Between official encouragement, revived art institutes and "guerrilla" artists, Detroit is becoming a magnet for artists as it seeks creative ways to revitalize.
Drawn by cheap housing and abandoned areas capable of becoming enormous canvases for their creations, artists are finding Detroit an exciting city to work in. According to the Globe and Mail,
"Years of decay and decline have turned Detroit's downtown core into a ghost town, miles of crumbling houses, empty lots and boarded-up businesses creating an apocalyptic zone of nothingness between the central business district and the still-vibrant suburbs. But a community of artists has moved into the void, drawn by the promise of cheap real estate and free rein.
Some of their projects are done in partnership with local businesses and cultural institutions, desperate to put a more attractive face on their blighted city, but others have adopted a guerrilla approach, taking over decrepit spaces only an artist could love. Together, the work is redefining a city best known for its dying automotive industry and Eminem's 8 Mile, and suggests that it may just be possible for a city to save itself with art."
Read the full story: Detroit a hotbed of cool art? Ah, yes
The Portrayal of Detroit Through 'Ruin Porn' Fails To Tell The Full Story
Do the stylized pictures of crumbling edifices and the recent incorporation of a vacant home in an art show do a disservice to the residents—mostly poor and black—who still call Detroit home?
A Tour of Three Detroit Community Gardens
Community gardens are popping up all over Detroit. This post from Model D takes a tour through three of them, and explores how they balance art and nature.
'Inchvesting' in the Future of Detroit
A group in Detroit has begun an effort to sell of one-inch parcels of land in the city for $1.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
In Texas, data centers are swallowing promised parkland
Residents who moved to Taylor, Texas for a rural community now have to contend with three data centers in their backyard.
How a Chicago-sized wind farm beat the odds and powered on
The project spanned five presidential administrations and a standoff with a U.S. military base.
MTA gives itself 30 days to transform pit into basketball court
The site has been under construction since 2022; the city originally estimated it would finish the court in 2024.
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
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority