Yarn bombing is the latest global street art phenomenon. Sometimes called “Grandma Graffiti,” the idea is to clothe ordinary, mundane objects with brightly colored knitted frocks. Artists sneak out into the night and crochet just about anything that suits...
Out here in exurbia we coexist with nature. Surprisingly, the first sounds of the day are not from cars, school buses or children walking to school, they are from the yelping coyotes or screeching barn owls at dawn followed by the sounds of ravens, hawks, roosters,...
The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is a highly funded organization that was created in 1948 for the purpose of “evaluating the conservation status of plant and animal species” and to open dialogue between...
Today and in the past, social engineers have been defining the ideal plan for human settlements. The Thoreau Institute published an article in May 2005 called Smart Growth and the Ideal City.1 In the article, what appears to be a contemporary description of smart...
Every American has the opportunity to own private property and for those who own land or who dream of owning land, their American Dream is threatened by a massive initiative known to us now as Smart Growth/Sustainable Development. As our country copes with dwindling...
newgeography.com just published My Free Range Life! This is a great honor. Newgeography is a national blog that focuses on “economic, demographic and political commentary about places”. In the vast ocean of public commentary about land use and the...
Recently, while scanning the news in the San Diego Union Tribune, I came across this article about “Taking Inventory of County’s Trees”. The article describes Robin Rivet’s “ambitious effort to map every urban tree in San Diego...
The American Planning Association developed a smart growth planning ‘newspeak’ during the 90s. Planning departments all around the country are adopting this new language. Click here for more buzz words. These photos are evidence that smart growth planning...
The gophers on our property are cute but their system of underground tunnels keep us busy; my husband and all three dogs especially. Down by the fruit orchard, there must be miles of tunnels and Charlie believes that they are getting fat off underground tubers from...
Welcome to Exurbia Chronicles! Many of you may have never heard of the term exurbia before now. According to the free on-line dictionary it means: The exurbs collectively; the region beyond the suburbs. Exurbia to me is an expression that defines a free range...
