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- In an editorial published Friday, the Free Press urges Mayor Bing to pursue right-sizing -- shrinking the city to better serve its remaining population. Currently, the city has no plans to do so, but the new Detroit Land Bank Authority has begun meeting to better manage the city's vacant land (Crain's).
- A column in the News raises a critical concern about DPS fiscal manager Robert Bobb: "His decisive and rapid reform plans make great sense, but they may very well fail if he does not build more community support for them."
- "There's a reality that we all have to live with, and the reality of the City of Detroit is that we are broke and we are in a financial crisis." - Mayor Bing (Free Press).
- Here's a bonus travel article on Detroit from a tourism website. This one's refreshingly positive.
- The News profiles John Hantz, the business man who hopes to build a commercial farm on vacant property in Detroit. Few details here, but lots of anecdotal praise.
- Esteemed local architect Michael Poris is blogging this week at Metro Mode about historic preservation and revitalizing Detroit.
- The Wall Street Journal writes about the probable bankruptcy of Detroit Public Schools. Today the district officially lost its first-class status, meaning more charter schools may open in the city, perhaps hastening the district's decline (Free Press).
- This Thursday, Net Impacts of Southeast Michigan will host a discussion on "Critical Topics in Sustainability: Land Use and Urban Agriculture" (GLUE).
- Since 2005, the number of vacant addresses in Detroit has doubled to an astonishing 78,000, prompting community development groups to change strategies just to keep their neighborhoods intact (Model D).
- In a blow to recycling efforts, the city will keep using the incinerator for at least a year and likely much longer (News).
- A pilot program in Wayne County is deconstructing homes to salvage the parts rather than flat-out demolishing them.
- The Free Press writes at length today about the possibilities and challenges of right-sizing, or shrinking, the city of Detroit. This one's a must read.
- Speaking of wildlife, the News also reports that red foxes have been spotted roaming downtown!
- The News (taking a step into digital media) also has a video up on the renowned graffiti in the Dequindre Cut.
- The city's only Home Depot is also the region's most profitable, proving national chains can thrive in Detroit if they learn to adapt (Free Press).
- The Cobo deal is pretty much a sure thing now, but opposition is still alive and strong among some Detroit activists (News).
- In a Guliani-like move, new Police Chief Warren Evans aims to reduce violence by towing the car of anyone driving without a valid license. DPD is also in the news for its continued lack of compliance with federal decrees on civil rights issues, six years after the fact (News).
- The new issue of City Journal, a right-leaning magazine on urban issues, attributes New York's long-term success to its constant economic innovation. Something to think about for Detroit.
- Everyone is writing about right-sizing and redeveloping shrinking cities. The USA today is the latest with an article on Flint's innovative land bank.
- An exhibit on Belle Isle opens tomorrow at the Detroit Historical Museum, where admission is free for the rest of the month (News).
- An offshore wharf is being added to the dock being built near Hart Plaza, enabling ferry service along the Detroit River (Free Press).
- Sam Riddle and Mary Waters have been indicted for corruption, and more indictments may still be on the way (Free Press).
- The DPS board is going to court to limit fiscal manager Robert Bobb's control over academics (News). The Free Press has a good editorial on the matter, wondering whether the board is being ignored because the city plans to switch to a mayor-led school system when Bobb's one-year term is up.
- Mayor Bing wants to reduce city employees' pay by 10%, just as Cockrel originally proposed (Free Press).
- A new Brookings Institution report says traffic patterns don't justify twinning the Ambassador Bridge, yet the authors still support the proposed public span (News).
- Detroit keeps drawing journalists and filmmakers from around the world who want to showcase our decline and transformation (Free Press).
- Boosters hope the renovated CCS Argonaut Building will anchor the northern-end of a creative corridor along Woodward.
- John Gallagher writes about the ongoing debate between preservationists and DECG (the city's development arm) over whether to save or demolish abandoned, historic structures (Free Press).
- Quicken is moving into the Compuware Building downtown rather than building a new headquarters (News). Better than nothing, right?
- It looks increasingly likely that Detroit Public Schools will be the first major school district to declare bankruptcy (News).
- The Free Press does a feature on land banks, a redevelopment tool that other declining cities, like Flint, have used with much success.
- The Rosa Parks Transit Center, Detroit's great new transit hub downtown, is set to open Tuesday (Free Press).
- Detroit's Children Museum has been cut out of DPS's new budget, which may force it to close (Free Press).
- Metro Mode points to an AP article on Greening of Detroit's efforts to reforest the city.
- Friends of Belle Isle Aquarium recently received a grant to fix the roof of the closed facility and are holding a fundraiser on July 25 in an effort to reopen it.
- The Metro Times keeps following the incinerator story, which now has as much to do with government transparency as it does with the specific question of what to do with the city's trash.
- While the U.S. slowly spends its stimulus funds on highway construction and other pork, France is investing billions to renovate historic buildings and keeps its cultural patrimony vibrant (NY Times). I wish we had such foresight here.
- An op-ed in the New York Times argues Detroit is the next great biking city.
- A well-known developer wants one last look at the Lafayette Building before it's demolished to see if he can save it (Crain's). No word yet on whether DECG will grant his request.
- Detroit Public Television and U of M Dearborn teamed up to interview all the candidates running for Detroit City Council or the charter commission (Michigan Messenger). You can watch the videos at MiVote.org. Great way to weed through the candidates.
- Does Obama have an urban agenda? If so, it's not a priority (Politico).
- Next American City questions the economics (and aesthetics) of convention centers. Prescient given our protracted struggle to renovate Cobo to save one flagship event.
- In a "non-political" decision, Bing is making Warren Evans, perhaps his main political rival, the chief of police (News).
- A commentator in the Free Press worries "right-sizing" or "shrinking" cities will ruin them.
- DRIC, the public bridge plan, will soon have the rights to riverfront land in Windsor, bringing it one step closer to reality (Free Press).
- Volunteers are sprucing up a section of Roosevelt Park across from Michigan Central Station (News).