Michigan
State of Emergency Declared in Flint Water Crisis
A crisis that stretches back for several months escalated this week, bringing this news of the very bad variety to national attention.
Seattle as the 'Next Detroit'
As the automotive industry of Detroit once inherited the wealth and assets of Pittsburgh's steel industry, one writer argues Seattle has now inherited the wealth and assets of the Silicon Valley.
Coming Soon to Detroit: An Urban Livestock Ordinance
Planners and citizens in Detroit are wrapping up a year's worth of research and community engagement before drafting an urban livestock ordinance.
Report: Detroit's Property Tax System in Need of Major Overhaul
Detroit's comeback has been well documented, as has its efforts to remove blight and demolish vacant properties. A new report sheds light on another of the city's deepest challenges: how to reform property taxes to achieve fiscal certainty.
Detroit Receives Funding for Another Demolition Push
A recent influx of money to Detroit for demolitions of abandoned properties brings the city's total to $107 million. That money has established Detroit as the country's proving ground for the idea that demolitions stabilize struggling neighborhoods.
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder to Sign 7.3-cent Gas Tax Hike Today
After years of debate, Republicans from both chambers agreed to a transportation plan raising the gas tax 7.3-cents and registration fees by 20 percent, effective 2017. Democrats objected to the amount of general funds that will be directed to roads.
12 Maps to Explain the Midwest
Aaron Renn scours the Internet to find 12 maps that attempt to do the impossible: define the geographic and cultural expanse known as the American Midwest.
The Motown Sound Came From Single-Family Homes
Would the Motor City have produced Motown without pianos in every living room?
New Releases: A Field Guide for Transforming Vacant Lots
Detroit Future City has released a guidebook for the process of redeveloping, renovating, and remediating neighborhoods full of vacant and blighted properties.
When a Summer Resort Town Finds Year-Round Success
Northern Michigan's "premier summer resort town" finds itself embroiled in a heated development controversy, reflecting that town's changing population.
Ambitious Complete Streets Plan Proposed for Woodward Ave Between Detroit and Pontiac
The Woodward Avenue Action Association recently approved a plan for a complete streets makeover that would connect to the forthcoming M-1 streetcar and cross several city boundaries.
25 Coal Power Plants to Shutter in Michigan in Five Years
Credit EPA emission regulations for the decisions by utilities to close the aging plants. Michigan receives half its power from coal—the most polluting fossil fuel. The new Clean Power Plan rule will cause more remaining plants to close in time.
Innovation in Detroit Turns to the Worm
Faced with an estimated 24 square miles of vacant land, Detroit is turning its empty lots into test beds of urban innovation.
Once in the Great City of Detroit
A new book by Washington Post associate editor David Maraniss examines the glory years of Detroit.
Take Care of Trees (They Take Care of You)
New research suggests that trees offer a "layer of protection" for cardiovascular disease.
White Population Shifting Decades-Long Trends in Cities
The Census has confirmed what many trend stories and liberals have been saying for a while now—white people are moving back to cities.
Street Artist Shepard Fairey Tackles Detroit
After billionaire landlord Dan Gilbert commissioned a mural, less-legal works in Fairey's style began showing up around the city. Detroit's case against the artist brings gentrification's ironies into focus.
Changes to Detroit's Foreclosure Auctions Disempower Homeowners and Tenants
A new law makes it impossible for property owners delinquent on their property taxes to bid in a foreclosure auction to keep their homes. Larger, commercial interests are benefitting from the change.
Surveying the Adaptive Reuse of Detroit
Although it's a favorite tool of urbanists all over the country—Detroit has taken to adaptive reuse with singular aplomb.
Details of Detroit's New Parking System
Parts of Detroit recently upgraded to parking kiosks that enable technologically-enhanced parking enforcement. A few weeks after enforcement began, the Detroit Free Press offers tips for navigating the new system.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
