When does the opening of a Whole Foods generate national media attention? When the location is Midtown, Detroit.
Grist's Claire Thompson asks why this particular store opening is such big news. For one thing, she explains, outsiders think of Detroit as a “food desert.” But locals know that the city has a lot going for it, supermarket-wise, including the country's largest permanent farmers market.
Then there's Detroit's economy, which many Americans seem to have written off as a lost cause. Yet local and state politicians wooed Whole Foods with $5.8 million in tax credits and grants, in the apparent hope that the store will spur investment in nearby real estate.
The real cause of the excitement appears to be more insidious. “[W]hat seems to be causing the freakout over Whole Foods’ unlikely new location is just that: its unlikeliness, and the racist and classist assumptions underlying that assessment,” Thompson writes.
Yet Whole Foods CEO Walter Robb's claim that the new store will combat racism is equally overdrawn. “The notion that a bourgie grocery store could meaningfully address racial inequality is ridiculous,” Thompson argues. “If it has any effect at all, it could just as easily set in motion the kind of unchecked gentrification that deepens racial divisions.”
FULL STORY: Whole Foods opens in Detroit, threatens stereotypes everywhere

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Cuomo Is the Candidate of Both NIMBYs and Developers. What Gives?
In the New York City mayoral race, odd bedfellows align to preserve the housing status quo.

San Antonio and Austin are Fusing Into one Massive Megaregion
The region spanning the two central Texas cities is growing fast, posing challenges for local infrastructure and water supplies.

Charlottesville Temporarily Has No Zoning Code
A judge ordered the Virginia city to throw out its newly revised zoning code, leaving permitting for new development in legal limbo.

In California Battle of Housing vs. Environment, Housing Just Won
A new state law significantly limits the power of CEQA, an environmental review law that served as a powerful tool for blocking new development.
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.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont