by John W. Olson | Jun 23, 2023 | Streetscapes, Urban Interventions, Urban Planning and Design, Urbanism
It’s a new day for Colorado Springs. Mayor Yemi Mobolade has taken office, filling the big shoes of Mayor John Suthers. Mayor Suthers has lifted our City to great heights in the past eight years, for which I am incredibly grateful. While I’m excited for what the...
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 | Jan 11, 2023 | Car Free, Comprehensive Planning and Codes, Urban Planning and Design
One week down and I believe that the experiment is going well so far. I have noted some health benefits, which is awesome! For those of you just joining me, the first post can be found here: https://urbanlandscapes.design/carfree-journey-in-colorado-springs-week-1/...
by John W. Olson | Jan 5, 2023 | Car Free, Comprehensive Planning and Codes, Urban Planning and Design
Well, our household of three drivers is now down to two vehicles. With that, I am attempting to be car free in Colorado Springs. For some background, for those who do not know me, we have a household of five. My wife and I, both gainfully employed, have three...
by Urban Landscapes Admin | Aug 18, 2022 | Gardening, Landscape Architecture, Sustainability
My last blog post, A Call for Contemporary Victory Gardens, gave a very brief history of Victory Gardens. As you read, victory gardens were an effective tool in fighting off the food shortage crisis during World War II. Propagandized as an act of patriotism, they...
by Ryan Bowman | Aug 14, 2022 | Gardening, high altitude plants
The second plant that I want to highlight from my hikes is the Mountain Alumroot. Similar to my prior post, Stone Breaker Herb, these are plants that may be native, but are growing wild at the high altitudes. The Mountain Alumroot is a high altitude flower that grows...
by John W. Olson | Aug 5, 2022 | Landscape Architecture
Lawn maintenance is quite onerous. Have you ever considered what your lawn does for you? Or better yet, have you considered what you do for your lawn? And, why do you do that? Yeah, those are serious questions. If you’re like me, you have a love/hate...
by Urban Landscapes Admin | Jul 28, 2022 | Gardening, Landscape Architecture
Victory Gardens may invoke feelings of nostalgia in those who lived through World War II. Because, Victory Gardens played an important role in the war effort to combat food shortages as the war raged on and food staples were being rationed. Millions of Victory...
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 Urban Landscapes Admin | Jul 14, 2022 | Landscape Architecture, Streetscapes, Sustainability
The tree lawn, otherwise described as the parkway, planting strip, or even the hell strip, is the space between the curb and the sidewalk. Generally, landscape architects specify turfgrass for these hostile environments. I can’t think of a single circumstance...
