Home ›

The Planetizen News Brief - 12/18/08

18 December 2008 - 5:00am
Smart City Radio

The Planetizen News Brief is a weekly rundown of some of the most interesting and important news and issues of the past week.

The Planetizen News Brief airs every week on the nationally-syndicated radio program "Smart City", which is broadcast in cities across the U.S. Learn more about Smart City and listen to archived shows.

Full Transcript

Detroit is not a happy city right now. The meltdown of the U.S. auto industry has hit its heartland hard, and Detroit is now being called America’s largest shrinking metropolis. It’s still the nation’s 11-th largest city, but with its major corporations failing and a rash of foreclosed properties blighting the city, Detroit is going to have to start thinking about downsizing gracefully. But how? That’s the question facing officials in the city, who are slow to get hip to a smaller Detroit, according to a recent article from Bloomberg News. One way the city is getting creative is urban farming. The foreclosure crisis has left thousands of plots of empty or abandoned land throughout the city. Progressive planners have made moves to re-use this empty land for urban farming projects. More than six acres across the city have been converted to mini-farms so far, and more are on the way. But with about 17,000 more empty acres, the city is still facing a far more barren Detroit than there once was. To face this likely future elegantly, the city’s parks department is considering plans to convert many unsold foreclosures into pocket parks. Officials are seeking $47 million from the federal government’s Neighborhood Stabilization Plan to help clear these abandoned properties and replace them with something better – and more sustainable – in their place.

Meanwhile in Washington D.C., President-elect Barack Obama has reportedly made his picks for two key cabinet positions working on urban policy. New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Shaun Donovan has been picked to head HUD, the department charged with guiding the nation’s housing policy. Donovan previously served as deputy assistant secretary at HUD during the Clinton presidency, and more recently attracted praise for his managment of New York’s housing department, one of the largest affordable housing programs in the country. For the newly created White House Office of Urban Policy, the Obama team has tapped Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión Jr., according to the New York Post. He’s a figure known to be pro-development amongst New York City politicians, and one with a hopeful eye on the mayor’s office. With two strong urban voices coming into the White House from New York, we can expect to see a strong New York influence in the nation’s newest urban policies.

Stories discussed in this week's Planetizen News Brief

Shrinking City Planning

New York Housing Commissioner to Head HUD

Bronx Borough President Tapped As Obama's Urban Policy Secretary

»
Bookmark and Share
“
"To ignore this space is shortsighted." -- Jennifer Wolch, Director of the USC Center for Sustainable Cities
”