Pontiac is "trying hard to reinvent itself" by turning its downtown into a "regional entertainment district"...so it is squeezing out a 60-year old shelter for at-risk women and children.
A request for expanding a local facility for at-risk women and children was turned down for the third time by the planning commission. Their proposed use for the property is a parking lot. "[Social Service] agencies [tend to] locate where rents were lowest and transportation most convenient for their clients...[The planning commission] sided with some business owners who argued that the presence of too many panhandlers and loiterers in the area drives away customers...[C]ity officials say they are protecting Pontiac's long-term interests."
Thanks to Karen Cashin
FULL STORY: Pontiac's Sheltered Downtown

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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.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research