The $300 million in federal and private aid announced Friday for Detroit is just a drop in the bucket compared to the city's $18 billion debt. While the aid is far short of a bailout, it represents a down payment on the city's recovery.
"Top Obama administration officials and local leaders unveiled a strategy to bring $300 million in federal and private-sector help to Detroit today to fight blight, improve the city’s struggling bus system, boost public safety and encourage business growth in a city fighting for survival in bankruptcy court," report Matt Helms and Todd Spangler.
"The money will include $150 million for blight removal and redevelopment. Of that, a $65 million block grant and $25 million in public and private funding will be used to demolish vacant commercial buildings," they note. "The $300 millions will also include $14 million for transit and $25 million to hire as many as 140 firefighters."
“This is critical,” said emergency manager Kevyn Orr. “We still are in a bankruptcy. We’re still going to have to go through that process, we’re still going to have to work our way through the debt, but this is aimed at neighborhood revitalization.”
FULL STORY: $300M federal, private boost for Detroit: 'We are going to do everything we are capable of'
Detroit Mayor Proposes Vacant Lot Tax
A new tax plan would reform the city’s famously low vacancy tax rates in an effort to stimulate more housing development and limit speculation.
Dan Gilbert Announces $500 Million Investment in Detroit Neighborhoods
Dan Gilbert, the billionaire credited with the revitalization of development interest in and around Downtown Detroit, made a bombshell announcement in his first in-depth interview since suffering a stroke in 2019.
$160 Million in Bond Funding for Demolitions on the Ballot in Detroit
Proposal N, on the ballot for Detroit voters next week, will provide $160 million in bond funding for demolitions and $90 million to mothball homes for future rehab, but, according to this opinion, it won't solve the city's blight challenges.
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
EV Infrastructure Booming in Suburbs, Cities Lag Behind
A lack of access to charging infrastructure is holding back EV adoption in many US cities.
Seattle Road Safety Advocates Say Transportation Levy Perpetuates Car-Centric Status Quo
Critics of a proposed $1.3 billion transportation levy say the package isn’t enough to keep up with inflation and rising costs and fails to support a shift away from car-oriented infrastructure.
Appeals Court: California Emissions Standards Upheld
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board, the nation's two most powerful environmental regulatory agencies, won an important round in federal court last week. But the emissions standards battle may not be over.
Barrett Planning Group LLC
City of Cleburne
KTUA Planning and Landscape Architecture
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
