Ecotourism as Economic Development

On August 1, 2025

Throughout the Global South, agriculture plays a major role in the economy. As agriculture has become mechanized and controlled by multi-national corporations, production occurs at a more massive scale so commodity crops can be produced cheaply for transport to other parts of the world. In the process, local ecosystems are often ploughed under and local […]

Finland – The Happiest Country in the World

On June 9, 2025

Last year, Finland ranked as the happiest country in the world for the 7th time, according to the UN’s “World Happiness Report”. Why is that? And what does it mean, anyway? Let’s take a look. I visited Finland in May and June of 2025. A big part of the trip was a tour to see […]

Community Climate Planning and Action Toolbox

On April 15, 2024

Around the globe, weather is becoming less predictable and extreme events are becoming more common. These events, such as floods and wildfires, do not affect everyone in a country equally – most of the time, they impact specific communities. Responses to past events and possible future risks must be effective at this local level too. […]

Inclusive Storytelling: New Tools for Climate Resilience

On April 15, 2024

A valuable session at the APA Minneapolis conference emphasized inclusive storytelling. Most of us have personal experience with the way stories can have a bigger impact on our thinking and beliefs than data. So the idea of using storytelling to help reach consensus on community’s plans or individual projects makes a great deal of sense. […]

Rising Tides Roulette

On November 10, 2023

In recent years, communities in Texas and around the world have been experiencing storms that are more intense than in the past. Recovery from these events and reduction in damage from future events create numerous challenges. Finding a fair and appropriate balance is an important challenge for communities, their planners and everyone concerned with living […]

Flooding Beyond FEMA

On November 9, 2019

This was the topic of the second session SCS led at the APA Texas 2019 annual conference. Karen Walz organized and moderated the session. It featured Jennifer Dyke P.E., Senior Planner in the City of Fort Worth’s Transportation and Public Works Department and Ben Pylant P.E., Senior Project Manager with Halff Associates, Inc. We shared […]

Smart Cities

On October 16, 2019

The Urban Land Institute’s Dallas-Fort Worth District Council offers many options for engagement, including specialized committees and interest groups. One of these is the Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI). I enjoyed its evening session on Smart Cities, held October 15, 2019 in the beautifully-restored historic Dallas High School. This is now the Dallas office of Perkins […]

Future Cities Livable Futures Conference

On August 31, 2019

The University of Texas at Arlington’s College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs put on an interesting conference on August 16, 2019 called “Future Cities Livable Futures: Toward a Sustainable Model for Urban-Watershed Systems.” Organized by Dean Adrian Parr and a committee of faculty members, the conference received funding from the National Science Foundation. The […]

Issues on Sustainability