Police response times average 58 minutes for worst crimes and at times only 10 of the city's 36 ambulances are in service: Detroit's woes extend far beyond its unpaid debts. Many residents are hoping emergency management will bring drastic change.
"As officials negotiate urgently with creditors and unions in a last-ditch effort to spare Detroit from plunging into the largest municipal bankruptcy in the nation’s history, residents say the city has worse problems than its estimated $18 billion debt," writes Monica Davey.
“'The city is past being a city now; it’s gone,' said Kendrick Benguche, whose family lives on a block with a single streetlight, just down from a vacant firehouse that sits beside a burned-out home."
While some residents fret about the impacts of a possible bankruptcy filing, others are ready for drastic change.
“'For a lot of people, I think city government has become a nonentity here,' said Kurt Metzger, the director of Data Driven Detroit, which tracks demographic, economic and housing trends in the region. 'People almost feel like the city goes on in spite of city government — that city government in this case certainly doesn’t define the city — and that affects how they’re feeling about what comes next.'”
FULL STORY: Financial Crisis Just a Symptom of Detroit’s Woes
Detroit Still a Long Way from Recovery
It's fun to write miracle comeback stories, but the epic of Detroit's resurgence has been exaggerated, according to an article in The Conversation.
Lessons from Masterminds of Detroit's Rebirth
The enthusiasm of Detroit's new civic leadership, who engineered its bankruptcy and set up its recovery, is infectious. How the city will ultimately fare, and how other troubled cities learn from Detroit's mistakes, remains to be seen.
Judge Allows Detroit Bankruptcy to Proceed
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes ruled today that the city of Detroit is eligible for bankruptcy protection, allowing the city to proceed with the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. Public employee unions are expected to appeal.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.
Can We Please Give Communities the Design They Deserve?
Often an afterthought, graphic design impacts everything from how we navigate a city to how we feel about it. One designer argues: the people deserve better.
The EV “Charging Divide” Plaguing Rural America
With “the deck stacked” against rural areas, will the great electric American road trip ever be a reality?
Judge Halts Brooklyn Bike Lane Removal
Lawyers must prove the city was not acting “arbitrarily, capriciously, and illegally” in ordering the hasty removal.
Engineers Gave America's Roads an Almost Failing Grade — Why Aren't We Fixing Them?
With over a trillion dollars spent on roads that are still falling apart, advocates propose a new “fix it first” framework.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
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Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
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