(December 14, 2011) Flagstaff, Arizona; Bend, Eugene, Ashland, and Medford, Oregon – Struggling College-Retirement Towns Expected To Recover
(December 14, 2011 Tom Lane) Bend, Oregon shown above, looking west from Pilot Butte towards the Cascade Mountains. In the Western USA, unlike New England, many small “college-retirement-outdoors” towns, particularly … Continue reading
(June 26, 2011) Seattle Smart Growth, Puget Sound Regional Council – Do You Want 5 Acres, or 5 Feet?
Featured Image Above: 5 Acre Estate at an undisclosed exclusive neighborhood of very similar properties in Eastern King County, beyond the Urban Growth Boundary. Do you want 5 acres, or … Continue reading
(Updated Jan. 24, 2010) My Case for Large Lots and Wide Streets: Photo Essay
Updating in progress, Dec. 23, 2010, with mistakes. Above: The High Valley neighborhood a few miles east of Renton, Washington (Seattle metro) features wide streets with properties of several acres. … Continue reading
(UPDATED) ASHLAND, BOULDER, FLAGSTAFF FIRES: Wake Up Call to Thin Brush on Urban Grown Boundaries: Boulder, Bend, Flagstaff, Ashland: Photo Essay
Above: Young Ponderosa Pine monoculture in need of thinning in Flagstaff, Arizona. Summer 2010 has taught us a lot about wildfires starting on, and beyond, urban growth boundaries, a smart … Continue reading
(Feb. 28, 2011, Dec. 23, 2011) Clearcutting for Smart Growth in Seattle; vs. Green Neighborhoods in Arizona and Oregon
Above: Port Blakely Construction’s Issaquah Highlands Master Planned Smart Growth Development still under construction in Summer, 2010. Not many native trees left; towering massive walls; see photos below as well. … Continue reading
Census Maps Show Population Exodus to Rural and Exurban Counnties
(Updated Oct. 23, 2010) Map Credit Above: Classifications of Counties as Urban, Exurban, or Rural. In: The Daily Yonder, http://tiny.cc/v4asw, 3/17/2009, Accessed August 10, 2010. *For a High Resolution Image … Continue reading
Smart Growth Stops Appreciation and Creativity In Suburbia
(Under Construction.) We are creative beings. Naturally, in a traditional neighborhood with large homes on large lots, we remodel our homes and add more landscaping. Traditional properties mature and become … Continue reading