On Places, Andrew Herscher of the University of Michigan challenges the usual view of Detroit's decline.
The decades-long decline of Detroit is usually framed as one of the great urban tragedies of our day. But Andrew Herscher challenges us to understand this history in new ways.
"What if Detroit has lost population, jobs, infrastructure, investment — and yet, as a result of those losses, has gained opportunities to understand and engage novel urban conditions?" asks Herscher.
"What if Detroit has not only fallen apart and emptied out but also transformed, becoming a new sort of urban formation that only appears depleted through the lens of conventional urbanism?"
FULL STORY: The Unreal Estate Guide to Detroit
Electric Car Share Comes to Detroit’s Eastside
The program is operated by the Eastside Community Network and funded through the U.S. Department of Energy.
Checking in on Detroit’s Housing Renaissance
Efforts by the city and residents have generated 17,000 new housing units in the last five years.
‘Ground-Breaking’ Settlement Reached in Detroit Environmental Justice Case
Civil rights activists celebrate a legal settlement that will require the state of Michigan to prevent hazardous waste and other industrial facilities from disproportionately polluting lower income and predominantly Black and brown communities.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
Ratepayers Could Be on the Hook for Data Centers’ Energy Use
Without regulatory changes, data centers’ high demand for energy would be subsidized by taxpayers, according to a new study.
City Nature Challenge: Explore, Document, and Protect Urban Biodiversity
The City Nature Challenge is a global community science event where participants use the iNaturalist app to document urban biodiversity, contributing valuable data to support conservation and scientific research.
A Lone Voice for Climate: How The Wild Robot Stands Apart in Hollywood
Among this year’s Oscar-nominated films, only The Wild Robot passed the Climate Reality Check, a test measuring climate change representation in storytelling, highlighting the ongoing lack of climate awareness in mainstream Hollywood films.
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