Supporting Communities, Preserving Resources and Enriching Lives… Changing Maryland for the better!
June 5, 2013
Historic Preservation, Smart Growth Association of Art Museum Directors, aviation, climate, Maryland, Museum, Museum Resources, science, smart growth 1 Comment
Why do we choose to live where we do?
While economics is a significant part of the decision, public amenities are just as important – and in well-planned cities, towns and villages, those amenities are in easy walking distance and help knit the whole community together. Schools are not just places to drop off the kids More
May 8, 2012
Comprehensive Plans, Land Use, Population, Smart Growth, Transportation cars, Environment, Saga City, science, suburban sprawl, Vivre en Ville 1 Comment
I used to write about the Internet and telecommunications for a living, but urban planning frequently seems even tougher to describe. I’m not sure why. I often felt that the tech community never figured out that acronyms were meant to make things easier to remember, not harder. RSS feeds? JPEGs? VOIP? DSL? Really? Planners don’t traffic in such odd terminology, but the field can still seem hard to convey. It’s rooted in data and science and seeks to analyze large-scale cause and effect over a long span. That’s why I was excited when a colleague forwarded me a link to Saga City, a video produced by a Quebec firm called Vivre en Ville. 
It depicts — in cartoon form, of all things — how suburban sprawl occurs, why it hastens climate change and why planning is crucial to confront that challenge.