Neighborhood groups around Detroit are taking the city's rat problem into their owns hands.
The Ferndale Rat Patrol is a Facebook group of 600 members, "working to rid their metro Detroit communities of rats without the use of poisons," according to Dargay. But it's far from the only group in the Detroit metropolitan area dedicated to the cause. There's also the Royal Oak Rats and the Rat Problem in Garden City.
The Royal Oak Rats will be hosting a free workshop in February on the subjects of "trapping, using raptors to control rats, owl houses, tools to help fight rat infestation, feeding birds without attracting rats, rat facts and the downside of using poisons." The Ferndale Rat Patrol hands out trophies—golden rat traps—to the most successful rat hunters in their group.
Dargay provides more reporting on the methods employed by each of these groups, and some of the bureaucratic context from which these collective actions have emerged. It's worth noting that Detroit is far from the "rattiest" city in the country. A 2017 list of the rattiest cities in the country placed Detroit at number seven.
Read the full story: Killing rats a labor of love for neighborhood groups
New York City to Invest $32 Million in its Rat Problem
Clean and safe from rats.
Ranking the Cities with the Largest Rat Problem
Some cities have a reputation for rats, but all cities have them. Where does your major metropolitan center rank among the rattiest cities?
Detroit Reveals the Possibilities and Pitfalls of a New Era of Governance
America's fundamental levels of governance are changing, writes Anna Clark in Next American City, who uses examples from Detroit and Cleveland to ascertain what the stakes are when cities cede public sector work to third parties.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Move over, LA: St. Louis gears up for Olympics, invests millions in downtown redevelopment
The Missouri city will host the 2028 Olympic soccer group stage and knockout matches.
Dallas releases zoning code overhaul to officials
The drafted overhaul is over 400 pages long.
NYC renovations for dangerous, ‘mercilessly crammed’ street delayed until 2027
Construction was supposed to begin this fall.
San Diego’s Midway Rising project gets greenlight from city council
The project looks to become the largest affordable housing development in California's history.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello