Detroit

I love the book American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America by Colin Woodard. In it, he outlines the regional cultures of America  read more »

So the Super Bowl is set, and the Detroit Lions are not in it.

It was tough watching my Detroit Lions go down two weekends ago  read more »

I’ve written a lot about how growing up in Detroit was instrumental in my desire to improve and revitalize cities. Watching a city being hollowed out and disgraced in the ‘70s and ‘80s can have that impact.  read more »

My Defining Rust Belt Urbanism piece three weeks ago, in which I discuss the themes of what would drive Midwest urban rebirth, prompted a great question.  read more »

I came across a couple of interesting pieces in the last week that had me thinking about the past, present and future of American cities again. After reading them, I felt somewhat upbeat and validated, but also concerned.  read more »

Back in 2018, I attended and participated in an event called “Tools Toward Market Restoration”, hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.  read more »

Frequent readers here may have seen me write about my experience growing up in 1970s Detroit. I’ve often said that seeking ways to improve the city and not abandon it, is what propelled me into a career in urban planning.  read more »

One of the positive things that many cities worldwide have done over the last half century is to transition the relics of their industrial era – the port facilities, the warehouses, railyards and more  read more »

Here’s a followup to some of the points made in my last post, and a response to readers and Twitter (X) commenters.

First, a quick refresh on my earlier post.  read more »

Were Rust Belt cities ever really attractive? Cool? Livable?

No.

Rust Belt cities weren’t built for beauty, they were built for enterprise.  read more »