The Detroit Pistons recently played their last game in the Palace of Auburn Hills.
"The closing of the Palace of Auburn Hills marks just the latest example of a major suburban anchor dying well before its time," according to an article by John Gallagher.
Gallagher counts the Palace of Auburn Hills, home of the Detroit Pistons, among a group that includes the Northland Center, Summit Place Mall, the Pontiac Silverdome, and the old Kmart headquarters in Troy, as formerly "cutting-edge" developments located in the suburbs of Detroit. Now, "all face either demolition or drastic overhauls."
Gallagher cites Edward Hustoles, a now-retired urban planner who was active in metro Detroit at the time, who says that planners and politicians got duped by a narrative of unfettered expansion in the Detroit metropolitan area.
"Back in 1965, Detroit Edison hired the noted Athens-based consulting firm Doxiadis Associates to map out the future of metro Detroit," explains Gallagher. "In a stunningly misguided bit of forecasting, the Doxiadis report projected that metro Detroit's population would more than double by 2000. Instead, the population fell several million people shy of that." Add the region's population losses with the contemporary taste for urban environments, and it's been a recipe for disaster for Detroit's suburban growth plans.
Read the full story: How miscalculation, market trends doomed Palace of Auburn Hills
Detroit Columnist: 30 Years Isn't Long Enough for a Sports Arena to Stand
The short life of the Palace of Auburn Hills, once home to the NBA's Detroit Pistons, is a "colossal waste," according to John Gallagher.
Where Population Declines but the Economy Grows
While the scale of Detroit's population loss is well known, the lesser known that the city's economy has grown steadily in recent decades. It's not alone.
'Detroit Future City' Enters a New Stage
The Detroit Future City Implementation Office has completed a new strategic plan that will redirect the organizations revitalization efforts, four years after the city adopted the largely successful Detroit Future City framework.
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.
Chicago voters approve permanent festival grounds, penalty for vacant property owners
Currently, major summer and fall festivals take over public parks for weeks at a time, drawing criticism from nearby residents
NYC votes to cut outdoor dining red tape, speed up permitting
New York City also voted to allow the Department of Transportation to begin work on urgent projects before notifying elected officials.
California appears to reject Prop. 45
The proposition would have expanded the projects that qualify for a streamlined environmental review, effectively paring down the California Environmental Quality Act.
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