After A Tsunami

On August 30, 2025

A recent trip to Indonesia took me to the island of Sulawesi. After some time in the Makassar area, we flew in to Palu, a city on the western side of the island. As our flight approached the airport, I wondered about very uniform residential areas I could see below me that seemed to have […]

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. […]

The Black Swan of 2020 – COVID-19 Disruption

On March 26, 2020

Many years ago, I did a strategic planning workshop for a City Council that included a book discussion of “The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable” by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. The book’s title comes from the belief Europeans once held that swans were always white – that is, until explorers went to Australia […]

Meet the Jetsons?

On July 11, 2019

The Greater Dallas Planning Council’s “mission is to shape, promote, and advocate a creative, sustainable future for the Dallas region.” Creative was certainly the operative word for the annual luncheon in June 2019. A few years ago, a discussion of “The Future of Flying Car Technology in North Texas” would have been held at a […]

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