple terminals, function like a city. Each one has restaurants, retail shops, transit (the train between…
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The Planning Lady 