Water is encroaching on neighborhoods and shorelines in Detroit at rare levels. Those impacts and many more are considered only a preview of what's to come when the worst effects of climate change strike the Great Lakes region.
"Anyone who doubts that climate change could deliver a nasty shock to Michigan's economy need only take a stroll along the Detroit riverfront these days," according to an article by John Gallagher.
Experts disagree whether high lake levels and heavy rains that have been the reality of the spring and summer in Michigan can be directly traced to climate change, according to Gallagher, but experts do agree that the worst of climate change is yet to come. And that means, "the kind of problems we're seeing now because of high lake levels and abundant spring rainfall give a hint to what Michigan will endure from full-blown climate change one day."
Detroit has been sandbagging properties in the Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood on the far lowest east side. "And far from the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair, Michigan farmers have been dealing with soggy fields produced by the spring downpours," according to Gallagher.
FULL STORY: High water levels foreshadow huge cost of climate change in Michigan
Flooding in the Midwest Shows There's No Refuge From Climate Change
While projections say areas of the U.S. Midwest around the Great Lakes will become more hospitable as the climate changes, stormwater and flooding is still a challenge in a surprising number of locations.
Detroit Floods as the Pacific Northwest Bakes: It's Time to Shift the Conversation About Climate Change
The record-breaking heatwave in the Pacific Northwest has mostly been depicted in the media by kids running through fountains, but images of flooded highways and stranded vehicles in Detroit tell a more accurate story of climate change.
Auto Insurance Rates Spike Due to Extreme Weather
Car insurance costs around the country are going up as insurers receive more claims from areas struck by storms and other climate disasters.
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