A big Global Site Plans welcome to our newest blogger, Jasna Hadzic from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Born and raised in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but having spent most of her adult life in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A.; Jasna Hadzic has been greatly influenced by both cultures, most specifically in terms of architecture, planning, and design. The transition of living [...]
In 2011, Ford closed their 122-acre St. Paul, Minnesota plant after 86 years of production. The community has developed around the plant and Ford’s impact on the area is a fixture of this cultural landscape. The closure of automotive plants in the US is not a new phenomenon: In the last 33 years, 267 of [...]
The overall goal of any riverfront plan is to create river accessibility that becomes a major resource to the community; by linking it to nearby communities so that both residents and tourist can enjoy it. While many communities have a neighboring river as a potential asset to their community, most local governments are unable to [...]
At the corner of 6th Avenue and Toole Avenue in Tucson, Arizona, you can find a 20-foot high kinetic sculpture, which is a butterfly with a 6 ½-foot wingspan. This fancy public art, created by Bevel Butterfly Company, is a highlight of the Tucson Warehouse Art District; it is a newly completed, two-month old, installation. [...]
The growing housing crisis in America has had a great impact on Richmond, Virginia’s housing market. Since the beginning of the housing collapse in 2008, the wealthier 1% of the nation’s households have seen great success, while the remaining 99% of the nation have seen 1 in 667 housing units become foreclosed since June 2012. [...]
Since 1996, the State of Virginia has been working with the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Southeastern High Rail Corridor project to establish high speed rail passenger connections that would connect the City of Richmond to places like Columbia, South Carolina, Savannah, Georgia, and Raleigh, North Carolina. The project is being done as a [...]
Downtown Tempe, Arizona has a variety of destinations that create a unique space syntax between modern urban blocks, natural desert landscape, historical buildings, and a man made lake, to name a few. It’s the perfect destination for anyone that likes good music, the sun, the desert, and interesting architecture. The desert doesn’t quite seem like [...]
Everyone wants to recycle, but what would you do if it was mandatory? California Bill AB 341, directed by CalRecycle, will go into effect on July 1, 2012 and will require commercial recycling within California state limits. The Town of Mammoth Lakes is providing education and outreach in an effort to help the community adjust [...]
A big Global Site Plans welcome to our newest blogger, Alex Banuelos from Tempe, Arizona. Alex Banuelos is a recent graduate of Arizona State University. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Planning from the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning. He is currently pursuing his Real Estate License and plans on attending Arizona State [...]
A big Global Site Plans welcome to our newest blogger, Wanyi Song from Tucson, Arizona. Wanyi Song is a graduate research assistant of the University of Arizona in Science of Planning. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Landscape Architecture when she was living in Southern China. After her undergraduate studies, Wanyi worked full-time as a Landscape [...]
Waste Management broke ground October 2011 on behalf of the City of Spokane for their new 62,000 square foot, state-of-the-art recycling center. October 1st, 2012, they are scheduled to open and ready for almost a dozen new recyclable materials. The Spokane Material and Recycling Technology (SMART) Center will receive many things dubbed as trash until [...]
Planning should be participatory; however, it’s often very difficult to get stakeholders to contribute to planning processes. Mail-in survey return rates are low, and more often than not, residents don’t want to sit through a Saturday morning design charette. Marketing online and social media platforms give urban planners and architects a set of contemporary tools [...]
Think about your audience when applying, was one of the first pieces of advice given by the American Planning Association Resume’s for Today’s Economy panel. Controlling your message, marketing yourself and establishing your ‘brand’ is a large part of standing out to hiring mangers. Bower suggested re-reading the job advertisement and contacting HR to find [...]
Chapter 9 is the section of the National Bankruptcy Code that provides for the reorganization of debt incurred by municipalities such as cities, towns, counties, and villages. The very first municipal bankruptcy was filed in the United States in 1934 during the Great Depression. While the provision has been around for 60 years, there have [...]
The American Planning Association (APA) 2012 National Conference: “Reinvent, Reinvigorate, Reimagine” in Los Angeles, CA provided opportunities for job seekers to “ReIMAGINE [their] Career(s).” The first of a series of presentations about job hunting was a session entitled Resumes for Today’s Economy led by three experienced hiring mangers. Having attended the session, I came away [...]
Water is an important resource and all too often it is taken for granted. We all expect water to be there when we need to do the dishes, take a shower, or rinse our food. While a renewable resource, only 3% of the world’s supply is fresh water and unfortunately, demand already surpasses supply. What [...]
Master-planned communities are all-inclusive neighborhoods that are located on the fringe of the urban core. While these have been lauded in the past for incorporating an all-inclusive design, they also have been blamed for perpetuating the movement of people and families to the outskirts of town and perpetuating urban sprawl. The city of Tampa, Florida [...]
Many people choose to relocate to the suburbs to achieve a lifestyle change: large backyards, block parties, safety. As many perks as the suburban lifestyle presents, it also presents many downfalls. Longer commutes and encroachment on precious wildlife are just two of those downfalls. It does not have to be a choice between one or [...]
Imagine taking one of the busiest highways in your city, sinking it underground, and replacing it with a dynamic urban park that caters to residents of all ages and backgrounds. Now imagine designing and building this feat of engineering in less than a decade. While most cities would find this task impossible to complete (ask [...]
Social media marketing has become a buzzword this decade. Every business seems to be hiring social media marketers now. Which social media network would be the most appropriate for a certain organization? This mini guide is meant to be a starting point for planners’ and architects’ research into social media marketing. Planning professionals should always [...]
