Morning Walk...or "Once a Planner, Always a Planner"

This posting is more like a photo essay than a blog post, really. It's a short visual experience of my walk this morning and from it, I have two main reflections. The first is that for me to be outside in a natural place is the best place for me to be. I want to walk on dirt paths, cross creeks and climb hills. Secondly, I know why I became a planner. When I was growing up, I saw beautiful natural places exploited and uglied; for new buildings, for roads, with little regard for cultural heritage. Developing land in and of itself is not inherently a bad thing, but like most things, it should be done thoughtfully with an awareness that once it's done, we all live with the results. Perhaps beginning with the industrial era, people began to move beyond the city centers into suburbs...I don't HATE suburbs, but truly, when farmland is sold and developed, that's it. In Charlotte, NC, places that were once farms are now subdivisions. I like local farms, local farms and local produce. That's one nice thing here - they still have that...and I hope that the value of such things can be acknowledged before it's too late.