Michigan
The End of the Era of Cheap Water
In many places around the country, the price of water is increasing, quickly. While the reasons for the increase vary depending on the location, common to the issue is the ability of planning to either help or hinder the problem.
Detroit's Latest Power Outage: The Dark Before the Dawn?
Earlier this week a massive power outage struck Detroit. But that type of embarrassment might soon be a thing of the past because Detroit will soon undertake a $200 million upgrade of its electricity grid.
Eight 'PlacePlans' for Michigan Cities
The PlacePlans project—led by the Michigan Municipal League and the Michigan State University School of Planning, Design and Construction—recently released plans for placemaking efforts in eight Michigan communities.
Report Details Best Practices for Land Banks
A recent report collects data from the experience of cities using land banks as a method for addressing vacant and blighted properties.
Michigan May Drop Fuel Excise Tax for Wholesale Sales Tax
The Republican-controlled Michigan State Senate voted November 13 to increase the state's 19-cents per gallon fuel tax by converting it to a wholesale fuel sales tax, resulting in an anticipated $1.2 billion annual revenue increase.
Explained: Vacancies, Population Decline, and the Importance of Household Size
Jason Segedy has published a long, brutally frank look at blight and vacant properties, especially at the underappreciated culprit for the woes of so many shrinking cities around the Rust Belt: household decline.
Detroit's Bankruptcy Exit Plan Approved
Federal judge Steven Rhodes approved Detroit’s plan to shed $7 billion of the total $18 billion debt.
Nothing to See Here: Detroit's Blockbuster Blight Bid Falls Through
Anna Clark has the scoop about the latest wrinkle in the blockbuster Detroit blight auction: the surprise, mysterious bid for 6,000 parcels if off the table.
How Grand Rapids Became a Transit Success
Rachel Dovey shares some of the secrets to the success of Grand Rapids, Michigan after a year of transit improvements in the small city.
Tolls vs Taxes and the State of the American Highway
Making up only seven percent of U.S. interstate miles, the future of toll roads is bright according to Brooking's Robert Puentes and Diane Rehm's other guests in a 52-minute, wide ranging discussion on gas taxes, toll roads, and privatization.
Massive Detroit Foreclosures Push Out Black Homeowners
A Detroit reborn sounds great, but what if the residents of “blighted” areas don’t want to leave? Many feel they have no choice in a process that has been compared to racial relocation. Meanwhile, activists scramble to give residents options.
Can Billionaires Revitalize Decayed Downtowns?
Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert has an urbanist streak. And only people with his kind of money can singlehandedly buy out big chunks of downtown Detroit. But will his approach to neighborhood-making actually benefit the city as a whole?
Awarding the Best Government Websites
Looking for the best examples of municipal websites? Look no further.
Can Detroit's Comeback Benefit Everyone?
Suzette Hackney, a former Detroit Free Press journalist, expresses her concern about who is getting left out of Detroit's comeback story.
A Day at the Beach in Downtown Detroit
Inspired by the Paris Plages temporary urban beach along the Seine, a temporary beach in a park in Downtown Detroit is inspiring the Motor City to rethink its public spaces.
Great Lakes Leaders Call for Drinking Water Protections
In light of August's drinking water catastrophe in Toledo, Ohio, Great Lakes mayors gathered this week to call for policy action to protect water resources round the Great Lakes.
Where to Go in the Event of Climate Change
Anchorage, Seattle, and Detroit will be pretty cozy compared to just about everywhere else in the United States if climate change models hold true.
13 Small Ideas with Big Potential for Cities
Making no little plans is all well and good, but sometimes it is the smallest ideas that can have the biggest impacts for cities and neighborhoods.
110-mph Talgo Trains Headed to Michigan [Corrected]
If the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) approves the order, two Wisconsin-manufactured Talgo train sets will reduce travel times from Detroit to Chicago by as much as two hours while significantly increasing on-time performance.
Detroit Bankruptcy Breakthrough: Regional Water Authority Moves Forward
One of the most politically treacherous proposals of Detroit's bankruptcy plan has finally gained approval—a regional water authority.
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
