Detroit

I Used to Believe Planning was R&D for City-Building

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Frequent readers here may have seen me write about my experience growing up in 1970s Detroit. I’ve often said that seeking ways to improve the city and not abandon it, is what propelled me into a career in urban planning.  read more »

Detroit's Riverwalk, and Waterfront Revivals

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One of the positive things that many cities worldwide have done over the last half century is to transition the relics of their industrial era – the port facilities, the warehouses, railyards and more  read more »

Beauty and the Rust Belt, Part 2: The Lakefront Dividend Example

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Here’s a followup to some of the points made in my last post, and a response to readers and Twitter (X) commenters.

First, a quick refresh on my earlier post.  read more »

Subjects:

Beauty and the Rust Belt

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Were Rust Belt cities ever really attractive? Cool? Livable?

No.

Rust Belt cities weren’t built for beauty, they were built for enterprise.  read more »

Why Do You Want To Be An Urbanist?

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I’ve always believed that the way you find your path to a certain direction in life determines quite a bit to your approach once on the path. Like a kid who was bullied by classmates becomes a boxer or martial artist and believes that the mastery of physical and mental discipline is the key to a good life. Or an introverted child who learns about a vastly larger world through books and believes that libraries can restore your soul. Sometimes you find a way to transcend from one life plane to another and you want the world to follow you.  read more »

Chinese Investments in U.S. Bring Threats and Promise

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As if proliferating spy balloons and insidious TikTok feeds weren’t enough, America’s economic relationship with China also is going to get more complicated. And as usual when things are really important, Flyover Country will be right in the middle of it.  read more »

Politicians Finally Embrace Need to Promote Region

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A critical mass of forces finally may be understanding the benefits of what I’ve been advocating for years: that separate political actors in Flyover Country unite to promote our region as a whole, rather than our cities and states always competing with one another for the fruits of economic development and government favor.  read more »

CSY Repost – Houston: "Rust Belt, You Have a Problem"

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 (I know, I know. I haven't been around much lately. My last post was almost six weeks ago. The reasons for my disappearance? A lot of it is life- and work-related, the way things happen with most everyone. However a huge contributor to this is how recent changes in urbanism discourse have played out, and I wonder if there's room for me anymore.  read more »

Tim Allen Loves It Here, and He's Always Happy to Show It

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Tim Allen is a Hollywood celebrity, but he’s the rare one who hasn’t abandoned his roots in favor of the glitz. And that has been a good thing for Flyover Country.  read more »

Subjects:

Life Cycle of Black Urban Neighborhoods

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Without a great deal of thought put into it, most urban observers can rattle off what can be considered a reasonable life cycle for neighborhoods – a growth phase, a stable peak or plateau, a period of decline, a phase of accelerated decline, then ultimately a chance at renewal.  read more »