Detroit
Tough Times in Detroit, But Some Hope Remains
One in five Detroit homes is in foreclosure and asking prices are dropping to extreme lows. Many in the city question what lies in the future for the struggling city.
Mayor Bing Says It's Time to Downsize Detroit
"If we don't do it, you know this whole city is going to go down," said the Mayor. A new study by the mayor's staff shows that roughly one in three parcels are vacant lots or abandoned homes.
From Motor City to Mode D'Art City?
Between official encouragement, revived art institutes and "guerrilla" artists, Detroit is becoming a magnet for artists as it seeks creative ways to revitalize.
Detroit's $20 Million Demolition Plan
The city of Detroit has enough money to tear down between one-quarter and one-third of the city's 10,000 abandoned houses.
Detroit Mayor Warms to Downsizing
Detroit Mayor Dave Bing is reportedly open to the idea of downsizing the city, and is looking for other fresh ideas to help the city's economy return to a sustainable place.
Reinventing Mobility in Detroit
PBS documents Detroit's attempts to overcome its history as "the Motor City" to create new ways of getting people around. Transit advocates play a big part in this preview, which includes renderings of projected transit options.
A Garden in Motor City
Detroit revitalizes urban farming to replace dying industry.
Models for Detroit: Belfast, Bilbao and Turin
Detroit can come back using the model of European countries that downsized and densified, restructured their industries and created incubators for innovation, say Bruce Katz and Jennifer Bradley of Brookings.
The Ruins of Detroit and New Orleans
Bryan Finoki looks at the devastated cities of Detroit and New Orleans and finds "blueprints for the manufacture of ruin".
Detroit's Dramatic New Transit Center
Architect Tushar Advani has designed an iconic new bus station for Detroit, a mandate from transportation planners looking for a symbol of progress for the ailing city.
A Farm Future for Detroit?
Agricultural investors are buying up abandoned and empty land in Detroit -- making a big wager on the future of the city as a farm town.
Detroit Gets Funding for Light Rail
A public-private partnership has come together to fund a 3.4-mile light rail line through Detroit's commercial district, and convinced the Feds to bend the rules a little to bring it to reality.
Rebound Cities Offer Lessons for Detroit
This piece from The New Republic looks at the "urban disaster" of Detroit and compares it to other cities that have come on tough times in the past. Cities like Belfast and Turin offer examples of how Detroit can come back from the dead.
3D Motown
The team at Google has released a 3D model of Detroit.
Windsor + Detroit = BFF?
Windsor, Ontario is known as The Detroit of the North, and has been as hard hit as the Motor City by the fall of the auto industry. A group of artists and urbanists have come together to do something about it.
Transit Use is Growing, But Not Where You Think
Transit saw some big ridership increases over the past few years, but maybe not where you'd expect. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows the top ten metropolitan areas where transit use has increased the most.
Big Ideas Take Hold of Detroit
The American dream is alive and well in Detroit, as artists, urban farmers, and intellectuals see opportunity.
The Detroit Money Shot
Journalists may be overplaying the desolation of Detroit by lustily photographing a few key ruins and cropping well-kept factories out of the picture.
LaHood to Detroit: Don't Worry About High-Speed Rail
Speaking to the Detroit Economic Club recently, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood addressed high-speed rail, Detroit's bus crisis, and the economic future of the area.
Trading Cars for Fashion
Detroit's creative class is making the switch from designing cars to couture, as local boosters push the manufacturing culture into a new industry: Fashion.
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
