Michigan
Consolidating Detroit
As Detroit shrinks, a team of consultants and city officials are faced with the daunting task of reforming a city that is largely full of holes.
Cleanup Crew Plays Ball in Closed Tiger Stadium
Volunteers in Detroit recently performed a community cleanup in an unlikely location: the old Tiger Stadium.
Lack of Talent Driving Business From Michigan
The head of a patent law firm that employs 40 in suburban Detroit explains that his growing business may need to leave the state because it can't recruit talent to the region. Andrew Basile Jr. writes that the problem is "poor quality of place."
Housing Discrimination Not a Thing of the Past
Residential segregation has not gone away since the era of "white flight", says Prof. Thomas J. Sugrue of the University of Pennsylvania. New Census numbers confirm that African-Americans still get shunted into poor neighborhoods.
Detroit Census Confirms Unprecedented Desertion
Detroit's population plunged by 25% over the last decade, according to census figures - the largest decline of any major city in American history.
Reimagining Detroit
Corey Hill examines the experimentation at work to rebuild Detroit, from green manufacturing to community-led economic initiatives. But the municipal and state governments may be getting in the way.
Detroit Fixer's Future Uncertain
TIME Magazine called Toni Griffin a "star urban planner" as she was hired in March of 2010 to head up the downsizing of Detroit. But as The Architect's Newspaper reports, one year later Griffin is mysteriously AWOL.
Michigan Bill Gives Gov. Power to Seize Control of Cities
Both houses of the Michigan Legislature have passed bills expanding the governor's right to declare a "financial emergency" and appoint managers to run cities, towns and school districts with little local oversight.
Friday Funny: Detroit Light Rail in the House
Enjoy this detailed demonstration of Detroit's Light Rail Proposal, using rap and LEGOs to communicate the message that light rail in the center of the road is better than then on the sides.
Improved Beach Access for Disabled
A city in Michigan has initiated a plan to provide greater beach and park access to those who are disabled.
Learning from Flint's Experience
In this essay from Places, architecture professor Wes Janz documents and ponders the economic decay of Flint, Michigan.
Fundraising for Detroit RoboCop Statue As Urban Regeneration
A grassroots online campaign has already raised more than $50,000 to build a statue of the science fiction character RoboCop in Detroit. The effort's organizers call it an art project with the goal of urban regeneration.
Urban Park Commended for Revitalizing Detroit
The Urban Land Institute recently awarded Campus Martius Park in Detroit the 2010 Urban Open Space Award for helping to rejuvenate the historic city center.
How Detroit's Mayor Attempts to Save the Great American City
With the challenges facing American cities of tight budgets and lost revenues, Major Bing openly asks how to shrink the size of Detroit and makes an open call for plans, concepts, and strategies to save the failing city.
A Very Thorough Understanding of a City's Streets
One woman in Lansing, Michigan has started a walking mission to explore and document every stretch of street in her city -- a total of more than 400 miles.
Detroit: No 'Food Desert'
James Griffioen debunks the myth that his hometown is in want of grocery stores.
Against 'Ruin Porn'
The city of Detroit is increasingly characterized through imagery of its abandoned and decaying buildings. This piece from The New Republic says it's time to stop.
Detroit Considers Massive School Closures
The city of Detroit is considering a plan to close nearly half of its public schools and greatly increase its class sizes.
Youth Flow into Detroit and Spur Investment
Amid talk of downsizing and abandonment, a new surge of young investors has been moving into Detroit and revitalizing its economy.
Dreaming Detroit: Decline to Renaissance
The state of Detroit is alarming, particularly in its continued dependence on cars, but there is hope that the city could reinvent itself as an ecological metropolis, says Jeffrey Kenworthy of the Curtin University of Technology.
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
