A grassroots online campaign has already raised more than $50,000 to build a statue of the science fiction character RoboCop in Detroit. The effort's organizers call it an art project with the goal of urban regeneration.
The online campaign was started after a comment on Twitter about a statue of RoboCop spurred a response from Detroit Mayor Dave Bing denying any such plans were underway.
Organizers hope the project will lead to other civic projects.
"The surprisingly quick campaign to raise at least $50,000 to build a larger-than-life statue of RoboCop in Detroit shouldn't stop with the crime-fighting cyborg, the fund-raisers said Wednesday.
'If we raised this much money for RoboCop, imagine what others can do for the city,' Detroit artist and fund-raiser Jerry Paffendorf said. 'We could raise money for other art projects and for schools and neighborhoods.'"
FULL STORY: RoboCop statue campaign a lesson in saving Detroit
Detroit RoboCop Statue Brings New Form of Public Participation
Crowd-funded plans to build a statue of the movie character RoboCop are moving ahead in Detroit, and the project is redefining public participation in civic ventures.
Detroit greenway brings revival — and fears of displacement
The planned Joe Louis Greenway is already bringing change to the neighborhoods near it.
Some Detroit residents spend as much as 25% of their disposable income on water bills. A fraught history explains why.
Detroit’s water affordability crisis is tied to the uneven distribution of stormwater management costs.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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.
Mamdani overhauls NYC's Vision Zero plan with 100 new policy goals
The overhaul aims to reduce traffic deaths and make streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers through lower speed limits, new safety infrastructure and more.
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.
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