Engaging the Extremes

On November 8, 2019

The first session SCS led at the APA Texas 2019 annual conference in Waco was an interactive workshop giving participants skills and experience in managing public engagement when people with extreme and opposing views are involved. Karen Walz presented a structure for designing public input initiatives so that people with diverse views can be heard, […]

APA Texas adopts its 2019-2021 Action Plan

On November 7, 2019

On November 6, 2019, the Board of Directors of the American Planning Association, Texas Chapter adopted its new two-year Action Plan. This plan sets the priorities the Chapter will follow during 2020 and 2021 as it continues to achieve the goals set in the Chapter’s 5-Year Development Plan. Strategic Community Solutions LLC provided strategic planning […]

Sacred Spaces: A Sharing Through Photographs

On October 19, 2019

The Dallas Center for Photography has a small office and gallery in the Design District (what we used to call the Stemmons Industrial Corridor). While I’ve taken photographs almost my entire life, and have lived here for many years, I hadn’t had a chance to visit their space or take advantage of their classes. That […]

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 […]

Lewisville 2025 Update Community Outreach

On October 1, 2019

It’s hard to believe, but it’s already been five years since the Lewisville 2025 Vision Plan was adopted! The City has made tremendous strides in achieving that vision and many accomplishments are making the plan a reality. At the five-year mark, the City has chosen to review these results, consider the current conditions and opportunities, […]

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 […]

Starting 2019 with snow!

On March 2, 2020

We were at the KT Ranch for New Year’s 2019. Terry’s sister Nancy and her friend Kim joined us there. We enjoyed some nice time outdoors, as well as good food, martinis and fun times indoors (including lots of Quiddler). We were surprised to have SNOW!! This is pretty rare here, particularly in the amount […]

Panama

On March 2, 2020

As always, it was fun to visit Panama. This time we combined some of our favorite places and people with a new location. We began with a few days at the Canopy Bed and Breakfast in Gamboa. This community was built in the 1930’s for the managers and workers of the Panama Canal Company. These […]

Dallas TX and Portal AZ

On March 2, 2020

Most of our time in Dallas was spent on client projects, so you can read about those elsewhere. We do enjoy sharing our home and neighborhood with some other residents who provide lots of enjoyment to us! The biggest performance we went to in Dallas this year was The Dallas Opera’s “The Magic Flute”. It’s […]

Antarctica! Plus Argentina, the Falklands and South Georgia

On March 2, 2020

This really was a trip of a lifetime! It was full of amazing places! These are just a few of the highlights. We began the trip by flying from Dallas to Buenos Aires and then to Ushuaia. Our friends Barbara and Dan Williams were also on this trip and the four of us explored this […]