An "unprecedented" effort being led by Detroit’s new Blight Task Force will document the city's crumbling and vacant properties. It's part of a multi-pronged effort to combat Detroit's widespread blight.
"A new blight task force is starting its fight by developing the most extensive property database of deteriorating or abandoned structures in Detroit’s history," reports Christine Ferretti. "The effort, coordinated by Data Driven Detroit, is expected this week to begin training survey teams that in December will begin parcel-by-parcel assessments in the city’s 'hardest hit' fund areas, says Erica Raleigh, acting director of Data Driven Detroit."
“It’s unprecedented,” Raleigh said. “We’re going to leave some incredible information for the city and ability to update that over time.”
FULL STORY: Task force to compile database in Detroit blight fight

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.

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

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

Cal Fire Chatbot Fails to Answer Basic Questions
An AI chatbot designed to provide information about wildfires can’t answer questions about evacuation orders, among other problems.

What Happens if Trump Kills Section 8?
The Trump admin aims to slash federal rental aid by nearly half and shift distribution to states. Experts warn this could spike homelessness and destabilize communities nationwide.

Sean Duffy Targets Rainbow Crosswalks in Road Safety Efforts
Despite evidence that colorful crosswalks actually improve intersection safety — and the lack of almost any crosswalks at all on the nation’s most dangerous arterial roads — U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy is calling on states to remove them.
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.
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie