Michigan

A team of visiting planners suggested that Detroit could evolve into a series of urban villages connected by countryside.

Michigan's Mackinac Island has been car-free since 1898. GOOD Magazine pays a visit to the island and finds that far from being Luddite, the island is very progressive, from extensive wifi to hydroelectric power.

Smart City talks with grass roots and civic leaders about how to revitalize flagging Rust Belt economies.

Detroit, now no stranger to demolitions, ought to rethink what it does with its abandoned, historic buildings--which have long been bulldozed without much of a second thought.

As the automotive industry takes a deep hit during the current economic recession, many tie the Detroit's hopes to those of the auto industry. But Richard Florida argues Detroit needs to think beyond the car business.

Flint, Michigan is another ailing city that is considering demolishing entire neighborhoods and returning them to nature as a way to save the rest of the city from blight.

As Time Magazine observes, Detroit is the icon of the failing American city, but 'vast swaths of it don't look like a city at all.' Some say 'missing teeth' of Detroit make it a prime candidate to infill appropriately, and 'right-size'.

Ypsilanti, Michigan, has been a GM factory town for more than 50 years. With the recent ouster of GM CEO Rick Wagoner by the federal government, many in the oft-shaken town are worried about its future.

The near-bankruptcy of the American auto industry is just the latest in a long history of challenges Detroit has endured.

This piece from NPR looks at what artists are doing in Detroit to snatch up abandoned homes and convert them into community centers and art spaces.

Habitat for Humanity, known for building low-cost, affordable houses, has taken to deconstructing homes in Saginaw, MI. Reselling the materials and building smaller homes in their stead make more sense than rehabilitating an old house, they say.

With a recent infusion of $44 million and hopes for more from the federal stimulus package, regional light rail is gathering momentum in Detroit. Advocates see more than mobility in the struggling city's future.

Indianapolis is a thriving job market, while Detroit is rapidly decaying and drying up. What's the difference? Policies encouraging public-private partnerships, according to this article from Next American City.

This piece from Metropolis looks at a rail line that was converted into a bike trail in Detroit, and how it has become a well-used neighborhood connector.

As commercial vacancies increase, cities are feeling the pain of lower tax revenues.

In Detroit, a couple bought a foreclosure for $1900. They've been steadily piecing together a community out of their neighborhood ever since.

The state of Michigan is getting ready to institute an emergency manager to effectively take over the financial operations of the auto industry city of Pontiac, which has struggled economically for more than a decade.

Jon Zemke ponders the many possibilities for building a world-class transportation network throughout metro Detroit.