by John W. Olson | Apr 7, 2023 | Car Free, Comprehensive Planning and Codes, Town Planning, Urban Planning and Design
The car free in Colorado Springs experiment has successfully concluded (beginning of March). The hypothesis, that our city is not walkable, was accurate. We are still an automobile dependent community. Even in a location efficient community where I work five blocks...
by John W. Olson | Jul 21, 2022 | Business, Landscape Architecture, Sustainability, Town Planning, Urban Planning and Design, Urbanism
Urban Landscapes, LLC is inching closer to being three years old. Given that this is my Sixth (gulp) company since 2010, I am careful with how everything transpires (read further about my path here). This includes the hiring processes, the type of work that we do and...
by John W. Olson | Nov 27, 2021 | Comprehensive Planning and Codes, Streetscapes, Town Planning, Urban Renewal
In 2015, I was approached by former Mayor (2017-2019) of Manitou Springs, Ken Jaray, on behalf of the Friends of Ruxton Canyon to study Ruxton Avenue. The task of the Friends Group was to gather data about how Ruxton Avenue corridor was used by pedestrians, cyclists...
by John W. Olson | Oct 4, 2021 | Sustainability, Town Planning, Urban Planning and Design, Urbanism
It’s hard to believe that it has been a decade since our Labor Day visit to South Main. This Labor Day (2021), we did it again. My kids have certainly grown since the last visit and my son, Grant, was born between visits. Similarly, the neighborhood has also...
by John W. Olson | Dec 9, 2017 | Streetscapes, Town Planning, Urban Interventions, Urban Planning and Design, Urbanism
A few years ago, my good friend Nick Kittle asked for what he called a “list of ten”. For some background, Nick was the Public Works Director at the time, and I often challenged him on what could be done in Colorado Springs. The “list of ten”,...
by John W. Olson | Jun 16, 2014 | Comprehensive Planning and Codes, Town Planning, Urban Planning and Design, Urbanism
This almost didn’t happen, but luck would have it, I had some time to drive around Deadwood while the little man napped in his car seat. My observations: First impression of course was that it was a lot like Cripple Creek, Colorado. A lot of old historic...
