Multiple proposals to demolish downtown buildings and put up surface parking lots are meeting resistance.
"Downtown Detroit needs many things," writes John Gallagher. "More surface parking lots are not among them."
Gallagher, in a bit of a respite from a long history of reporting the news of the changes underway in Downtown Detroit, is providing this opinion in reaction to a a proposal by the Illitch family's development company to demolish buildings near the new Little Caesars Arena to make room for more surface parking lots.
But that's not the only place where plans are being made for surface parking. In fact, writes Gallagher, his distaste for the idea of more surface parking also "goes for vacant residential buildings on Cass near Interstate 75 that are the focus of a preservation fight just now, as well as other structures in the area that appear to be threatened with demolition."
FULL STORY: Don't demolish Detroit buildings for Little Caesars Arena parking
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
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.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association